Written by / 1/22/2013 / No comments / , ,

MAMA

year: 2013 cast: Jessica Chastain, Megan Carpenter, Daniel Kash rating: **1/2
Over a decade ago, when they re-released THE EXORCIST in theaters, adding a deleted scene where Linda Blair’s possessed Regan walks upside down on all fours – referred to thereafter as the “Spider Crawl” – it was both chilling and nightmarish. So here’s to a new generation of Spider Babies, two of them reared in the woods by a mysterious wraith known as MAMA and then adopted by their city slicker uncle and aunt to be raised domestically… Good luck!

Uncle doesn’t matter since he’s given a break halfway through – as he recovers in the local hospital, Jessica Chastain’s grungy rocker Annabel stays at a big house to watch over the two wild children; Victoria and her younger sister Lilly: both a cross between literary wolf-raised kids and the kind of possessed brats popular in horror films.  

The stipulation from an investigative Doctor Dreyfuss (sort of a medical version of the Exorcist himself) is that the only way the couple could adopt the children would be to stay at this particular cursed dwelling. And like all “haunted house” movies, you have to stretch disbelief to the limit as to why anyone would stick around such a formidably spooky pad, especially when Mama, a stretched-out demonic witch seemingly born from gangely vegetation, keeps appearing with enough vengeful shrieks and moans to wake a thousand dead souls.

The shock value works well on two important levels: The setting is ominous, giving the impression anything can happen at any time – and there’s an abundance of successfully spooky jolts that occur out of nowhere, several having the title character rushing toward the screen in an ominous whoosh! 

The director (and producer) knows how to manipulate nightmare images, but towards the middle and end are too many computer effects. Plus, the suburban house location is much scarier than the woodsy cabin where the story begins and that several characters sporadically return to. 

What’s better off implied becomes much too visible: That being Mama, who can be pretty darn scary, sure, but those two little girls crawling around during the first twenty minutes provide just as many, if not more, chills to the old spine. 
Share This Post :
Tags : , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: ** Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act wher...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "The Love Generation... Vicious little creeps!" Peter Strauss, Rich Man Poor Man

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE