Guillermo del Toro doesn’t scare easily, but the decision for an unconventional ending for MAMA had the executive producer worried about whether it would work.
In MAMA, two little girls are found after being abandoned in the woods years later. The girl’s uncle and girlfriend (Jessica Chastain) take them in hoping to give them a normal life, but the animal-like children can’t adapt to their new lives. A scary presence wants to reclaim those children.
Moviegoers either hated or loved the un-Hollywood finale of the supernatural thriller MAMA. Del Toro helped young filmmaker Andrés Muschietti adapt his Spanish short film into a feature length film for Universal Pictures.
MAMA Director On Jessica Chastain, Guillermo Del Toro & Working With Kids
Del Toro and his protégé Muschietti, according to Del Toro, thoroughly discussed their choice for the film at length. The MAMA executive producer calls the scene “very poetic and harsh,” but it made sense for the movie. To ensure that the Hollywood suits didn’t intervene, he retained rights to the final cut. However, he says Universal were supported the filmmakers from the “get-go.”
After seeing the final product, Del Toro was very pleased with the film. “The movie is intact as we wanted to tell it,” said the Hellboy director.
Guilermo Del Toro Pays It Forward (Video)
Without spoiling the ending for those planning on seeing it, the final scene leaves the viewer with mixed emotions. Did they really have to go that route? Yes! It suited the story and the character’s fate.
The gamble paid off for Guillermo Del Toro and the first-time filmmaker Andrés Muschietti. MAMA opened in the number one slot at the box office opening weekend and has already tripled its $15 million budget in two weeks.
