I love these types of stories. In 2008, Argentinian Andy Muschietti wrote and directed a two minute, thirty five second short film along with his producer sister Barbara, entitled Mamá. Catching the eye of horror maestro Guillermo del Toro, he helped develop an American full length feature (along with producer friend J. Miles Dale – both are now Oscar winners after this past year’s The Shape of Water), which was released in 2013 (a huge success, the flick raked in one hundred, forty six million on just a fifteen million dollar budget). And, just this past year, the siblings ushered in one of the most popular and lucrative horror pictures in some time – It. . . the brother and sister are now pre-producing the much anticipated sequel, slated for a 2019 release.
But, it all started with the short. Following two young sisters, Lily (Victoria Harris) and Victoria (Berta Ros), the former wakes the latter from a deep sleep. . . from Lily’s stunned, hapless entrance (never taking her eyes off the open door), we knowing something foul is afoot.
Telling her sister that their mom is back, they exit the seemingly safe bedroom, journeying out into their grandiose, ornately decorated Victorian abode (as an aside, while scouting locations, the filmmakers fell so in love with this home, and, upon learning that it would be demolished in two weeks, they gathered their crew together to shoot almost immediately). Each step takes us further from that safety, a tense mood built (and only furthered by Gil Talmi’s terrific score – as if a hive of bees are getting progressively more antsy), a journey into the horrors of a child’s utterly imaginative world.
Shot in what looks to be one continuous take (though there are likely a few hidden cuts there), the deft manoeuvres place us within the same group as the sisters, one of the endangered, adventurous souls. . . for when they peek over the banister, trying to get a look at ‘Mama’, so do we. In reality, each step the cameraman takes is our step, with the lens slyly controlled so that we are also able to see the action, the frightened children’s visages and every other worthwhile viewpoint. It is so seamless, that a trick that takes us from amongst the girls to the other side of the railing so that we can view their faces, is not originally noticed – as the stakes are too high.
Thriving on suspense, claustrophobic atmosphere and one creepy looking creature, Mamá is a fun little horror feature for a man or woman on the go. Easy to fit into even the busiest of schedules, Guillermo del Toro called it “one of the scariest little scenes I’ve ever seen”. You won’t want to remember mama quite like this, but chances are, you will!
This film is in Spanish with English subtitles – and an easy find on youtube. . . just search for ‘Mama short film’