Goodnight Mommy (2022 film)

Last updated

Goodnight Mommy
GoodnightMommy2022poster.jpg
Official release poster
Directed byMatt Sobel
Screenplay byKyle Warren
Based on Goodnight Mommy
Written and directed by
Veronika Franz
Severin Fiala
Produced by
Ulrich Seidl [1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAlexander Dynan
Edited by
  • Michael Taylor
  • Maya Maffioli
Music byAlex Weston
Production
companies
  • Playtime
  • Animal Kingdom
  • Big Indie Pictures
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release date
  • September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)
Running time
92 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Goodnight Mommy is a 2022 American psychological horror film directed by Matt Sobel and written by Kyle Warren. It is a remake of the 2014 Austrian film of the same name, and stars Naomi Watts, Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Jeremy Bobb, and Peter Hermann. It follows twin brothers who suspect their mother was switched with an impostor.

Contents

The film was announced in early 2021, naming Sobel as director, Warren as the scriptwriter and Watts as the star. The rest of the cast were announced later and principal photography began from June to August that same year.

Goodnight Mommy was released on Prime Video by Amazon Studios on September 16, 2022. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Watts' performance, but criticized its writing, pacing and deemed it "inferior" and "unnecessary" compared to the original film.

Plot

Twin brothers Elias and Lukas have stayed with their father since their parents divorced. When they return home to live with their estranged mother, a former actress, they are disturbed to find her whole head covered in a bandage, like a white balaclava. Mother (who is never named) explains she has had cosmetic surgery. She gives the boys some house rules, which include not entering her room or the barn. While playing in the fields, the boys can't resist exploring the barn, where they find their old toys. Mother discovers they've been in the barn and punishes them by decreeing that from now on, they must stay indoors.

Mother's behavior unsettles the boys. She does not seem interested in reconnecting with them; she drinks heavily, appears angry, and will not sing the lullaby she sang to them as children. Elias also discovers Mother has thrown away a drawing he made of the three of them. During the night, Elias overhears Mother talking on the phone; she says she cannot go on pretending and wants him gone.

After seeing an old photograph of Mother with green eyes, the boys question whether the woman they are living with, who has blue eyes, is really their mother. When they try to call their father, Mother breaks their shared cell phone. One night while she is taking a bath, Elias tries to remove the skincare face mask she is wearing; an argument ensues and, after Elias tells her she is not their mother, she slaps him, then sprays him with freezing cold shower water until he admits he is wrong.

Terrified, the boys leave in the middle of the night. They try to seek help at a nearby house, but it is abandoned. They break in to spend the night, but two local state troopers find them and return them to Mother. Mother, who has now removed her bandage, insists they are imagining things and tells police that Elias injured his lip from slipping near the pool.

Next morning, Mother wakes to find herself tied to the bed with duct tape. She demands to be let free, claiming she wore green contact lenses as an actress, and they are downstairs in her purse. Lukas tells Elias he searched the purse and did not find them. Elias feels uneasy about leaving Mother tied up and in pain, but Lukas persuades him they must escape. While they are waiting for a taxi nearby, Elias pretends he forgot to pack his toothbrush and returns to the house, where he looks in Mother's purse and finds the contact lenses. Lukas appears and begs Elias to let him explain. Elias flees to the bedroom to free Mother while Lukas disappears.

Mother takes Elias to the barn and shows him a bullet hole in a wall that is covered in blood. Upon seeing it, Elias breaks down; it is revealed Elias accidentally shot and killed Lukas, meaning Lukas has been a hallucination. Lukas' death sent Mother into a grief-stricken depression, which resulted in her divorce and her estrangement from Elias. Mother attempts to console Elias, but in a confused rage, he lashes out and pushes Mother from the barn loft; her lantern smashes, setting the barn on fire. Elias flees and tearfully watches the barn burn to the ground. Mother and Lukas appear at his side. With a smile, Mother tells him he has done nothing wrong, and they embrace.

Cast

Production

In April 2021, Variety announced that Playtime had purchased the rights for a remake to the 2014 Austrian film, Goodnight Mommy , which was being developed with Amazon Studios and Animal Kingdom, with Matt Sobel directing, Kyle Warren writing, and Naomi Watts set to star and executive produce (alongside original writers/directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala). [3] In June that same year, Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti were added to the cast including Jeremy Bobb, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Peter Hermann. [4]

In August 2022, it was announced that Alex Weston had composed the score for the film. [5]

Release

Goodnight Mommy was released in the United States on September 16, 2022, on Prime Video by Amazon Studios. [6] [7] [8]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 37% of 68 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Naomi Watts is as talented as ever, but this Goodnight Mommy remake has no real reason to exist." [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [10]

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Without the fine, frightening direction of aunt-nephew duo Veronika Fran and Severin Fiala, we're left with very little, a slick but soulless little movie that should appease neither fans of the original nor newcomers." [11] Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1/4 stars, saying that it "replicates the basic story beats of the original but leaves out all of the tension, ambiguity, and nasty invention that made that earlier effort so effective in the first place." [12] Murtada Elfadi of The A.V. Club wrote: "The original Austrian film had shock value and genuine, gruesome horror. This new Americanized version sands the edges off of the narrative every chance it gets", and gave it a grade of C−. [13]

Christian Zilko of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B−, writing that it "never tries to reinvent the wheel, but while it lacks the potency of the original film, it manages to keep horror lovers entertained without ever embarrassing itself." [14] Paul Byrnes of The Sydney Morning Herald gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "I can't say it's better or worse than the original. It's effectively chilling, rather than terrifying. Why Sobel needed to remake it is a mystery." [15] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times praised Watts's performance, but added that the film "pulls back too much from the violence and torture that made the original such a sublime ordeal." [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Ring</i> (2002 film) 2002 film directed by Gore Verbinski

The Ring is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger. Starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, and Brian Cox, the film focuses on Rachel Keller (Watts), a journalist who discovers a cursed videotape that causes its viewers to die seven days later. It is a remake of Hideo Nakata's 1998 film Ring, based on the 1991 novel by Koji Suzuki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liev Schreiber</span> American actor (born 1967)

Isaac Liev Schreiber is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Watts</span> British actress (born 1968)

Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama For Love Alone (1986). She appeared in three television series, Hey Dad..! (1990), Brides of Christ (1991), and Home and Away (1991), and the film Flirting (1991). Ten years later, Watts moved to the United States, where she initially struggled as an actress. She took roles in small-scale films until she starred in her breakthrough role as an aspiring actress in David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justina Machado</span> American actress

Justina Milagros Machado is an American actress. She began her career playing secondary roles on television and film before starring as Vanessa Diaz in the HBO comedy-drama series, Six Feet Under (2001—05), for which she received Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Machado later starred in the short-lived series Missing, Three Rivers and Welcome to the Family and was a regular cast member in the first season of the USA Network crime drama Queen of the South.

<i>Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering</i> 1996 film by Greg Spence

Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is a 1996 American supernatural slasher film co-written and directed by Greg Spence and starring Naomi Watts, Brent Jennings, and Karen Black. It is the fourth film in the Children of the Corn series. The plot follows a medical student returning to her hometown in Nebraska, where she finds the children to be falling under a mysterious mass illness connected to the town's past.

<i>Anguish</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Bigas Luna

Anguish is a 1987 Spanish-produced horror film directed by Bigas Luna and starring Zelda Rubinstein, Michael Lerner, Talia Paul, Angel Jove and Clara Pastor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AnnaLynne McCord</span> American actress (born 1987)

AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress. Known for playing vixen-type roles, McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck, and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American Heiress. In 2008, she was cast in The CW series 90210, portraying antiheroine Naomi Clark. Initially, the part of Clark was conceived as a supporting role. By the end of the first season, however, media outlets had begun referring to McCord as the series' lead.

<i>Dream House</i> (2011 film) 2011 American psychological thriller film by Jim Sheridan

Dream House is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Jim Sheridan from Universal Pictures and Morgan Creek Productions, starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas. It was released on September 30, 2011, in the United States and Canada and was panned by critics.

<i>The Impossible</i> (2012 film) 2012 English-language Spanish film

The Impossible is a 2012 English-language Spanish biographical disaster drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sánchez. It is based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It features an international cast including Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland in his film debut.

<i>The Ring Two</i> 2005 American film directed by Hideo Nakata

The Ring Two is a 2005 American supernatural horror film and sequel to the 2002 film The Ring, which was a remake of the 1998 Japanese film Ring. Hideo Nakata, director of the original Ring, directed this film in place of Gore Verbinski. Noam Murro was attached before Nakata, but left due to creative differences. Naomi Watts, David Dorfman and Daveigh Chase reprised their roles with Simon Baker, Elizabeth Perkins and Sissy Spacek joining the cast. This film also marks the debut of Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

<i>See No Evil 2</i> 2014 American slasher film

See No Evil 2 is a 2014 American slasher film directed by the Soska sisters, written by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, produced by Michael Luisi, and starring Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle and the WWE professional wrestler Kane. It is the sequel to the 2006 See No Evil feature film. Unlike the original, which had a theatrical release, the film was released in 2014 on a direct to Blu-ray and DVD form.

<i>Adoration</i> (2013 film) 2013 Australian film

Adoration is a 2013 drama film directed by Anne Fontaine. It is Fontaine's first English-language film. It stars Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Ben Mendelsohn, Xavier Samuel, and James Frecheville. The film tells the story of a pair of middle-aged women who are life-long friends and have sex with each other's teenage sons, and the resultant emotional consequences of their ongoing affairs. It is based on a 2003 novella by British writer Doris Lessing called The Grandmothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Watts filmography</span>

Naomi Watts is a British actress and producer known for her work in Australian and American film, television and video games. Watts emigrated with her family to Australia from the UK at the age of 14, and made her debut in the 1986 Australian film For Love Alone. She then pursued a brief career in the fashion industry, first as a model and later as a fashion editor. After attending a drama workshop, Watts quit her editing job and pursued acting as a career. She appeared in the sitcom Hey Dad..! (1990), and the soap opera Home and Away (1991). Her first lead role was in the 1993 thriller Gross Misconduct, where Watts played a student who seduces her teacher, and then accuses him of rape.

<i>Goodnight Mommy</i> 2014 film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

Goodnight Mommy is a 2014 Austrian psychological horror film, written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The film stars Susanne Wuest and twin actors Elias and Lukas Schwarz, and follows the complex relationship between twin boys and their newly-returned-from-the-hospital mother in a large isolated house. The boys begin to question the woman's identity, believing that she isn't the same person as the one who went to surgery, and therefore wondering if she is their real mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Tremblay</span> Canadian actor (born 2006)

Jacob Tremblay is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Canadian Screen Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for a SAG Award and three Saturn Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Lillis</span> American actress (born 2002)

Sophia Lillis is an American actress. She starred as Beverly Marsh in the horror films It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019), as well as a teenager with telekinesis in the Netflix drama series I Am Not Okay With This (2020). Lillis has also appeared in the HBO psychological thriller miniseries Sharp Objects (2018) and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023).

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are an Austrian filmmaking duo. Franz is a long time partner and Fiala the nephew of filmmaker Ulrich Seidl. Franz, a former film journalist, began her film career co-writing with Seidl. Franz and Fiala began their creative partnership writing and directing Kern (2012), a documentary about the actor Peter Kern. They went on to gain international notice for their feature debut, the German-language psychological horror film Goodnight Mommy (2014), which was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

<i>Hes All That</i> 2021 film by Mark Waters

He's All That is a 2021 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Mark Waters, from a screenplay by R. Lee Fleming Jr. The film is a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 film She's All That, which was a modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1914 play Pygmalion and George Cukor's 1964 film My Fair Lady. It stars Addison Rae, Tanner Buchanan, Madison Pettis, and Peyton Meyer as well as Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard, who starred in She's All That, appearing in different roles.

Cameron Crovetti is an American actor best known for his role as Ryan Butcher in the satirical superhero series The Boys (2020–present).

References

  1. ↑ "Goodnight Mommy". Writers Guild of America West. October 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ Nordine, Michael (September 15, 2022). "'Goodnight Mommy' Review: Naomi Watts Has Twin Trouble in Prime Video Do-Over". Variety . Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (April 6, 2021). "Naomi Watts to Lead Amazon's Remake of Cult Hit 'Goodnight Mommy' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (June 17, 2022). "'Big Little Lies' Twins Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti to Star in Naomi Watts' 'Goodnight Mommy' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ filmmusicreporter (August 15, 2022). "Alex Weston Scoring Matt Sobel's 'Goodnight Mommy' Remake". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Juneau, Jen (August 23, 2022). "Naomi Watts Is a Mysteriously Masked Mother in Chilling First Photos from 'Goodnight Mommy'". People . Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ Panalagin, EJ (August 24, 2022). "'Goodnight Mommy' Trailer: Naomi Watts Plays a Terrifying, Bandaged Mother in Horror Remake". Variety. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2022). "'Goodnight Mommy' Trailer: Naomi Watts Is the Mother from Hell in Amazon Remake". IndieWire . Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Goodnight Mommy". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Goodnight Mommy". Metacritic . Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  11. ↑ Lee, Benjamin (September 16, 2022). "Goodnight Mommy review – Naomi Watts can't save tepid horror remake". The Guardian . Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ Sobczynski, Peter (September 16, 2022). "Goodnight Mommy movie review & film summary (2022)". RogerEbert.com . Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  13. ↑ Elfadi, Murtada (September 16, 2022). "Goodnight Mommy fails to make this parental nightmare seem scary". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  14. ↑ Zilko, Christian (September 16, 2022). "'Goodnight Mommy' Review: Naomi Watts Is a Mysterious Mother in Lo-Fi Horror Remake". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ Byrnes, Paul (September 15, 2022). "Naomi Watts is terrific in new Amazon movie, but the final twist lets it down". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ Murray, Noel (September 16, 2022). "Review: Even under wraps, Naomi Watts is terrific in 'Goodnight Mommy'". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.