Review of Mama (2013) by Don S — 04 Jun 2017

First a disclaimer: PG-13 horror movies are the bane of the genre in my opinion. They must be tamer than I like them in order to meet the rating. Most of them are a waste of film to me. You could feel that aspect hampering the action here.

These girls were nearly feral, yet we really didn't get to see any of that. What we get is jump scares (that don't scare me), spirits who move freakishly, and some smoke effects. Be still my heart.

This supernatural tale of an anguished mother is none too original, and aside from a powerful performance by Jessica Chastain, I really would have trashed the whole thing. Her Annabel surprised me in truly caring for these children who are not kin to her, and fighting their "spirit" mama tooth and nail.

I didn't much care for the ending either, but I'll give it a passing rating solely for Chastain.