Mama [2013]

It’s a day since I watched Mama in the cinema. I’ve had some time to think about it.

Initially when I walked out of the cinema — I thought I had just watched less a ghost story as an almost perfectly put together dark fairytale. In the time to think about it, some other things have come to mind…

When I go to see horror movies these days — often the cinema is filled with giggling women and sometimes, rowdy men. It has been quite a long time since I watched a film in the cinema that silenced the gigglers. Maybe not since ‘Wolf Creek’. I am unsure. I think in part it has to do with whatever genius put together the run order of the trailers we got to watch before Mama.

The two I remember were ‘Dark Skies’ and ‘The Conjuring’. A scare happened during the trailer for ‘The Conjuring’ that shut up the gigglers mid-giggle. It began again, albeit, a bit quiet. ‘Mama’ started soon after. Very shortly after ‘Mama’ began — all giggling, all noise stopped.

From the trailers I had watched, I thought I was just going to see another supernatural-ghost story. Like ‘Insidious’ and all the rest of this current wave. As I mentioned, I found myself watching a dark fairytale. Dark, very dark and fairytale in the classical sense. The old sense. Back when sisters cut pieces of their feet off to fit into slippers.

I have had a day to think about it and the Feminism and the Folklore it invoked. And I can categorically say, with some thought, it is one of the single bleakest films I have ever watched.

It harkens back to a time before electric lights, before the white christ. When death was unknown. When it was not a case of thinking you could succeed against the darkness. It was a terrified sign you made against your chest and the air, in the hope you never met the darkness. Out there, in the forest and whatever lay beyond death.

I have thought for some time the people behind ‘Insidious’ were honing and refining their ghost story movies, developing formula to get to the point where they will make the almost perfect supernatural movie. Mama is coming close to that.

A lot happens — quite quickly, people miss things and it is only after in discussion do you realise what they have managed to put out. As you piece together the larger story you were shown; what is revealed is an immensely deep and terribly bleak film and if you allow for the suspension of disbelief horror needs and or you just believe, immediately terrifying. That is, If the silence in the cinema is anything to go by.

Ignore the “film journalists” that don’t like horror or can’t approach anything fresh.

Go watch it in the cinema — the sound system makes the difference.

Originally published at 16/04/2013