Goodnight Mommy

Goodnight Mommy is an American remake of Austrian horror film from 2014 that goes by the same name (Goodnight Mommy (2014) original title "Ich seh, Ich seh"

I usually don't like American remakes and much prefer the original source in most movies. But this one isn't bad. I think it was well casted. Naomi Watts plays the mom and the Crovetti brothers play Elias and Lucas.

The acting performances were very good. Naomi Watts is a phenomenal actress in everything she does. The Crovetti brothers did extremely well.

But I still feel the original film is the best of the two. In this American version, several scenes are missing from the original film. I think they might have done that to keep the runtime shorter. But unfortunately, this remake doesn't have the same bite and unnerving tension of the original. The original film really made you feel uneasy. This one seems to lack uneasiness, uncomfortable dread of what would happen.

Unfortunately, if you watched this one first, then you will know the plot twist and you might not experience the same enjoyment I did when I first watched the original years ago. But if you haven't seen neither of them, then watch the original first. The original is a proper horror tale.

I was very hesitant about this film, being a fan of the original and having a general dislike for when American's remake international films.

I had put off watching it, but thought okay let's give it a go, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Naomi Watts as the Mother is absolutely amazing in this film.

The Crovetti brother's are great young actors and definitely held their own against Watts.

If you have not seen the original and are not aware of the plot/outcome. Then I would definitely give this version a watch.

It had great atmosphere, acting and it was very well shot. It was definitely worth the watch and I did not feel like I had wasted 90 minutes of my life, which seems to be happening more with horror films lately.

Summary: Lukas and Elias, twin boys, arrive to their mother's country house at the start of the film. They are shocked to find their mother wrapped in a surgical mask when they first arrive. She says that she had surgery and would likely be out of it in some time.

Boys begin to notice their mother's changes. She has turned controlling, aggressive, and less loving. Boys start looking into the woman behind the medical mask to find out who she really is.

Overall my views: Goodnight Mommy is a psychological thriller and I loved the fact, this movie mentally makes you crave and watch the agony and violence. I loved the characters and everything. I enjoyed thoroughly. Since the Ring series, Naomi Watts has been my favourite actor. Despite the fact that she is still bright and attractive. Her acting is sincere and conjures up reality. The concept behind this film was really great. However, it has the drawback of being badly written and directed. There are certain portions that leave me uncertain and confused. It all makes sense in the end, as the conclusion shows, but throughout the film, I felt like there was a thrill missing. Since the boy's characters are revolting against the lady acting as their mother, I had anticipated more confrontations between them.

RECOMMENDATION: I would recommend this movie more than 1 time.

This is a very strange "Amazon Original" movie. I was anxious to see it because of Naomi Watts, I like her and she usually picks excellent projects. But my wife watched the trailer and decided she would skip.

Two boys, twins, are played by real-life identical twins, I figure they were about 10 or 11. Cute kids but pretty mediocre actors. Their father is bringing them back to mommy after a visit but she does not greet them on arrival. The boys go inside, the home is rural with a barn and fields, and eventually they find her with a full-face bandage-mask that closes in the back with Velcro. They are puzzled, they had no advance knowledge of this. And very soon, only about 17 minutes in, they see and hear things that make them suspect the woman isn't really their mother. And that is essentially what the movie is about, the boys trying to solve this riddle.

The last 20 minutes or so, and the ending, reveal a number of things, but not everything makes sense, when you think what was shown in the first half of the movie. When it ended I believe I figured out what was going on, a twist that seems to negate most of what was presented, but it is done in a way that isn't very clear.

So I can't rate this movie very high, the script and acting are just so-so, I watched the whole thing because I was curious to see where it was heading but when it was over I found it to be mostly unsatisfying. My wife made a good decision to skip.

At home, on Amazon Streaming movies.

As "Goodnight Mommy" (2022 release; 92 min) opens, Elias and Lukas are dropped of at their mom's place, as dad hurries away after the drop-off. Much to their surprise, mom's face is in bandages, resulting from "a little procedure", per mom. Soon things feel very off. IS this really their mom? At this point we are 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the second feature length from director Matt Sobel ("Take Me To the River"). Here he remakes the 2014 Austrian movie "Goodnight Mommy", and what we get is literally a remake, transposed to the US, nothing more, nothing less. If you've seen the Austrian original, as I did, you will almost certainly and inevitably ask yourself, like I did: "why???". There is simply no point to any of this. Some may say that it is a "faithful" remake. I call it a "pointless" and utterly unnecessary remake. The only reason that I watched it was that Naomi Watts stars as the "Mommy", not that you would know for much of the film (as of course her face is in bandages). If you have not seen the Austrian original, and are debating which version to see, by all means I strongly encourage you to check out the Austrian original, which is creepy in the best possible way. Whereas the Hollywood remake is not creepy, not scary, not fun. Not good, not bad. It just is.

"Goodnight Mommy" premiered about a week ago on Amazon Prime. Curiosity got the better of me and I finally gave in and watched it. I really shouldn't have. Of course don't take my word for it, and so whether you've seen the Austrian original or not, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.