New To Blu: Mama
In the case of Mama, most of this still holds true.The general idea of the story is unique but it's ruined by passionless acting and a director that hasn't had an original thought since he made the 2008 short version of the same film. While the film is dark and dirty and slightly unnerving at times, it only offers a few cheap scares and some terribly rendered visuals. Ultimately, Mama is not the twisted horror movie you were expecting.
Not only is this an underwhelming feature, but Jessica Chastain seems completely out of place. Her performance is wooden and completely void of the essential elements that made her one of today's biggest stars. She obviously doesn't take the horror genre seriously. The words fall out of her mouth with absolutely no effect as she bounces from scene to scene with absolute certainty that she does not belong in this movie. The child stars are equally as annoying. They're untrained and have no business starring in a major motion picture.
Mama is another case of a cool idea being manipulated into a ninety minute feature that lacks the substance needed for a great horror film. While I think the director had a fresh idea, it seems like Mama suffered at the hands of a toiling studio that didn't want a visionary tale but more so another typical Hollywood genre piece with a PG-13 rating. If you really want to see this movie, I say go ahead. But, you'll be slightly disappointed at the glaring retreads and overall bad acting. Take a chance but don't say I didn't tell you so.
-CG