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.

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.

What would you do, if your mother felt like new, didn't act the way she should, behaved like mother never would, like a stranger in the house, makes you feel like a small mouse, quite aggressive and quite cold, not like the one you knew of old.

Elias and Lucas struggle to come to terms with their mother when she re-joins them after a period of hospitalisation. Taking matters into their own hands they explore a variety of ways to unmask their doppelganger and expose the truth.

A remake of a far more powerful Austrian film that avoids super glue, cockroaches and cats, to settle for a more palatable finale that ultimately quenches the dynamic and leaves it somewhat neutered, albeit well performed and passable.

A shockingly dumbed down version for American audiences of an outstanding Austrian thriller, that lacks the impact, the brutality, the shock factor and the intelligence of its original. Instead you get the cinematic clichés, the sentimental overtones, the cheap musical dress-up and the spoon fed explanatory breakdown of a Hollywood style second class thriller. Watts is getting dangerously close to being typecast as the go-to actress for remakes, which can't be good for her legacy. The performances are fine overall nevertheless, are not sufficient however to even soften the crush that is the comparison between the two films. If you haven't seen any of them, do yourself a favour and watch the original without getting spoiled by this mediocre attempt of a crowd-pleaser.

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.