Goodnight Mommy
Naomi Watts questions reality in the remake of Goodnight Mommy.
This pale imitation should be sent to bed with no supper
When twins Lukas and Elias (Nicholas and Cameron Crovetti) arrive at their mother’s house for an extended stay, they’re surprised confronted with a woman sporting a face full of bandages. Their mother (Naomi Watts) assures them everything is alight — she’s just had a cosmetic procedure that necessitates the bandages. The boys accept the change and prepare for a fun stay with their mom.
But something isn’t right.
Their beloved mother seems…off. The boys begin to discuss the changes they notice. Mommy smokes now. She tore up their drawing. She’s short with them when they want a song. Her eyes are a different color.
Can Lukas and Elias figure out if the woman living in their house is their mother? And if she isn’t, what do they do then?
A remake of a relentlessly creepy Austrian film, Goodnight Mommy is like hearing a scary movie described by someone who’s read the Wikipedia entry on it. Director Matt Sobel gets the plot points right, but files off all the stylistic elements that made the original so good. Instead of a creeping sense of dread and stark shadows, Sobel gives us a TV movie level of drama.
While the original dug into the horror of the original concept, escalating both tension and events until a stunning ending, Sobel’s version seems unwilling to be too scary. The power of the original was in its austerity. Two odd boys in their own world, confronted with a cold, angry maternal figure. Everything in the frame seemed off, and every interaction steeped in unacknowledged friction. Sobel consistently shies away from the uncomfortable elements. Instead, we get a harried mom and two precocious boys, setting out on a path to disaster.
Why? Because the script says so.
Even the twist can’t help. It’s a moment that seems obvious and utterly unsatisfying. You might as well have Jason pop up and start slashing at people. It would make as much sense.
Watts, who seems to make a habit in appearing in English language remakes not worthy of her talents, does her best with what she’s given. Her mother is clearly dealing with a lot. An actress who’s sensitive about her looks, she is obsessed with reclaiming a part of her youth. Her anger toward the boys is based mostly out of frustration, which makes her a rather understandable figure. But making the mother relatable kills a bit of the mystery. It’s hard to understand why the boys are suspicious in the first place when she just seems like a stressed mom.
As for the boys, the Crovettis do what they can to keep the movie going. Both kids give good performances with high emotions, but the menace just isn’t there. These are fundamentally good kids, who are doing their best, not odd creepy twins who might be malevolent themselves.
The problem with making everyone relatable is it’s hard to be scared of Naomi down the street that’s having problems with her boys. Sobel takes what should be a sense of rot in the family dynamic and hits it with bleach. Instead we get a movie where is just sort of acting with no reasoning.
The denouement may be the worst part of the film. While Sobel changes the ending of the first film slightly, he again makes things worse by taking the teeth out of the moment. It’s like inviting people in to watch Jurassic Park and instead performing the whole movie yourself with dinosaur toys while playing the theme on the kazoo.
If you’re interested in the basic story of Goodnight Mommy, the original vastly superior film is available on Tubi or to rent/buy via Prime. If you need to have something on in the background while your fold laundry, the remake will do.
Verdict: Fine if you’re scrolling on your phone with nothing better to watch. But the original is vastly better.
Goodnight Mommy is rated R and available on Prime.
