Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Exquisitely paced, wonderfully framed and intensely unnerving, Goodnight Mommy is a highly effective genre-bending paranoid thriller that will satisfy even those who guess the twist early on.
Written and directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, the film tells the story of two nine-year-old twin boys greeting their mother, who just came home from the hospital after a bad car accident. Her face is bandaged and, at first, everything seems normal, however after a short amount of time, she begins acting peculiarly.
As the boys do some investigating, they begin to suspect that this bandaged woman is not their mother at all and could be a malevolent imposter. To give away anything more from the story would be doing it, and potential viewers, a huge disservice, so we’ll leave it at that.
As the mystery begins to unfold, subtle clues are dropped that astute viewers can use to put together what’s really going on, but the film doesn’t rely on this twist as its main hook. Where the plot goes is hardly foreseeable and will make even the most seasoned horror goers like myself uneasy in its presentation.
The shocking crescendo of the film is largely enhanced by the deliberate buildup, slowly causing us to shift around in our seats more and more until the finale hits. I love slow-burn horror when executed correctly, and Fiala and Franz knew exactly how to keep the pace slow without causing a loss in intrigue or the onset of boredom.
The cinematography from Martin Gschlacht is near perfect for this movie and reminded me of something we would see in a Michael Haneke film. The settings for the most part are immaculately clean and organized, and there are plenty of meticulously framed static shots fixed within a room of the large estate at which the film takes place.
Lukas and Elias Schwarz give surprisingly fantastic performances as the twins, considering it’s their debut film, and there’s a lot of emotional heft they need to bring to the roles. The distrust, paranoia, anger and sadness they bring to the screen is admirable for kids of such a young age, and if you’ve listened to our podcast, you’ll know I’m very critical when it comes to child actors.
Likewise, Susanne Wuest delivers a great performance as the children’s mother(?), acting exactly how one wouldm given the terrible situation she finds herself in and the trauma she’s recently endured.
So much more can be said about how well crafted Goodnight Mommy is, but any further mention would be diving into spoiler territory; just know that it’s one of the best horror films you’ll see this year and that I definitely recommend this one. Just be prepared to seek out a palate cleanser after watching – you’ll need it.
