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| Release: 2013, Rating: PG-13, Runtime: 100 min. |
I was really looking forward to checking out Mama, as I missed out on the theatrical run. So, when I managed to get my hands on it last night, I was excited to pop it in and be scared. However, once the end credits came around, I was left with a longing of what could’ve been better and an awful bad taste in my mouth, from that terrible ending…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years…. but how alone were they?
After a jarring and incomprehensible opening, two kids are left alone in a cabin in the woods. The only company, is a ghost that the two kids call Mama. The uncle to the kids, eventually finds them after a few years and brings them into his home, with his girlfriend, a goth chick, who is against the idea of having children. The older kid seems to be adjusting well to the change, but the younger is having a much harder time. Thankfully, Mama has tagged along and is more than happy to entertain the two and stop anyone who comes between her and her “kids”.
Mama was an interesting concept, but executed poorly. We spend a majority of the film hearing spooky sounds and flashes of this so called ghost, but eventually, when we do get to see her, it’s a poor work of CGI, best left on the cutting room floor.
The kids weren’t the only thing lost in the woods, as the plot seems to still be out there, wandering around looking for it’s mama. The idea is simple, kids bring ghost with them and haunt the shit out of a couple in a house. That’s it, that’s all they needed to do. Instead, we get strange nightmares, that haphazardly move the plot along, a main character disappearing for a major portion of the film, random scenes of staring down hallways, with CGI crawling kids wandering all over the place, glimpses of a poor ghost and an ending that doesn’t make a lick of sense (the couple will have a ton of explaining to do to the cops, that’s for sure). The movie is all over the place and it doesn’t recovery itself by the time that piss poor ending rolls around.
Did I actually like anything you may be asking. Well, there were a few times I got spooked, but that’s mainly contributed to the much despised jump scare. Still, they did manage to get me a few times, but I can’t really say that counts as me liking something from the movie, as I really hate the cheap jump scare. Honestly, I was fairly bored throughout the whole thing and I really just wanted to see the main goth chick get consumed by this ghost, as she was such an unlikeable character. She came off as self-centered and really mean to these children, who have experienced a traumatic childhood. I say, enough “me, me” and more grow the hell up!
I unfortunately can’t recommend Mama, as it reeks of being a confused and boring mess. As this is my opinion, you could have a completely different take on this movie and love it, but as for my “professional” opinion? I think you would be better off taking Mama out to the woods and leaving it there to fend for itself.
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