By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I had heard so many positive reviews of this movie that I almost rented it from Amazon for $15.00 a few days ago. My husband talked me into waiting and I’m glad he did. It wasn’t that the film was dreadful or unwatchable. It was entertaining enough that I didn’t reach for the remote to shut it off, and it did had some creepy scenes and cool visuals. Unfortunately, I went in with high expectations and was greatly disappointed.
Now to be honest, I hadn’t even seen the trailer before seeing it. When I heard from some of my horror-loving friends that it was great, I read the synopsis on IMDB, and was happy that it wasn’t a found-footage, zombie, or torture film as 90% of horror released falls into at least 1 of those categories. I never went further than reading the plot summary as I typically watch television on my DVR and fast-forward through the commercials, so unless I go to youtube to see a trailer or see it at the cinemas, I typically don’t see them. So by the time I heard about Mama, it was already out of the theater but not yet on DVD. I anxiously awaited its release and really believed it was going to be at least as good as The Woman in Black (2012). I was wrong.
The movie opens with Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) racing down a snowy street with his two young daughters, toddler Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and infant Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse). We learn that Jeff has just had a breakdown and murdered his business partners and the mother of his children. Anxious to escape, he jumps in the car with his girls. Driving recklessly in bad weather, he ends up crashing the car in the middle of nowhere and takes the children to a nearby cabin. It is there that the reality of his situation became apparent to him. He decides there is only one way out and plans to kill the girls and then himself. Crying, he takes the gun out and points it to the head of the toddler. Before he can pull the trigger, he is dragged away and murdered by a dark black entity. This ghost is known as mama and she takes on the role of mothering the children.
Five years later, the girls are found as they somehow miraculously survived in the cabin. Their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) obtains custody much to the chagrin of their rich Aunt Jean (Jane Moffat). Jean is their mother’s sister and obviously has some contempt for Lucas because of what his brother did.
Lucas’s girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) is not enthused about having the children. She’s in a rock and roll band and her band-mate tells her to leave him. She decides to stick around though lacks any maternal instincts. One night as she and Lucas begin to make love she sees a shadowy figure in the doorway. Sure someone is in the house, she convinces Lucas to go and look around. He is confronted by the spirit and is pushed down the stairs. He ends up in a coma and once again Annabel thinks about leaving. After a little debate, the children’s psychiatrist, Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash), convinces her to stay saying that if Jean gets custody Lucas will never be able to see the girls.
What should have been the most interesting plot development ended up nearly ruining the movie. The evolution of Chastain’s character should have been the driving force of the entire production. Her growing affection for the girls could have been so compelling. Sadly, it isn’t delved into at all. There are two unfortunate reasons for this. First, I really think that Jessica Chastain was wrong for this part and didn’t grasp the character’s motivation. This is the first film I’ve seen her in and her performance was awful. I am not judging her as an actress by this one portrayal. She could be fantastic otherwise, but here it was painful to watch her. There was no emotion and the character was never developed at all. Even something as necessary as fear was not expressed at the appropriate times. When Jeffrey was in the hospital, Annabel looked more annoyed than concerned. In fact, annoyance and irritation were the only emotions she seemed to be able to show. Maybe this was supposed to be because she was a “cool” rock & roll-er. Honestly, even the clothes she wore just tried too hard. She had t-shirts of both The Ramones and The Misfits. Now to be clear, I love both bands; the former much more than the latter. It goes without saying that The Ramones are amazing! Whenever I’m having a bad day at work, I’ll throw Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La) or The KKK Took My Baby Away and my day goes from horrible to awesome.
To see them used as a fashion statement just wreaked of desperation. I get it. She’s in a band so she loves music. I understand that the powers-that-be wanted her to wear something edgy enough for her to be cool but mainstream enough for everyone to know who the musicians were. I was waiting for the Guns N Roses shirt that never came. It was just so lame and obvious! It reminded me of films that have a white guy with dreads smoking pot and wearing a Bob Marley shirt or a southern gentleman in a cowboy hat and a white buttoned down shirt line dancing to country music in a bar. It’s a caricature. It’s just so affected. This may seem nit-picky but it just bothered the hell out of me! Had she gone either completely mainstream and wore The Rolling Stones or The Beatles of if she went completely obscure and wore some underground band, it would have actually seemed more natural and believable.
Now, if that was the only thing wrong with Annabel, I’d let it go but there was so many reasons to be bothered with her. The supporting characters like the psychiatrist and Aunt Jean were actually more interesting and better developed. As the relationship grew between Annabel and Victoria, there should have been moments where the bond had an effect on her, but there was none. There should have been a scene where Victoria was in danger from something that was not paranormal so that Annabel had a situation which made her realize her motherly instincts. It could have been something as simple as Victoria wandering off at the grocery store. Anything to show a level of panic in Annabel prior to the conclusion would have helped. Since, Chastain was either unwilling or incapable of showing any type of motherly affection at least a scene like that would have shown the emotion felt. Instead, we had nothing to go by. The character lacked believability and was not portrayed with any type of respect or integrity. It was an unnatural and often a forced performance. The closest there was to any real feeling was a short scene where a heated Annabel confronted Jean. A hint of anger and contempt was shown, which I thought made for a great moment. It showed insight into who the character was supposed to be.
It became obvious that Annabel was intended to be a strong independent woman who slowly discovers that being a mother doesn’t strip her of her identity or redefine who she is, but instead simply adds another facet to her. That would have been something amazing to see. Had Natalie Portman or Michelle Williams was cast, there is no doubt that this would have been adequately relayed to the audience. Sadly, it is never fully expressed or shown in any real way and is only evident by the immediate negative reaction the character has in the beginning and the blind acceptance at the end. I’m not sure if this is the director’s fault, Chastain’s or a combination of both. Whatever the case, it was a great opportunity lost.
That subplot would have allowed the audience to understand Annabel’s initial response which instead comes across as just selfishness. As these pivotal moments were not included, the character is unlikable and the eventual bond Annabel shares with Victoria seems out of nowhere.
The only reason it is believable on any level is because Charpentier is a wonderful actress. Still, instead of a mutual affection, it is played as though Victoria so desperate for a real mother clings to Annabel instead of the ghost. The surprise is Annabel’s fight that comes out of nowhere. Even then, the performance fails. The emotion that should be present isn’t. Chastain is trying to express pain and fear but she seemingly isn’t able to.
Both children were fantastic in their roles. In this case, the casting was just right. There are times when young actors are not capable of demanding parts and because of it the films are unwatchable. That is not the case here. Charpentier reminds me of a young Dakota Fanning and Nélisse, at such a young age, is brilliant in every scene.
Both children were able to accomplish what many adults are not. They were able to create dual personalities that were both realistic and well-portrayed. They would be creepy as hell in one scene and cute as can be in the next. In the beginning, the characters acted like animals as they were in the cabin for so long and only nurtured by the ghost. Even here they do well. They were far scarier than the ghost ever was.
As for mama, sometimes the CGI worked and sometimes it didn’t. There were times that mama was fashioned to disturb. She would arrive out of nowhere with white eyes and an evil face. She would walk backwards down a wall, float in the air, and appear from nothingness. Other times, it was just bad. There was one scene where she was just a ball of hair or in other scenes moths were overused in an effort to be intelligent and have some sort of symbolism at the end. It didn’t work and was just bad.
The worst part is that there was so much potential here. There were a few odd things done in the film in an attempt to come across as artistic and intelligent. Focus was placed on colors and tints within the movie and significant changes in tone from scene to scene were apparent. It just didn’t work. I know the writer/director, Andrés Muschietti, was also the one who wrote/directed the original short. I have not seen that yet, but I wonder if that was perhaps was part of the problem. In a film short, we typically get nothing more than a glimpse into who the characters. The rest of the time has to be used to tell the story. For something that is just a few minutes long, that makes perfect sense. In a full length movie, it is important to provide a strong plot with developed characters. That was just absent. With the exception of Victoria, none of the characters were sympathetic or tugged at the heartstrings at all.
It almost seemed like the creator didn’t like horror films and that he wanted to do something more sophisticated. The worst thing in the world is when someone makes a horror movie that doesn’t understand the genre. (I’m looking at you Michael Bay!)
In an interview with Examiner.com, Muschietti discussed how the theory of imprinting is what compelled him the most about the story. He stated, “the idea that a baby can look up to someone who is not their mother just as long as she nurtures them was very compelling to me. For these girls, there is something that is not of this world that has imprinted them.” That is a fascinating idea but it isn’t a horror plot. One can build a horror film around that premise but that isn’t what happened here. Instead, creepy scenes were strung together with Annabel being the focus of most of the attacks.
All of that said, I wouldn’t detour people from watching the movies. Even though we had little plot, the main character was awful and the dialogue was forgettable, there was a saving grace. The children did a superb job and there were times when the visuals were stunning.
Now I know that Universal is considering a sequel and Muschietti is against it as he feels that the topic has been exhausted. I disagree. I think if the premise of ghost mom was used again with a stronger plot and a more capable actress, that a decent horror movie could be made. I don’t think the absence of Muschietti would be a bad thing either. Bring in Alexandre Aja! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. He understands horror and does it right!
Scared Stiff Rating: 4/10
