57
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonPlenty of horror movies are willing to settle for making audiences jump. Mama is more ambitious by far: It makes sure viewers are emotionally committed even when they aren't clutching their armrests or covering their eyes.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyNothing in the movie is quite original, yet Muschietti, expanding his original short, knows how to stage a rip-off with frightening verve.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesMovies like Mama are thrill rides. We go to be scared and then laugh, scared and then laugh, scared and then shocked. Of course, there's almost always a little plot left over for a sequel. It's a ride I'd take again.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMama represents a throwback and a modest delight for people who like a good scare but prefer not to be terrorized or grossed out.
- Haunting and extremely atmospheric, Mama is a horror film imbued with an unsettling and affecting power.
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichExpertly conjured atmosphere only gets Muschietti so far, but there's enough genuine promise here that you're willing to cut this talented newcomer some slack.
- 50VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangMama, for all her digital and prosthetic creepiness, is finally a bit of a bore.
- 40Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonMama never delivers the primal terror its premise would suggest.
- 12Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezThe premise isn't even worthy of executive producer Guillermo del Toro, who will apparently lend his name to any film as long as it fulfills its quota of moths and vulvic openings.