“Mama” started the year right for the horror movie genre and has set the standard for upcoming films this year.

In true Guillermo Del Toro fashion, the movie “Mama” gave its audience a true good old scare without any sort of gore involved.

Following some of his previous work such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Devil’s Backbone”, “Mama” returns to the old days with simplicity and creativity. It will keep the audience members on the edge of their seats with its non-stop scares.

The story follows two sisters, Victoria and Lily who are taken by their father who is attempting to escape town after he killed two co-workers and his wife.

After a car accident in their hurry to escape, they stumble upon a cabin located deep in the woods in which they decided to take residence.

After a series of events that include their father getting killed, the girls are left in the cabin by themselves only to find they are not alone.

This cabin is being occupied by a spirit who decides to look after the girls. It’s years after that the girls are found in the woods by men that their uncle Lucas hired to look for them.

After being found in deplorable conditions, the girls are taken to a hospital for examination and then a battle for their custody arises.

The girls are given to their uncle and his girlfriend, who is not pleased with the idea of being a mom.

The uncle’s girlfriend Annabelle played by Jessica Chastain, seems to dislike the idea of looking after the girls, but after a while, warms up to them. This action enrages Mama who will do anything in its power to keep the girls’ love to itself.

Del Toro and Muschietti gave this story its sentimental value by showing how powerful the love of a mother and the need to protect the innocence of kids can be. Not only was this a portrait in Mama, but also in the uncle Lucas and Annabelle.

Taken from a short film by Andres Muschietti titled “Mama”, this film became a full length movie thanks to the help of Del Toro and some of his vision and input but still remains mostly directed and written by its original creator Muschietti.

It’s a must-watch film, not only for actually achieving to scare the audience, but also because its a step away from shaky cameras and the ‘home made video’ effect such as that of “Paranormal Activity”.