Mama

[skizzerflake]

Surprisingly, this was my wife's choice. She hates horror movies. Having seen countless thousands of them, I'm pretty resistant to all the tricks, but I'm always game. Mama is a sort of reverse haunting movie. Two young girls are taken to a remote, northwoods cabin by their father, who has murdered their mother. He's swept away by in unseen force. Five years later, the feral girls are still alive and discovered, taken to their uncle, who now has custody over these challenging sisters.

Unknown to them SOMETHING else came back with the girls. The uncle's wife, a rock chick bass player with an attitude, finds herself a part time mom to two very strange kids that are extremely creepy themselves (they scamper around like methed-up lizards). In this case, instead of the house being haunted, the haunting follows the girls to their new house. Things bump in the night (the day too), things move in your peripheral vision, and this is a dangerous spirit.

Anyway, is it any good? I'd give it a qualified yes. The story is played out without horror movie stupidity, no humor or irony, just good old spooky tension. The spook owes a little too much to Tim Burton for me (at least Tim Burton trying to be serious) and some parts, especially the climax, seem overwrought. Jessica Chastain is the tatoo-ed rock-chick and is believable as she find herself yanked straight from bass lines and distortion pedals to fighting for her life and trying to wrest the girls from the spook. It's not a bad date night screamer.

[Seize]

Thanks for the review. In general, I've pretty much been a fan of Guillermo Del Toro's work. Judging by your review, this sounds like a flick I would enjoy as well.

[picture_shooter]

I hear this was a good film for the horror movie go'ers.

I plan to check it out once it hits bluray