Guillermo Del Toro has a good sense of what makes a scary movie. Via his role as producer, he has brought us THE ORPHANAGE, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, and SPLICE. Next to add to that list is MAMA, from director Andy Muschietti.
At first watching the trailer, I recognized Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (GAME OF THRONES) even through his scraggly beard. But, it took me almost to the very end to realize that the hot chick was actually Jessica Chastain. Without her trademark red hair, I almost didn’t recognize her.
The story for MAMA starts out like a creepy feral kid movie and reminded me of a cross between Lucky McKee’s THE WOMAN and the creepy kid movie ORPHAN. But, as the trailer progressed, I realized there may be more supernatural elements to this story.
Plot: Guillermo del Toro presents Mama, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night.
Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home.
As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.
While this may not be the next horror masterpiece, it does look like a fun movie with the possibility of a nice twist ending. And when January 18th rolls around, this could be a nice way to get out of the cold and into a theater.