Goodnight Mommy - movie review

Goodnight Mommy

Plot: Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognise.
Cast: Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz, Susanne Wuest
Directors: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz
Rating: 15
Runtime: 1hr 39 mins
Release Date: Friday 4th March 2016

I am a tough critic when it comes to horror movies. Most of them nowadays are ineffective in creating any scares and I usually leave extremely underwhelmed. But early in 2015, my curiosity was peaked when a trailer for a Austrian horror film was dubbed as the 'scariest trailer ever'. After watching the trailer and finding it very suspenseful, yet not quite the scariest trailer ever, I have been waiting for Goodnight Mommy for quite some time. However, after watching this film, you must understand that the trailers lied to you. Goodnight Mommy is not exactly a horror film but instead, a complex psychological thriller.


With the film being spoken in the German language, many people often think that it would be tough to grasp the effectiveness of the performances. That is not the case with Goodnight Mommy as there isn't that much dialogue to begin with. Because of this, our direct attention is focused upon the physicality of the actors and they result in providing the best moments of the film. There really aren't that many characters with the majority of the runtime only featuring the two boys and their mother. The identical twins played by the Schwarz twins are great for newcomers. Whilst the subtitles provided the actual lines they were saying, I could more or less work out their speech due to their emotive abilities. Whilst the performances were absolutely not a problem, I hated the actual characters. I felt so conflicted about the portrayal of them. At times, you realise that they are just kids and we are watching them play with their imagination as children often do. On the other hand, they become absolute psychopathic little brats. Some of the acts that these kids partake in are so incredibly violent and out of character that it completely removed me from any form of suspense because of how unexpected it was. But nevertheless, the boys still shared a great brotherly bond (which is to be expected) and they are haunting when they need to be. As the main focus for the boys' mistrust, is Susanne Wuest as the mother. In the words of Drake, "This bitch is crazy!". She plays the mysterious character that returns as the supposed mother and she is scarily good. Not only does she nail the suspense as we wait for the reveal but provides constant changes in perception. I could never figure out whether she really was their mother or if something sinister was afoot. Wuest gives a subdued and calm performance amidst all the chaos making her really stand out from the boys. I even think she gives a performance that rivals those in Hollywood right now. This might be considered a star making turn for her.

Looking at my checklist, I can tremendously tick off good performances, so this film is underway to become a great horror film by my standards. The next task for it to overcome is a compelling and consistently engaging storyline? Does it succeed in that? Unfortunately, not. For a film that is just over an hour and half, the slow and tiresome pacing makes it feel like two hours. There were times where this film was a challenge to get through. I'm all for taking time to tell a story and ensure that everything is told the way that the production team intend, but this is a slow film. Needlessly slow. There are multiple scenes which could have either been cut out because they didn't really serve a purpose or been given an extra dose of tension or adrenaline to keep my interest high. There are definitely some scenes that are great, fantastic in some cases. Some highlights are the intense and tough to watch interactions between the mother and her sons. The movie is very contained as well. Only taking place predominantly in the confines of a house, the film has a claustrophobic feel to it. This makes you feel very uneasy and uncomfortable for the duration of the film.

What makes Goodnight Mommy different from other 'horror films' is that it isn't trying to be a horror film. It is rooted very heavily into a psychological thriller that messes with your mind. Throughout this movie, you are constantly guessing as to what twist awaits you and, hand on heart, I thought I had it cracked. However, without giving away any major spoilers, I did not expect the twist that is revealed right at the very end. So if you were expecting the twist to be wasted and ineffective, you are very wrong. It completely changed my perception of the film with certain scenes that I would interpret differently from a second viewing. I also urge everyone to watch one of the final shots very carefully. Without giving anything away, keep a close eye on the left hand corner, because when I found this, not only did it freak me out, but it just added to the twists and unexpected nature that this film provides. As for the horror aspects, no jumpscares are used which is a blessing. The film relies on building up the suspense but not necessarily revealing what it is leading up to. This immediately plays tricks with your brain as to what you actually saw. Another complaint that I had with Goodnight Mommy was the final act. Whereas the opening two acts featured suspense but were still quite boring, the third act was a complete change of pace and began to focus too much on gore and shock violence. This felt very inconsistent with what the film was attempting to accomplish.

I have a feeling that Goodnight Mommy will become this year's Ex Machina for myself. After my initial viewing, I wasn't blown away with either, thinking that both were OK and decent films, but after contemplating it further and a second viewing, I grew to appreciate it even more. However, judging on initial perceptions, this is a slow film that has it payoffs and great performances, but wasn't quite what it had built up to be.

My Verdict: 6/10

What did you think of Goodnight Mommy? Which film do you think has the scariest trailer? Post your comments below.

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