Mama is able to accomplish two things that are rare among contemporary horror films; provide a few genuinely scary moments and put forth a talented cast. Yes, even the child actors are convincing in this sometimes absorbing, but equally confusing film from first time director Andres Muschietti. The titular character is discovered early on, as a distraught father, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), murders his wife and business associates and then takes his children, five year old Victoria, and one year old Lily, with him. After crashing as a result of icy road conditions, Jeffrey and the girls walk through the woods until they stumble upon a deserted cabin. Jeffrey intends on killing himself and the children, but a malevolent spirit, Mama, intervenes and kills him instead.
Flash forward five years when Jeffrey's twin brother, Lucas (also portrayed by Waldau), is still searching for his brother and the girls. A search party finally locates the car, the cabin and the girls, who appear to be healthy, but behave more like animals than humans. Jeffrey and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), place the children under the care of a psychiatrist, Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash), and plan to seek custody, much to the dismay of the children's wealthy aunt Jean (Jane Moffat). Soon after the girls move in with Lucas and Annabel, strange things begin to occur, as Mama, who apparently took care of the girls while they were at the cabin, has accompanied the youngsters to their new home. As a result, Lucas is quickly attacked and hospitalized, leaving a reluctant Annabel to care for Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nélisse). While Victoria appears willing to open up to Annabel and let Mama go, Lily is not, perhaps because Mama is the only mother she has really known.
As Annabel grows closer to the girls, Mama becomes jealous and invades her dreams, which tell her sad and gruesome tale. Mama's aggressive behavior towards Annabel continues to unfold and she eventually reveals herself, much to the horror of the young woman. Meanwhile, Lucas is slowly recovering and is having strange dreams of his own, Dr. Dreyfuss is beginning to unravel Mama's backstory, and Jean suspects that the girls may be suffering physical abuse, which prompts an unexpected and unfortunate visit. All of the aforementioned events serve to set up the final act.
The screenplay, by Neil Cross, Andres Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, is interesting, suspenseful and features a healthy dose of humor to offset the horror. However, some things do not make sense. First of all, what role do moths play in Mama's existence? The clearly are important because they are shown in abundance when she is around, but there is explanation as to why. In addition, why did Mama not injure Annabel like she did Lucas? That would have allowed her to take the girls back much sooner. Furthermore, how can Mama be in two places at once, such as at the cabin and at the house? Does she have a twin sister? Also, how does she know to be at the cabin when it is located by other characters? Those questions, and a few more, bothered me because the story is interesting and the performances are equally good and I wanted everything to come together in a coherent way.
Andres Muschietti is on to something good here, but there are many unanswered questions and holes in the story that become distracting. I am all for suspending disbelief during horror movies, but Mama stretched the limits of my patience. Of course, the ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel, which may help to clear a few things up. In any event, Mama is a solid attempt at a modern day horror film and fans of the genre will want to see this one, although they should be aware of its shortcomings.
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