Mama

Mama

Starring Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nelisse

Directed by Andres Muschietti

A man brutally kills his wife and takes his children to an abandoned cabin in the woods, where he is subsequently killed by an evil spirit.  The children - Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse) - grow up with this spirit for years before they're discovered and brought back to society.  Years of isolation have turned them into feral creatures, and it's up to their father's brother Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his rocker girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) to bring them back to modern society.  It's not as easy as it seems, because it appears that the children were not the only ones brought back from the cabin.

Taken as a "once upon a time" tale, the film suspends the issues of reality, especially the ending.  Throughout there's the typical "jump scares" and tense moments, but overall this seems just like a generic copy of several other horror films of the same style.  The almost unrecognizable Jessica Chastain's talents are completely wasted on this film, coming from two Oscar-nominated performances.  Even she doesn't seem to be in it, or it could be her character.  Nevertheless, her performance seems forced and surprisingly unimportant to the overall point of the film.

The ending is something that's slightly different than the normal, but it was done in such an unintentionally humorous way it takes away from the dramatic effect.  A good film to see when you're bored, but don't expect any miracles with this one.

My Rating: B