What We're Watching: Mama

Guillermo del Toro's supernatural thriller, "Mama", claimed to be terrifying, leaving viewers unable to sleep at night. After attending a 10:10 PM showing I, very anti-climatically, slept like a baby. So, why the undisturbed slumber?

The introduction of the movie was very interesting and fast paced. The audience is immediately engrossed and the storyline takes no time to get started. The setting, a winter time Richmond, Virginia, is beautifully filmed and adds just the right level of creepiness to the story. The acting in terms of the children, especially the eldest child, is strong. Of course, the ever talented Jessica Chastain shines while also proving her versatility by she taking the screen is a member of a sort of washed-up, underground punk-rock girl band. 

These elements seemingly set the stage for a genuinely interesting and disturbing supernatural thriller somewhat in the vein of 2002's "The Ring". The movie, in my opinion, suffers tragically from a few fatal flaws. First, the ghostly presence of "Mama" is initially sinister and mysterious due in large part to the audience never quite seeing what the "spirit" ,if you will,  looks like. The Hitchcock approach of the brain always inventing a truth more terrifying than reality will almost certainly out perform any computer generated imagery that filmmakers may concoct. However, almost simultaneously with the downward spiral of the film, the spirit of Mama is visually revealed to the audience, thus dashing the mysterious horror and replacing it with a strangely outdated digital image of a very cheesy apparition. 

The next fatal flaw is the refusal to properly address very interesting story lines. Perhaps backstory is not necessary when it comes to the girls and their deceased family members, but the spirit of Mama is only ever mildly characterized. One gets the feeling that a good deal of information on the once living "Mama" exists but is never shared with the audience. Without this information it's very difficult to understand the haunting or to feel any sense of resolution. 

The final flaw is more of a general flaw as specifics would potentially create spoilers. Overall, the movie establishes a few symbols that are never explained or given any meaning. The movie spends much time establishing Mama as a spirit who symbolizes only positive emotional ties with children, hence the moniker "Mama". The conclusion of the film however contradicts this notion, as well as creates much room for debate as to what the movie's meaning (if any) really even is. 

To put it plainly, "Mama" begins as a fast-paced ride that is easy to become interested in. It creates ideas, questions, and expectations that it ultimately negates, refuses to answer, and fails to live up to. In terms of scares, it's the typical knee jerk reactions to jumpy stimuli but as for any real lasting terror, there is none to be found.  The decently strong first half of the movie is met with a lackluster and confusingly disjointed resolution that leaves you wondering what is really going on. 

Overall, I would give this movie a rating of: C-