EXHIBITS

Critic Reviews:

Rotten Tomatoes: The rating given is 6/10, the audience overall liked the film. Rotten Tomatoes collected fifty four critic reviews- the reviews ranged from hating Mama, to loving Mama. Out of all the critics, only a couple mentioned the deeper meaning running through the film. The critics talked about the scare tactics, and about how good of a job Jessica Chastain portrayed her character. There is more to the film than the classical scare-flick, and almost every critic jumps right over the meaning.

IMDb: IMDb gave Mama a rating of 6.2/10. On the main page of IMDb, one critical review is given. The review goes over the horror genre, Shawna Bentz explains that Mama is an extremely scary film with lots of jump scenes. She continues to say that it is not like the classical ghost film because it’s not close enough to be real. Someone would not experience the storyline of Mama, but the story is not so out there that it is unbelieveable. Again, the critics skip right over the deeper meaning of the story; the mental health and the wellness of the characters.

The topics the movie reviews focused on was the fact the Jessica Chastain did not play her typecast character. Chastain was one of the primary roles of the film. The audience was impressed and pleased by the new character Chastain portrayed.

Jessica Chastain really hit off her career with Mama. In a typical role for Jessica, her character is known for their beauty. Her part is usually proper, ladylike, beautiful, and known for her red hair. She has been an actress in forty-six different films. Her top four movies are: The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, and Mama. Jessica has been nominated for 2 oscars. Mama was the first movie that made her famous. She dropped her typecast, and went for a gothic punk rock kind of chick. She did an amazing job in the film, making her famous, and the movie very well known ("Jessica Chastain" IMDb.com).

The other topic the reviews focused on, were the unconventional horror elements used in the film. The scare tactics throughout the movie are so jolting because Mama centers around a taboo topic. The film is dripping with madness and violence hiding underneath the quotidian (Grant, 1). Children in the film are raised without parents, and do not have an ideal living situation. In the film, people cannot find the girls because of their mentally ill father; the girls might be endangered if not dead. Every parent’s biggest fear is not being able to take care of their children. Instead of Mama just being a movie, it become a real life relatable topic. The movie is also scary because of the wraith, and her bodily functions. Mama appears at times when the audience is least expecting it, and makes the audience jump. Mama will never be real, but she can haunt our dreams.

Why is it that everyone skips over the deeper meaning of the film? There is more to Mama than just scare and characters: the characters struggle with mental health. Mama conveys an idea that is beginning to swallow the real world: society is so engulfed in the idea of equality, that we are beginning to miss the the bigger picture. Mental Health.

Works cited:

Barry Keith Grant “Screams on Screens: Paradigms of Horror.” Simon Fraser University Library, 2010 http://journals.sfu.ca/loading/index.php/loading/article/viewFile/85/82

“Jessica Chastain.” IMDb, 28 Apr. 2017 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1567113/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Mama, Directed by Andres Muschietti, performances by Jessica Chastain, and Megan charpentier, 2013

“Mama.” IMDb, 28 Apr. 2017 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2023587/?ref_=nv_sr_2

“Mama.” Rotten Tomatoes, 28 apr. 2017 https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mama_2013/