Mama

Critics Consensus

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.

64%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 165

55%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 143,820

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Movie Info

On the day that their parents die, sisters Lilly and Victoria vanish in the woods, prompting a frantic search by their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Five years later, miraculously, the girls are found alive in a decaying cabin, and Lucas and Annabel welcome them into their home. But as Annabel tries to reintroduce the children to a normal life, she finds that someone -- or something -- still wants to tuck them in at night.
  • Rating:
    PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Disturbing Images|Violence and Terror)
  • Genre:
    horror, mystery and thriller
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Andy Muschietti
  • Producer:
    J. Miles Dale, Barbara Muschietti
  • Writer:
    Neil Cross, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $71.6M
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    De Milo, Toma 78
  • Sound Mix:
    Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

Cast & Crew

Jessica Chastain
Annabel
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Uncle Lucas, Jeffrey
Megan Charpentier
Victoria
Isabelle Nélisse
Lilly
Daniel Kash
Dr. Dreyfuss
Javier Botet
Mama
Jane Moffat
Jean Podolski
Morgan McGarry
Young Victoria
David Fox
Burnsie
Dominic Cuzzocrea
Ron
Andy Muschietti
Director
Neil Cross
Screenwriter
Andy Muschietti
Screenwriter
Barbara Muschietti
Screenwriter
J. Miles Dale
Producer
Barbara Muschietti
Producer
Guillermo del Toro
Executive Producer
Antonio Riestra
Cinematographer
Michele Conroy
Film Editor
Luis Sequeira
Costume Designer
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Critic Reviews for Mama

All Critics (165) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (105) | Rotten (60)

  • The problem is that [the] movie barely meets the minimum generic requirements, and thus comes off as pretentious for presuming to hover so airily above them.

    January 1, 2014 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Adam Nayman

    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic

  • [The movie] has more integrity than its creepshow peers. The story basically comes down to a dead-looking woman who doesn't want to be a mother fighting for parental custody against a long-dead woman who does. (Grad students, start your theses.)

    August 1, 2013 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

    Wesley Morris

    Grantland
    Top Critic

  • Extended from a 2008 short and starring Jessica Chastain, this has become a proficient, machine-tooled horror flick.

    February 21, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Xan Brooks

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Mothers, moths, myths - all seemingly thrown together by someone on meths.

    February 21, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Anton Bitel

    Little White Lies
    Top Critic

  • By splitting the action between several different characters and locations, the plot dissipates the suspense and lacks focus, as if it has been bolted together from disparate, ill-fitting pieces.

    February 20, 2013 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Nigel Floyd

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Screenplay contrivances aside, it's as stylish and atmospheric as modern horror gets.

    January 25, 2013 | Full Review…

    Drew Hunt

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (165)

Audience Reviews for Mama

  • Feb 06, 2017
    Some wicked creature design and good child actors make up for Mama's "unfinished" feeling. Jessica Chastain delivers as usual.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Apr 26, 2015
    Startling to a point, Guillermo Del Toro is extremely unafraid of making himself too obvious as his trademark styles are very fluent throughout viewing. The horror film quickly escapades through retreading horror film clichés and eventually concludes in a confusing fairytale ending, reminiscient of Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" which also blended horror and fantasy. It's quite scary, but don't expect to be frightened by anything you aren't already expecting to be frightened by. The story, in which the "feral child" phenomenon is explored is probably the best part of the film, as well as the sturdy and often experimental direction.
    Harry W Super Reviewer
  • Feb 23, 2014
    Entertaining not one on my top ten Horror or whatever genre this Movie "slipped" in
    NaWie M Super Reviewer
  • Nov 04, 2013
    Though Mexican director Guillermo del Toro did not direct this film, his fingerprints are indelibly placed all over this film. He has a producing credit and is always presenting in advertising, but it is director Andres Muschietti who brought the concept to the screen. Based on his short film from 2008, this reimagining has a larger emphasis on the specter, Mama's, backstory and places macabre elements into the story. While "Mama" isn't anything new, it is refreshing to see a film that places emphasis on the ethereal and the familiar in its ghosts. Mama is not an interesting character, or a great ghost in the long run. Her presence is always frightening, and the look of her from a peripheral standpoint is freakish, but that's only when she's in the shadows. When she plays with the children, or hides in plain sight, she is scary, as she plays the "other" rather well, but when we finally see her in full view, it's clear she wasn't constructed to be frightening. The character designs in del Toro's films have become much narrower in recent years (Most applicable in "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark") and in this film it's easy to see where his influence changed the look of Mama. Everything else about this film feels a bit done, but that's not to say it's essentially bland. Annabel (Chastain) is an interesting character, who likes her independence, values not being a mother, and has a carefree relationship with her boyfriend Lucas (Coster-Waldau). Are any of these characteristics explored to enhance her character and make the impact of motherhood via adoption apparent compared to Mama's obsession? No. Annabel instead comes off as petty and sallow outcast who is a little cruel towards the kids. The setting was great, the set-up was impeccable, and the kids in this film are perfectly cast and super creepy, but it all feels done before. There's nothing really new here, except in ghost design for the eponymous character.
    Spencer S Super Reviewer
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