“Mama” opens with the static-filled sound of a radio broadcasting the news of an armed shooter who has opened fire on his wife and colleagues at the onset of the financial crisis of 2008. He flees the scene of the crime with his two young daughters; speeding on the iced-over roads, the car flies over a snowy embankment and crashes at the bottom. Surviving the crash, the man and the girls walk until they find an abandoned cabin. We discover the father’s intent is to kill both himself and his daughters, but things do not go exactly as planned.
Soon we are introduced to Mama, the mysterious figure that has loomed in the dark and gloomy cabin for ages. In the aftermath of the ordeal regarding their father, the girls survive alone in the cabin with Mama as their solitary visitor, that is, until they are found years later by private investigators hired by their late father’s brother. Upon return to civilization, the girls undergo intense psychiatric therapy led by Dr. Dreyfuss, who hopes to restore their sanity so they may continue to lead normal lives as young children.
While progress is made, the girls continue to exhibit wild, animalistic behavior – particularly the youngest, Lilly, who crawls around on all fours, growls and eats things like hair and moths. They move in with their father’s brother Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel, an artistic couple with an edgy punk-rock vibe. The unlikely family gets off to a rocky start, Lucas approaching the girls with caution while Annabel prefers to remain cold and distant, often not acknowledging the girls’ presence. Things begin to look up; Victoria, the oldest, clearly admires and loves the uncle she remembers from her early childhood.
The girls continue to behave in mysterious ways, however. More than once, Annabel wakes to the sound of them giggling and laughing in the middle of the night, conversing with an unfamiliar voice. When Annabel checks, no one is there. Annabel and Lucas are oblivious to the ominous figure (Mama) that visits their household each night when they are sleeping. There is a brief period of calm until a terrible “accident” lands Lucas in the hospital, leaving Annabel to temporarily take responsibility for the girls.
Things take a turn for the worse during Lucas’s absence – Annabel resents the children and nearly gives up on them, until she forms an unexpected bond with Victoria. Victoria’s growing love for Annabel begins to make Mama jealous, and eventually Victoria warns Annabel of the imminent danger fueled by Mama’s potent fury. Meanwhile, Dr. Dreyfuss continues his investigation into the peculiar psychological case of Lilly and Victoria. He sifts through old pieces of history, delving into the vast archives of thousands of records in an attempt to discover the identity of Mama, whom Victoria has been continuously mentioning during her hypnotherapy treatments.
Dr. Dreyfuss stumbles upon an important clue to the mystery, which he keeps to himself. The circumstances lead him back to the cabin in the woods, where unspeakable things happen. Piece by piece, the other characters begin to uncover the true identity of Mama. Who is she? Why has she been condemned to roam this earth? What is her story? Annabel and Lucas must put all of the pieces together if the girls are to be saved, and even then, it may already be too late.
While this may not be movie for those not into scary films, “Mama” provides a nail-biting thriller definitely worth seeing.
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