Mama

           

        Let’s face it we all enjoy horror movies. We love those moments of putting our hand over our eyes, but still peaking through to see what is going on. Unfortunately when it comes to horror movies they are mostly paint by numbers. As soon as something new and original comes out, it gets copied and reused over and over again. So when you do get those doses of originality and it is somewhat good, we should celebrate it. “Mama” is that movie, a horror movie that is just outside the norm.

      Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nelissa) have not had a good life. Their parents are gone, and they have been left in a cabin in the woods, but someone has been taking care of them. That someone is called Mama, or maybe a better description would be that something is called Mama. Lucky for Victoria and Lily, their uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has never given up looking for them. Once found it takes the girls a little time to adjust to normal life again. Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) take the girls in and try and give them a normal life. Mama though doesn’t want to let the girls go, and continues to watch over them. All the while their doctor is trying to piece together who and what Mama is exactly.

    “Mama” is like a ghost and monster story combined, which only adds to the story. Based on his short from 2008, writer and director Andres Muschietti understands how to instill some fear. Too often horror movies rely on cheap scare tactics, which work sometimes, if only to make you jump, and they can be predictable. “Mama” stays away from those for the most part, Muschietti uses wide camera shots that let things unfold in front of our eyes. Jessica Chastain continues to show that she is good in just about anything she is in. As Annabel, she plays the girlfriend who is reluctant to be called Mama by the girls at first, but comes to love them both. It may not be like her Oscar nominated role in “Zero Dark Thirty”, but she still gives it her all. I wouldn't say that “Mama” is a good movie, but it is a good horror movie. Above all though it is original, and we should support someone who goes against the grain and decides to color outside the lines some times. I like things that are different, so if you like a good scare, check out “Mama”.

 Brian Taylor