Review of Mama (2013) by Serenity S — 11 Jul 2013

One of the highlights of any of Guillermo del Toro's works is always his monster designs. None of them disappoint, and it always gives me a better appreciation for CGI. As for the story, it's your stereotypical ghost movie, only with more variation.

Thank God, there is no silly priest who is dragged into this which is done with most ghost movies. However, there is a more logical approach with including psychology into the mix of the horror. The beginning is slightly different from many ghost/possession movies.

It starts with a prologue where we see the monster for the first time and do not know what it is. I give the film kudos for the ending, although I will not spoil it here for anyone who hasn't watched this film yet.

I had a few issues here and there which were the cliché elements found in a horror film, ex: jump scares, instrumental build ups just to lead to things being not scary, the monster appearing in the corner, as a silo wet in the distance, or behind someone just to disappear when they turn around.

Those made the scares and suspense all the more predictable, thus making the film not as frightening. Most of the horror goes into the design of "Mama" and the incivility of these girls who continue to be plagued or follow this creature they call "Mama".

While most ghost stories have the characters dive into the research 85% of the film while the rest is the scare techniques I listed earlier, the film pays more attention to how the adult leads are trying to help civilize these girls, and try to break them free from this presence called Mama.

As I said before, most of the horror comes from visuals. I recommend this film for those who are into a more supernatural genre of horror, and who are fans of Guillermo del Toro's works.