Movie Review: Mama

I'm longing to watch some good horror movies. There are no other movie that made me shiver like Alone or made me feels like being followed and watched like Ju On. I am particularly not a big fan of Hollywood's horror movies. They always overdid it. Especially the ghosts, too made-up, too clear to be ghosts, and simply funny. It's better to watch horror movie which is not a horror movie, such as Dracula, or Interview with A Vampire, or maybe Cabin in The Woods. Hollywood's horror movies got their own style, and I really think that they shouldn't followed Asian horror movies or making remakes. The remakes are always turned to be awfully to watch. Nevermind, that was just my unpopular opinion.

Mama was a good movie. The story line is good enough, but too ordinary, since many horror movies used that kind of plot too. Say like Paranormal Activity, telling the girls who made friends with a powerful-holding-grudges-ghosts. And the ghosts are always gets jealous then turn out to kill everyone around the little girls. Though this time, it's slightly different since the ghost is or was a mother, who lost her child and took somebody's children and take care of them through her ghost form. This kind of story, I can found several in Supernatural. Then the good people helped her to get what she's lost, but turns out that she held more grudges so she still can't rest in peace and took a life of the innocent instead. Classic, typical of Asian horror story.

What makes this movie different is, the step mother (Jessica Chastain in this case). This stepmother (or step-auntie) was one of a kind. She really cares for the children, she loves them. And both of the girls to have an unconditional love for her. What makes her unique is the image of a bass-player in a rock band. No one can imagine that a bass-player could love that much, since it feels like all people in the world judged the rock band player was a faithful worshiper of satan. Too bad they didn't explore much from this character. Same goes  with Luke. He seems like a loving uncle for me, but that's the only thing I can get from the movie. It feels like Luke was useless. He can't really do anything and not really matter whether he existed or not in the movie. The movie maker should just use one character for the guardian of the girls, so the story can be focused on that one character instead of two.

About the ending. I really think that Victoria got her own ego. She finally get a family, a normal family with a real mama. So she choose to stay instead of joining her sister with their dead-mama. She can choose to go with Lilly, but she turns her back on them and get to Annabelle's hug. I know how Annabelle pull Victoria, but I really think that it was the matter of choice. Her little sister, Lilly, loves Annie as much as her sister does or maybe more. So she chose to sacrificing herself to get Annie, Luke, and Victoria saved for she knew that "mama" will kill them if she didn't get Victoria or Lilly. But again, that was only what I think. Maybe Lilly really loves her mama. And maybe Victoria is just couldn't let go her new-normal life. And maybe, if Annie could pull both of them, both Victoria and Lilly can be saved.

The girls are, well like the other girls. Aside from their disturbing acts such as sleeping on the floor or eating the butterflies. They are just like the normal girls. But Lilly is so weirdly-cute. "Drom de Dtairs" are so cute. But again, the movie maker too didn't explore their characters that much. They are the center of the story though. Yet, no story enough to explain how they spent the 5 years in that cabin. Put that annoying pictures aside, what I demanded was a flashback, from the girls mind, just like how they did with "mama" and her dream.

Anyhow, if they add that disturbing voice of mama I really think that the movie is gonna be real scary. Plus they should cover the face of the ghost. It really scare at first when she only showed her hands and her broken body. But the face took so much CGI works that it looks unreal. But overall the movie was interesting enough to watch, even with a 100 minutes, which I feel really short. Plus, did you know that mama was played by a guy? Yes, that explain the voice and the long body, though I doubt you can really see his face.

Here's the imdb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2023587/

P.S: I watched Les Miserables and Hansel Gretel like two weeks ago but I barely have time to review them. And I guess there are so many reviews already about both of the movie so I won't review them! :))

R.B