Director: Andres Muschietti
Writer: Andres Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Neil Cross (Screenplay) Andres Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti (Story)
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nelisse, Daniel Kash, Jane Moffat, Javier Botet,
Plot: When Lucas’s (Coster-Waldau) brother goes on the run with his children they go missing. Five years later Lucas still not giving up hope has people looking for his nieces and they find them in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. Lucas and his girlfriend Anabel (Chastain) take the two children in Victoria (Charpentier) and Lilly (Nelisse). Along with Dr Dreyfuss (Kash) try to bring the children back to the normal world, but something has come back from the woods with the girls.
Verdict: A horror that will keep the jumps coming
Story: We have had a lot of films where a ghost is haunting somebody because of losing something in their life. This continues the trend with the idea of a ghostly protector of two innocent young girls. It started from a short film with same name and grew into a feature film which still continues to create mystery that needs solving. The story doesn’t offer to much truly original but gives enough to make us want to know the truth. (7/10)
Actor Review: Jessica Chastain – Girlfriend on Uncle Lucas who doesn’t want kids and wants to continue in the band she is a part of. Grows to fight for the girl’s safety as the story unfolds. Jessica is one of the best actresses in Hollywood today and take a step out of the award winning type films is brave, she is almost unrecognisable to anything we have seen from her before and shines throughout the film. Star Performance Award, Babe Watch Award (9/10)
Actor Review: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Plays both the brothers one bad and the other good, wants to look after what is left of his family. Is very unlucky in the film spends most of the film either in a coma or investigating on his own, leaving Nikolaj very little time to show his acting ability. After the film’s success it shows that this could be his breakout role after a good run in Game Of Thrones. Unluckiest Character Award, Breakout Performance Award, Lesley Stud Muffin Award (6/10)
Actor Review: Megan Charpentier – Older of the two girls and the only one who had any idea of communication skill. Turns out she tries to lead Lilly but finds it hard to let go of the Mama figure. Good performance from young actress showing enough fear and emotion throughout. (8/10)
Actor Review: Isabelle Neilisse – Is the young sister Lilly who has created an incredibly close bound with Mama as she is the only adult figure she knows from her life. The young actress does a great job using her expression to tell more than her words. (9/10)
Actor Review: Daniel Kash – The doctor who tries to uncover the truth about the mysterious Mama figure. Tries to act scared but also showing enough calm to try and protect the family. (6/10)
Director Review: Andres Muschietti – Expanding his short film very well to create plenty of jumps as well as a good emotional storyline. (9/10)
Horror: Good jumps throughout with great music effects to make them more impactful. (9/10)
Thriller: Most of the jumps are more sudden it would be nice to have had a bit more suspense to the jumps. (7/10)
Special Effects: The Mama figure is created with some great CGI and creates a very creepy role. (9/10)
Believability: If you believe in the idea of ghosts this could be seen as believable. (3/10)
Chances of Tears: A small chance at the end (2/10)
Settings: Fails to create a true isolation feeling which would have made the film even scarier. (7/10)
Oscar Chances: None
Chances of Sequel: maybe it made good money so could work out some back story to Mama or even answer a few question you might have at the end.
Suggestion: I would suggest to horror fans especially the ones who like a good jump scare. It may also appeal to the mystery film fans as we have to see how a mystery needs to be solved to stop the goings on. Anyone else may not find this their cup of tea. (Try it)
Best Part: Mama creation is very creepy before you see whole creation.
Worst Part: Lacks complete back story motives of Mama
Overall: A good horror with jumps and mystery
Lesley’s Rating 85%
Rating 77%
