Mama

After having seen the short film Mama is based on, which is just a scene in the feature film, I had no idea I was going to witness an accomplished effort as this. The opening of the film is chillingly reminiscent of the mountainous opening of The Shining (1980) and creepy cabin shiver of The Evil Dead (1981). The rest of it never goes off rails which is a great thing considering the trappings of the genre.

Jump scares. These two words are pretty much the sole reason why this genre will never be taken seriously. Mama has a few jump scares but mostly it has moments of genuine creepiness. The scares don't come from physically lifting you off your seats but lifting your emotions out of the dark corners of your heart. Slowly. Now, that's what I call scary. How do you do that? Primarily with images. Not sound. It plays with the cardinal rule of not showing the monster \xe1 la Cat People (1943). It's funny that I mentioned Cat People. Val Lewton was a producer of B-grade horror films that made him an icon with horror geeks, including myself. Guillermo Del Toro could easily be the modern day Lewton with two slam dunks under his belt with El Orfanato (2007) and Mama.

Mama is about two little girls who are being haunted by the ghost of a mother. In comes Annabel played by Jessica Chastain, reluctantly taking on the role of their new mother. Essentially, this is the story. I wouldn't want to get into details of the plot, since its unfolding while making you believe in it, progressing with tremendous skill is one of the rewards of the film. Andy Muschietti is clearly a talent. I would certainly be looking forward to what he does next. It is when true believers of the genre spin a new web that we see it come back to life.

Apart from Chastain, it is the performance by Megan Charpentier, who plays one of the girls, that makes the film more than just a scary movie. I don't remember the last time I was emotionally connected to a horror film. I bet it was The Sixth Sense (1999). I wish the emotional connection would have been more. Especially during the ending. Not that the emotional thread wasn't satisfying but it could have done with a bit more depth. I feel this probably because I'm tipping it against The Sixth Sense and I know the extent it could be taken to (there is a scene towards to end of that film which always makes me cry, always).

If I had to point out one reason why Mama worked for me, it would not be the emotional connection or because the ghost isn't shown for most of the film. It is because of the fact that the ghost is indeed revealed to us. The film actually becomes creepier, instead of becoming ridiculous. This is a rare achievement. Props to the visual effects team for making the ghost seem hidden even when it is in full view.

I was incredibly impressed with Antonio Riestra's camerawork. The visual tone of the film is unlike anything I've seen in horror films before. The flashback and its impeccable stylization never throws you off. Mama is what separates good modern horror films from the rest of the junk. It doesn't rely on genre conventions but embraces them while taking it forward.

Mama is my first horror film on the big screen, discounting Pizza and the awful Charulatha. At the cost of sounding boastful, I must say horror movies don't easily scare me. I even criticized Pizza for falling flat when it came to scares, scares which largely worked on most of the people I discussed the film with. Despite knowing how well films of this genre open at American box-office, I was unsure if they were actually effective when, in spite of the great sound, one is surrounded by hordes of people. My Mama experience has left me with mixed thoughts.

Because watching the trailer beforehand marginally diminished the film's impact, I will refrain from going into the story and try to be vaguer than I usually am. After being rescued from the cabin in the woods, the girls take a long time to get used to civilization. The older one is closer to society, but the little one appears to have been scarred beyond recovery. Their uncle Jaime Lannister and his girlfriend, played by a delicious looking Goth Jessica Chastain, devote their time to rebuild the girls' life. Mama has a decent story and is a generally well made horror film which avoids the genre's cliches. It doesn't go for cheap thrills and never ceases to be interesting. It is also supported by strong crafts. Yet, ultimately, it doesn't deliver on the scares even as much as I would have liked it to. So, again, like with Pizza, I think I should be recommending this film nevertheless.

The back-story about this particular person who the kids refer to as 'Mama' presents itself to the many lead characters in the form of dreams (nightmares, actually). It makes sense that characters take their time before realizing that they are in a horror movie where weird things can happen. But everything is pretty apparent to the viewers who know what they have got their selves into. So once the revelations stop being revelatory, it is up to them to go all out on the scares. I honestly don't know how films belonging to this genre work. I am just telling you what could have made this far more interesting for me.

On more than one occasion, we are made to believe everything we witness in a static frame is normal, and then, by the introduction of newer information, we suddenly understand that things are not okay. It is of the more interesting devices the film uses, and to great effect. Sometimes, the joke is on us; rest of the times on Chastain, who happens to be our only connection to this story where strange things can happen.

In our movies, we don't like to see good people get hurt. From the little horror I am accustomed with, I understand the world works in such a way that people get hurt/die when they are not particularly affable or are a little too curious. This rule holds true in Mama, where generally everyone is good in their own way and make their own share of sacrifices to look after the girls' betterment. But in order to have some sort of catharsis, we have a circumstantial antagonist in the form of the girls' grandmother who is out to secure their custody from their uncle. So even though she's not a bad person, people were very pleased to see her come in harm's way because she is placed relatively low on the goodness scale.

I saw it in a theater which boasted fancy Dolby Atmos sound system and I am still not convinced these films work better on the big screen. I think Mama is definitely a film worth checking out. I leave it up to you to decide how you want to watch this film.

A man kills his business partners, his estranged wife and takes away his two daughters. His car crashes and he lands at a forest cabin house. 5 years later his daughters Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nellise) are rescued from the forest. Their uncle Lucas (Nikolj Coster Waldau) along with his girlfriend Annabel(Jessica Chastain) begin to start a new life as guardian parents to both the children but there is someone else in the house amongst them that has followed the girls from the forest.

Director Andres Muschietti had made a short film by the same name. Guillermo Del Toro took a liking for the short and Andres got to make a full fledged film out of it.

Mama is definitely a good watch but in terms of story offers nothing new and that is where it disappoints. It could have worked as a short but as a full length film it needed a better story. Andres makes up for the lack of good story by creating terrific visual atmosphere and the sound design compliments it perfectly.

Having seen Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty just a few days back this role looked like nursery school act by her.

Word of mouth - Mama can only be enjoyed on the big screen. Watching it on the laptop/TV will turn out to be just another horror film experience.

Rating - *** (Above Average)

Ticket Meter - worth 200 bucks

Mama's strength lies in its atmosphere and for the first hour or so; the movie holds a spell over you thanks to some creepy visuals and background score that hits all the right notes. There is ever-present sense of dread that drips from every frame like cold sweat and till the movie's biggest reveal turns the monster in the shadows into a C.G.I. abomination it's one of the best horror movies I've seen in the past year. The last thirty odd minutes however are a huge letdown and it clearly shows that the makers had no idea what to do with the brilliant setup they have concocted.

The movie starts off with a man whisking away two little girls to a cabin in the woods to kill them. Turns out it's their father, who after the financial ruin he's faced wishes not to live his life anymore. Just as the father is ready to pull the trigger, he's attacked and killed by a mysterious creature but the girls for some reason are spared. Many years later, the cabin is found and the girls too, though on account of having to live by themselves for many years in the wild has turned them into feral beasts of some kind. The older of the two, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) still manages to speak and understand English but the younger one, Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse) has no comprehensible means of communication. The girls are placed in the protective custody of their uncle, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain). The last thing on Annabel's mind is raising children and after a series of rough starts, things start turning around at least for Victoria and her. The young Lilly still doesn't warm up to Annabel and keeps referring to an entity known as mama who Annabel will soon enough realize has made her presence known in their new house too. The movie then races to uncover the truth behind the matter of this mysterious being that the girls keep seeing everywhere.

It's easy to get lost in the simplicity yet creepy atmosphere of the setup; the stillness of the camera in certain scenes manages to make the hair on the back of your neck stand with all the static and anticipation it builds. To see movement which you can't fully comprehend much like an arachnid moving quickly only adds to that creepy factor. Even the initial mystery surrounding the creature referred to as 'Mama' keeps you reeled in. However once the cat is out of the bag, the movie starts to break down, sputtering to the finish line.

Guillermo Del Toro executive produces the movie built from a short film made by Andres Muschietti who's also the director here. His approach yields a horror movie that is miles ahead of the competition in the first hour or so but deserves a far better wrap up than the one it gets.