A spine-chilling horror to behold, Mama (2013) is based on the 2008 short film of the same title. The supernatural horror film is filled with ghoulish events. Mama has a seemingly perfect opening with two little girls – Victoria (three) and Lilly (one) ending up alone in an abandoned cabin where they were found after five years but a lot has changed about them. Award-winning Julliard alum Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau lead the cast while the title character has an interesting mix of stars playing it.
Mama is Andy Muschietti‘s directorial debut and he made a statement with it. The 2008 short version caught the attention of the legendary master of horror, Guillermo del Toro who keyed into the feature film as the executive producer. Released early in 2013, Mama was a box office success but the reviews were not fantastic.
What Is Mama (2013) About?
Sticking to the original story, Mama revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Victoria and her little sister Lilly. A quick recap shows how the 2008 financial crisis hit stockbroker Jeffrey Desange (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) so hard that he murdered his colleagues and his estranged wife, taking his daughters (Victoria and Lilly) to an unknown destination with the intention of killing them and taking his own life. The trio survives a car crash and a determined Desange takes the girls to an abandoned cabin to carry out his evil plan of ending his generation. However, a shadowy figure kills him before he shoots Victoria.
All attempts by Desange’s identical brother – Lucas “Luke” Desange (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend – Annabel “Annie” (Jessica Chastain) to find the girls proved futile until five years later. Now eight and six years old, Victoria and Lily were found in the cabin alive. Unfortunately, the many years of isolation left them in a feral state. While trying to nurse the girls back to normal, a mysterious shape-shifting ghost called “Mama” (Javier Botet) emerges.
To unravel the mystery, the story of Edith Brennan unfolds. Brennan, who died in the 1800s, was a patient at the mental asylum whose child was taken away. She escaped the asylum with her child but drowned in a fatal attempt to jump off a cliff. Meanwhile, her baby’s corpse hung on a tree branch and was never reunited with the mother. While roaming the woods in search of her child, Brennan’s ghost found Victoria and Lily and took them in as substitutes for her lost child. Annabel sets out to reunite “Mama” with her child to set the girls free.
Cast and Character Analysis
Mama has been praised for its appealing cast ensemble who embody their characters wholly. Game of Thrones alum, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau played identical twins Lucas “Luke” Desange and Jeffrey Desange while academy award-winning Jessica Chastain played his girlfriend Annabel “Annie.” Three-year-old Victoria Desange was played by Morgan McGarry while Maya and Sierra Dawe played little Lily Desange. Megan Charpentier (Victoria) and Isabelle Nélisse (Lili) took over when the girls grew older.
The most interesting character – Mama was played by Javier Botet who is known for his perfect depictions of horrifying creature roles. However, Mama’s voice was done by Laura Guiteras and Melina Matthews while Hannah Cheesman portrayed Beautiful Mama / Edith Brennan. Other cast members include Jane Moffat as Jean Podolski, David Fox as Burnsie, and Julia Chantrey as Nina.
Reception and Impact of Mama on the Horror Genre
Horror fans received Mama with mostly positive reviews, particularly lauding the cast performance. However, the film was panned for having those clichés that are often seen in horror movies. On the other hand, Mama got mixed reviews from critics with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 63% approval rating based on 166 reviews. Metacritic weighed in with an average score of 57 out of 100 from 35 critics reviews. Overall, the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “If you’re into old school scares over cheap gore, you’ll be able to get over Mama’s confusing script and contrived plot devices.” Regardless, Andrés Muschietti was praised for taking a bold step with his first directorial offering.
Mama Recovered Its Production Budget At The Box Office
Despite the mixed reviews, Mama was a commercial success. Initially scheduled for release in October 2012, Mama was officially released in the United States on January 18, 2013, as a strategy to avoid competition with Paranormal Activity 4. The strategy worked as the film raked in $28,402,310 on its opening weekend. It also debuted at #1, showing at 2,647 theaters. Mama grossed $148.1 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million.
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