Goodnight Mommy

May 4, 2016

In Home, Review by Cara NashLeave a Comment

“…a gorgeous horror to look at…”
John Noonan
Year: 2014
Rating: M
Director: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Cast:

Elias and Lukas Schwarz, Susanne Wuerst

Distributor: Accent
Format:
DVD
Released: Out now (DVD)
Running Time: 99 minutes
Worth: 3.5 Discs

FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

…a gorgeous horror to look at…

Young Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) are as close as twins can be. Never leaving each other’s side, they romp through the fields and lakes that surround their mother’s palatial house in the Austrian countryside. When a woman (Susanne Wuerst) arrives at their home, with her head wrapped in bandages and claiming to be their mother, the boys struggle to believe her. She’s tired, she’s angry, and she pointedly refuses to acknowledge Lukas; very much the opposite of their mother.

Written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Goodnight Mommy deals with a child’s fear of change and unfamiliarity. At first at least, for the directors ensure that what seems clear cut in the beginning becomes muddied as the narrative develops. “Mommy” may very well indeed have had an operation, hence the bandages, but that doesn’t explain the aggressive behaviour that she has towards Lukas. Goodnight Mommy shakes the boys’ paranoia until it threatens to explode and consume everyone.

The Schwarz brothers are strong in relating a series of dark and troubling emotions. Equally, Wuest is skin crawling as the faceless, bandage-wrapped woman screeching like a harpy one moment, and lovingly whispering the next. This deliberately paced film works best when it’s throwing its audience numerous red herrings. But when the pieces start to fall into place, something is lost. Goodnight Mommy sheds its Polanski sensibilities, and deep into the third act, it replaces subtlety for shock and awe, with the twins taking on their foe with scissors and superglue. Did the filmmakers need to resolve their central mystery then? Maybe not, as the film lends itself to being scarier by not being so explicit in its fiery finale. Moving that to one side though, Goodnight Mommy is a gorgeous horror to look at, especially with its methodical camerawork and sumptuous country backdrop.

Share:

Leave a Comment