Mama. 2013. Canada/Spain/Mexico. Directed by Andy Muschietti. Written by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Neil Cross, based on the novel by Andy Muschietti. With Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Javiet Bolet. In English. 35mm. 100 min.
After the death of their parents, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and her younger sister Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) survive lost and alone in the woods for five years. Their uncle Lucas (Coster-Waldau) finds and adopts them with his partner (Jessica Chastain), but it soon becomes apparent that the girls are possessed by a spirit they call “Mama.” “Guillermo del Toro, the reigning godfather of motion-picture horror, is the modern-day Val Lewton, the legendary producer of atmospheric chillers like The Curse of the Cat People. Mama began as a…three-minute short about two girls and a maternal creature that the Muschiettis shot to show Mr. Muschietti’s range as a director. Mr. Del Toro took notice of their pocket shocker, and while he took only an executive producing credit on the feature-length Mama, it fits with the more successful movies he’s signed onto” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times).