Mama

            Well, I haven't gotten to see the Jessica Chastain movie I wanted to see just yet, but I did see her other current release.

            On to the review!

            Do you love your family?  Are you devoted to them?  If not, might I suggest a babysitter?  Mama offers a very clever alternative if you don't trust flesh-and-blood people to watch your children.  Just lead your them out to an abandoned, haunted area of the woods and a crazed spirit will raise your children as its own!

(Warning: may cause loss of social skills and/or horrible death.)

            Originally a short video, Guillermo del Toro liked Mama so much that he helped it become a full-fledged film.  Now 100 minutes long, it follows the horrific experiences of two girls led into the woods by their father after the market crash of 2008.  After something...unfortunate...happens to him, his children spend the next several years being raised by something they call 'Mama.' 

            Having never given up hope, the girls' Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) continues to pay two men to search the last known whereabouts of his kin.  It finally pays off, but the girls have gone nearly feral.  The oldest, Victoria (Megan Charpentier), regains her social skills relatively quickly.  But since the younger girl, Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), was a baby when she was abandoned, she never quite learns how to be anything other than a wild child.   Literally.

            To complicate matters, Lucas' girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) isn't exactly ready to settle down and raise a family.

            Oh yeah.  Also complicating matters is that Mama does not appreciate having 'her' children taken away.

            The best parts of Mama play with imagery.  Much like Sinister, sounds and half-seen events are the most unnerving parts of the film. 

            Unlike Sinister, the 'creature' is eventually given too much screen time.  While Mama never stops being creepy and disturbing in appearance, some of the scare wears off the more you see it. 

            Additionally, the movie does suffer from a final act that appears to be everything you expect it to be and becomes a bit too predictable.  It does salvage some respect with an unexpected ending, but by then I was already a bit bummed out by the final 30 minutes.

            Final verdict?  Much better than I could have hoped for, especially considering this means I like the first two January films I've seen!  So go see Mama if you love horror and/or hate children.