The credits are still rolling and I just don't know what to make of this.
A very cool premise. Some great build up, decent character development and some genuine spooks creeping out of the woodwork Lovecraft style. The effects in this one are good.
Perhaps, too good.
As it is with so many horror films lately, the filmmakers here just can't WAIT to show off all their special effects and CGI gizmos. The result is that we're just minutes in and already they're showing their spooks. No subtly, no wondering just what the hell happened to that demented dad, there's Mama herself in nearly full display, and we're practically in the first scene.
To me, Mama is at her scariest when we don't see her at all. She's the thing in the dark beneath the bed and the groaning behind the wall. She's the unseen source of that look of complex horror in the eyes of that tormented little girl. Mama is the thing you go poking about for in the closet, although you don't really want to see her at all.
The problem is that we DO see her. A lot. And yes, yes, Mama cuts a pretty horrific figure, but by the time we're a third of the way through this movie, she's already starting to feel like old hat. Yaaaawn. There's Mama again, slithering through the wall with her weirdly misshapen fingers.
I really like the back story of this one and feel that with a little restraint on the part of the production team, this flick could have been great. It's not great. It's good. It's entertaining, and it's well acted, especially by the two little girls, the youngest of whom displays some of the creepiest, half mad looks of joy at the sight of her mum I've ever seen from an actress of that age. How do you get a four year old to do that, anyway?
The actor forever known as Jamie-from-Game-of-Thrones sure could have used his sword or golden hand in this one. He was just kind of there throughout the movie, although he should have been a central character.
I give the movie credit for going with the unspeakable turn of events at the end instead of forcing another love-conquers-all kind of denouement on us. This flick is definitely worth a watch. If only Mama could stay under wraps a little more, but you know how dead mothers can be.
A very cool premise. Some great build up, decent character development and some genuine spooks creeping out of the woodwork Lovecraft style. The effects in this one are good.
Perhaps, too good.
As it is with so many horror films lately, the filmmakers here just can't WAIT to show off all their special effects and CGI gizmos. The result is that we're just minutes in and already they're showing their spooks. No subtly, no wondering just what the hell happened to that demented dad, there's Mama herself in nearly full display, and we're practically in the first scene.
To me, Mama is at her scariest when we don't see her at all. She's the thing in the dark beneath the bed and the groaning behind the wall. She's the unseen source of that look of complex horror in the eyes of that tormented little girl. Mama is the thing you go poking about for in the closet, although you don't really want to see her at all.
The problem is that we DO see her. A lot. And yes, yes, Mama cuts a pretty horrific figure, but by the time we're a third of the way through this movie, she's already starting to feel like old hat. Yaaaawn. There's Mama again, slithering through the wall with her weirdly misshapen fingers.
I really like the back story of this one and feel that with a little restraint on the part of the production team, this flick could have been great. It's not great. It's good. It's entertaining, and it's well acted, especially by the two little girls, the youngest of whom displays some of the creepiest, half mad looks of joy at the sight of her mum I've ever seen from an actress of that age. How do you get a four year old to do that, anyway?
The actor forever known as Jamie-from-Game-of-Thrones sure could have used his sword or golden hand in this one. He was just kind of there throughout the movie, although he should have been a central character.
I give the movie credit for going with the unspeakable turn of events at the end instead of forcing another love-conquers-all kind of denouement on us. This flick is definitely worth a watch. If only Mama could stay under wraps a little more, but you know how dead mothers can be.