Mama - B-

Rated PG-13, 100 minutes

Creepy thriller “Mama” pushes some familiar buttons

“Mama” is a new horror film that’s nothing new. Creepy and entertaining, it falters somewhat under some narrative problems and an unoriginal script, but the Guillermo Del Toro-produced film provides some nice scares without excessive violence that’s commonplace these days in this genre. Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace when their father, a businessman, gets into some trouble. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids (Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nelisse) are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Directed and co-written by Spanish director Andres Muschietti, produced by Del Toro and based on a 2008 short film by Muschietti, “Mama” provides a handful of intense scares and a genuine sense of creepiness, even if it tends to channel other supernatural thrillers such as “The Others” and “The Ring.” It’s also nice seeing a dark-haired, tattoed yet believable Chastain, barely recognizable at first, play something other than heavy dramas. The film’s initial chapters work best and filled with some nice Del Toroian style touches of weird shadows and things coming out of the wall; it falters under a few plot contrivances and a little cheesiness in the last act, but it’s still a fun, welcome change from the “Chainsaw” type of gore that passes as entertainment these days. Also, the two young actresses, Charpentier and especially Nelisse, provide some of the film’s more creepier moments (eating butterflies, ugh). “Mama” is worth a look especially for Del Toro fans, but it’s also for those who typically don’t go for this genre, and count me as one of those.

Wes’s Grade: B-