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adamwatchesmovies · 3 years

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Mama (2013)

Mama would have been a truly great horror film... if it could just learn to be quiet. It’s got a terrific premise, well-defined characters, and spooky imagery. Why the film decides to go for the cheapest scares possible so often is a mystery.

For five years, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has been searching for his brother and two nieces. Though the girls are discovered in a run-down shack in the woods, their father is nowhere to be found. Adopting the children, Lucas tries to rehabilitate them while his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain) protests. But how did the girls survive alone in the woods, and who is the mysterious “Mama” that supposedly took care of them?

We need more movies about feral children. There’s something inherently creepy about seeing a human move like it’s a wild animal. When Lucas and Annabel discover the girls, they’re so emaciated they look like living skeletons and are so filthy their only defining features are their piercing eyes glaring at you as they move on all fours, more insect-like than human. Those visuals, along with the sounds they make to communicate will make you want to curl up in a ball. Your instinct tells you to run but hope prevents you from turning around. Maybe they can be rehabilitated.

Those feral children would be enough, but then the movie throws in a whole other frightening element, the titular “Mama”. As far as “monsters” go, this one's great. The way it sounds and moves, its appearance shrouded in mystery draws you in but when you see it, you recoil in terror. The film's dual maternal instincts adds substance. Mama cares, but she’s way too possessive. Annabel wants nothing to do with the girls but slowly warms up to them. It helps you become further invested. You don't merely want them to defeat the monster, you want them to emerge as a family.

If this movie had been all about the feral kids, the mystery of Mama, and the developing relationships in the new family, it would've been a new horror classic. What brings it down? It’s inability to resist cheap jump scares. They're ok once in a while if they’re well deserved but you don't release the tension valve at every opportunity. Every time a hint of Mama appears, it’s accompanied by A LOUD NOISE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE STARTLED!!! This movie is so much better than these cheap tactics, couldn’t anyone sense that?

Mama starts off so good. It’s nice and subtle, the atmosphere is effective, the story is fresh. The performances are excellent, even from the little girls who deliver physical performances on top of everything. Unfortunately, because Mama goes for the low-hanging fruit so often, I don't know how much rewatch value it's got. You see the titular monster so often your viewings better spread out enough for you to have forgotten what it looks like. I recommend you see this film, but if your film collection is at the stage where it’s “one in, one out” this one doesn’t quite cut it. Check out the bonus features when you rent this one though, because although Guillermo Del Toro blows it way out of proportion, the original short which inspired the movie is included and it's worth checking out. (On Blu-ray, February 17, 2015)

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tsuchicool · 6 years

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いざ。 #It #イット #それが見えたら終わり #AndrésMuschietti #アンディムスキエティ #StephenKing #スティーヴンキング #BillSkarsgård #ビルスカルズガルド #StephenWilliams #スティーブンウィリアムズ #MeganCharpentier #ミーガンシャルパンティエ #movie #cinéma #映画 (TOHO シネマズ日本橋)

#ビルスカルズガルド #megancharpentier #ミーガンシャルパンティエ #billskarsgård #stephenking #it #cinéma #イット #andrésmuschietti #movie #stephenwilliams #映画 #スティーブンウィリアムズ #アンディムスキエティ #スティーヴンキング #それが見えたら終わり

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