A wise man once said, “A glorious horror film should be a slow-burn that includes confusion, unease, tension, a little bit of humor and a whole lot of scary.” That wise man—you guessed it—me. And boy oh boy, did I find a gem that checks all of those boxes. “Goodnight Mommy” (“Ich seh, Ich seh,” original title) is an Australian psychological horror film that debuted in 2014.
Now first off; another of my rules of movies has always stated that subtitles just ruin a movie for me. I don’t want to read my movies. I want to read my books. But I gotta tell you, this Halloween season along with “Train to Busan” and “Let the Right One In,” I’ve kind of warmed up to subtitles over Milli Vanilli-type overdubs. And let’s face it; horror films from overseas rely way more on the vibe and tension and the mood then they do on dialogue. I guess what I’m trying to tell you here is that “Goodnight Mommy” is a banger of a horror film.
‘Goodnight Mommy’—a Horror Film for the True Horror Fan
The plot revolves around a single mother and her twin sons. The basic gist is that she is recovering from a facial surgery and with that, her face is wrapped in bandages. Because of this, the twin boys begin to suspect that this women may in fact not be their mother at all. The film goes super deep on mood. I mean, very little could be happening—and at times is not happening—but the feel trudges forward with such apprehension and unease. Like classic horror films of yesterdays, think “Don’t Look Now” or even “Rosemary’s Baby,” the tension and atmosphere is a character unto itself. And such a prominent one at that.
Elias Schwarz and Lukas Schwarz in “Goodnight Mommy.” Credit: Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion/Films Ditribution/Kobal/Shutterstock.
What I loved about this movie more than anything were all the red herrings and the wonderful payoffs. I really don’t want to spoil anything here, so I’m keeping this brief and using it more as an invitation to watch this modern classic. But! And this is a big but! You must watch the original; not the remake from this year starring Naomi Watts. Now there must just be something about her that loves starring in U.S. remakes of excellent international horror films starring frightening-ass kids (looking at you Samara!). The remake is bland, unimaginative, and unnecessary. Like so many remakes before it, the only thing it manages to do well is suck the life out of the viewer and make them ask, “Why?”.
Filled with Red Herrings and Wonderful Payoffs
Spare yourself the trouble of the remake and go right to the original and you will not be disappointed. This is a horror film for the straight up horror fan—and I recommend it to you because that’s what I am, the straight up horror fan.
“Goodnight Mommy” is currently available to watch or rent on most streaming networks.
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