A Mother's Love If Forever.
Here we go, as promised. Another scary movie for the month of October to celebrate All Hollow's Eve.
Here we go, as promised. Another scary movie for the month of October to celebrate All Hollow's Eve.
MAMA was released this year as a Spanish-Canadian horror film based off of the short film with the same title. Co-Written and directed by Andy Muschietti with Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) as executive producer.
The film is based on two girls who's father, at the beginning of the movie, kills their mother and runs away with the girls. On a snowy road, the father speeds through the mountainside before finally skidding off a ravine and down between two trees. He takes his daughters, one barely old enough to walk, and hunkers down in an old cabin they find along the way. The unstable father, about to kill the oldest daughter, is suddenly snatched up by a spirit of sorts and is killed.
Father of the year prize, right?
Well, Victoria and Lilly's uncle-- their father's brother-- spends years looking for them finally with success. By the time the girls are found however, they are the equivalent to wild animals. Victoria, the oldest, still retained the knowledge of the words she knew when the accident occurred and talks about a woman they call MAMA. Someone who took care of them, fed them, and kept them warm during the winters.
A psychologist who was dealing in the rehabilitation of the girls says that MAMA is a figure the children made up and that Victoria is trying to embody so they could cope with living on their own for so long. What the psychologist doesn't tell the uncle and his rock-band girlfriend is that the true purpose of his study is to actually find out about the woman who is MAMA, believing her to be a true person.
Well, against the girl's mother's sister (their aunt), the uncle fights for custody and eventually wins, letting the psychologist continue to help in their rehabilitation case work. Over a small amount of time you realize that MAMA never left their sides and has traveled to their new home with them. She, it is revealed, is the spirit of whom she was in life with some baggage left behind. Not to mention a pretty big jealousy streak when it comes to anyone else trying to take care of "her" children.
Anyway, Victoria seems to slowly want this normal life while Lilly is still very attached to the spirit of MAMA and prefers her over anyone else.
With an ending that is typical for Guillermo del Toro movies but still as heartbreaking and sentimental as ever, the movie ends.
My review? The movie was amazing.
I do have some issues with it though.
Negative's first okay?
I am never really a fan of movies that give away what the evil, supernatural creature looks like in the beginning. To me it is no fun and takes some of the surprise out of it later when you see the full figure up close.
I think the storyline also progressed very fast. You see the beginning, you see the kids rehabilitated, suddenly it is time to deal with the creature and then it is the end. I think they could have done a lot more when it came to the storyline, but as previously stated, it was based off a short movie so it was probably in their minds not to deter from the idea too much, which is understandable.
Positives?
I think the child actors who played their roles, did an amazing job. It is always nice to see child actors with the talent to act a certain way or have large lines and a good character history instead of sitting around the whole movie not doing anything.
Cudos on not killing the likeable uncle. I mean, this man spends all his own money to find his girls when the cops have given up and no one else will look. It is so nice to see that kind of good-heartedness after witnessing the douche-bag father of the year award go to someone so early.
I fully appreciate the storyline of the rocker girlfriend too who goes from thanking God that she isn't pregnant to fighting for these little girls lives. Not to mention the little girls themselves for, as I mentioned earlier, putting on some amazing roles.
The acting wasn't cheesy, which is always a plus, and the graphics were good, though they did sort of meld with "The Grudge" type of supernatural forces when it came to how the evil creature looked or acted, even moved.
The end was sad, and at the same time the little girl Lilly just makes you smile if you are the type of person to really appreciate the gentle and pure innocent smile and laughter of a young one.
My rating??
I highly recommend the movie for an October marathon of scary movies. The fear factor doesn't lie within the story itself but the moments when you least expect something to pop up or act a certain way and than it does. Nothing really involving gore, sex, or to much blood which is always a plus to me. I don't think there has to be nudity, sex, and guts flying everywhere to make a movie scary. To me it just wishes I didn't eat anything before or while watching it.
So, go out to your local Blockbuster, Wal-Mart or Family Video and rent or buy the movie for yourself. I suggest renting first, because this is obviously just my opinion, but I don't think you will be to disappointed.
The film is based on two girls who's father, at the beginning of the movie, kills their mother and runs away with the girls. On a snowy road, the father speeds through the mountainside before finally skidding off a ravine and down between two trees. He takes his daughters, one barely old enough to walk, and hunkers down in an old cabin they find along the way. The unstable father, about to kill the oldest daughter, is suddenly snatched up by a spirit of sorts and is killed.
Father of the year prize, right?
Well, Victoria and Lilly's uncle-- their father's brother-- spends years looking for them finally with success. By the time the girls are found however, they are the equivalent to wild animals. Victoria, the oldest, still retained the knowledge of the words she knew when the accident occurred and talks about a woman they call MAMA. Someone who took care of them, fed them, and kept them warm during the winters.
A psychologist who was dealing in the rehabilitation of the girls says that MAMA is a figure the children made up and that Victoria is trying to embody so they could cope with living on their own for so long. What the psychologist doesn't tell the uncle and his rock-band girlfriend is that the true purpose of his study is to actually find out about the woman who is MAMA, believing her to be a true person.
Well, against the girl's mother's sister (their aunt), the uncle fights for custody and eventually wins, letting the psychologist continue to help in their rehabilitation case work. Over a small amount of time you realize that MAMA never left their sides and has traveled to their new home with them. She, it is revealed, is the spirit of whom she was in life with some baggage left behind. Not to mention a pretty big jealousy streak when it comes to anyone else trying to take care of "her" children.
Anyway, Victoria seems to slowly want this normal life while Lilly is still very attached to the spirit of MAMA and prefers her over anyone else.
With an ending that is typical for Guillermo del Toro movies but still as heartbreaking and sentimental as ever, the movie ends.
My review? The movie was amazing.
I do have some issues with it though.
Negative's first okay?
I am never really a fan of movies that give away what the evil, supernatural creature looks like in the beginning. To me it is no fun and takes some of the surprise out of it later when you see the full figure up close.
I think the storyline also progressed very fast. You see the beginning, you see the kids rehabilitated, suddenly it is time to deal with the creature and then it is the end. I think they could have done a lot more when it came to the storyline, but as previously stated, it was based off a short movie so it was probably in their minds not to deter from the idea too much, which is understandable.
Positives?
I think the child actors who played their roles, did an amazing job. It is always nice to see child actors with the talent to act a certain way or have large lines and a good character history instead of sitting around the whole movie not doing anything.
Cudos on not killing the likeable uncle. I mean, this man spends all his own money to find his girls when the cops have given up and no one else will look. It is so nice to see that kind of good-heartedness after witnessing the douche-bag father of the year award go to someone so early.
I fully appreciate the storyline of the rocker girlfriend too who goes from thanking God that she isn't pregnant to fighting for these little girls lives. Not to mention the little girls themselves for, as I mentioned earlier, putting on some amazing roles.
The acting wasn't cheesy, which is always a plus, and the graphics were good, though they did sort of meld with "The Grudge" type of supernatural forces when it came to how the evil creature looked or acted, even moved.
The end was sad, and at the same time the little girl Lilly just makes you smile if you are the type of person to really appreciate the gentle and pure innocent smile and laughter of a young one.
My rating??
I highly recommend the movie for an October marathon of scary movies. The fear factor doesn't lie within the story itself but the moments when you least expect something to pop up or act a certain way and than it does. Nothing really involving gore, sex, or to much blood which is always a plus to me. I don't think there has to be nudity, sex, and guts flying everywhere to make a movie scary. To me it just wishes I didn't eat anything before or while watching it.
So, go out to your local Blockbuster, Wal-Mart or Family Video and rent or buy the movie for yourself. I suggest renting first, because this is obviously just my opinion, but I don't think you will be to disappointed.
