Goodnight Mommy (2022 film)
Twin brothers suspect their bandaged mother is an impostor.
In this 2022 American psychological horror remake, Matt Sobel directs a story by Kyle Warren about twin boys who believe their mother has been swapped with a lookalike. Naomi Watts leads the cast, which includes Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Jeremy Bobb, and Peter Hermann.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Matt Sobel
- Screenplay
- Kyle Warren
- Based on
- Goodnight Mommy
- Written and directed by
- Veronika Franz
- Severin Fiala
- Produced by
- Ulrich Seidl
- Producer
- Joshua Astrachan
- David Kaplan
- V.J. Guibal
- Nicolas Brigaud-Robert
- Starring
- Naomi Watts
- Cameron Crovetti
- Nicholas Crovetti
- Peter Hermann
- Crystal Lucas-Perry
- Jeremy Bobb
- Cinematography
- Alexander Dynan
- Editing
- Michael Taylor; Maya Maffioli
- Music
- Alex Weston
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Twin brothers Elias and Lukas have been living with their father after their parents' divorce. When they return to their estranged mother, a former actress, they find her entire head bandaged following cosmetic surgery. She imposes strict rules: they must not enter her room or the barn. The boys disobey and explore the barn, discovering old toys, and their mother punishes them by confining them to the country house. The mother drinks heavily, has a short temper, and refuses to sing the lullaby she once sang to them. Elias learns she threw away a drawing he made of their family. Overhearing a phone call, he hears her say she cannot keep pretending and wants someone gone. After seeing an old photograph showing their mother with a different eye color, the boys question whether she is their real mother. When they try to call their father, she breaks their cell phone. During a bath, Elias attempts to remove her face mask, leading to an argument; after he claims she is not their mother, she slaps him and sprays him with freezing water until he recants. The boys flee at night to a nearby house, which is abandoned. State troopers find them and return them home. The mother, now without bandages, tells the police Elias's lip injury was from a fall by the pool.
Production
In April 2021, Playtime acquired rights for a remake of the 2014 Austrian film Goodnight Mommy, with Amazon Studios and Animal Kingdom developing, Matt Sobel directing, Kyle Warren writing, and Naomi Watts starring and executive producing. Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Jeremy Bobb, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Peter Hermann joined the cast later that year. Principal photography ran from June to August 2021. Alex Weston composed the score.
Release
Goodnight Mommy was released in the United States on September 16, 2022, on Prime Video by Amazon Studios. Critics gave mixed reviews. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian rated it 2/5 stars, calling it a slick but soulless movie. Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com gave it 1/4 stars, stating it replicates the original's story beats but lacks tension and ambiguity. Murtada Elfadi of The A.V. Club gave it a C−, writing that the American version sands off the original's edges. Christian Zilko of IndieWire gave it a B−, saying it keeps horror lovers entertained without embarrassing itself. Paul Byrnes of The Sydney Morning Herald gave it 3/5 stars, calling it effectively chilling rather than terrifying. Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times praised Watts's performance but noted the film pulls back from the violence that made the original a sublime ordeal.
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