Review of Mama (2013) by Kathleen H — 19 Oct 2013

I passed Mama off as another "horror" movie for plenty of reasons. But HBO got it, so I decided to give it a go. And wow...Mama is one of the better horror movies in the last few years. Mama follows two girls who are reunited with their uncle after being stranded in the woods in a run down cabin.

However, when the girls come home, someone or something comes with them. Leave it to Guillermo del Toro to help bring faith back to the horror genre. This film boasts a PG-13 rating, so the "horror" part doesn't come from buckets of blood or "imaginative" mutilations.

It comes from psychological scares and slow, methodical scenes and camera movements. And it's very effective. Yes, the film has typical spurts of a horror movie, but it plays them effectively. And for once, without spoiling, the ending doesn't take the safe route.

The actors do a swell job, especially the little girls, and there isn't too much cheese. Overall, Mama is a pretty swell horror movie that takes the genre back to basics.