Movie Review: Goodnight Mommy
By Jonathan Fuchs, Contributor
[Ulrich Seidl; 2015]
Rating: 3.5/5
Since the American trailer for Goodnight Mommy was released, the Austrian horror film has become the most talked about horror movie of the year, especially with many calling the trailer “the scariest of all time.”
Do not watch the trailer. It is lying to you.
The trailer for Goodnight Mommy makes it seem like you are about to watch a creepy, action-packed supernatural horror movie. Instead, it’s a slow-paced, suspenseful psychological thriller with themes of trust and paranoia. While it isn’t really scary, Goodnight Mommy is still suspenseful and will disturb you to no end.
The film, about two twins (Lukas and Elias Schwarz) being suspicious about whether or not their cosmetic surgery-recovering mother (Susanne Wuest) is really herself, has a very creepy yet beautiful atmosphere with tremendous cinematography. The first half of the film is very slow, but very beautiful to look at.
The acting from the kids could be the best child acting of the year, and the performance from the mom is so amazing, it’s hard to watch. They, along with the writing, move the suspense and fear in the film so well it’s hard to predict what will happen next.
The faults with the film take place at the second half up to the ending, which is filled with minor plot holes and is so gross it’s difficult to watch. However, the ending that follows contains one of the greatest twists in modern horror cinema, and will leave you pretty satisfied.
If you want a horror movie with plenty of fun and jump scares, go see anything else. If you want a thoughtful, suspenseful thriller so disturbing it’ll leave you shaking, Goodnight Mommy is the movie for you. But whatever you do, just don’t watch the trailer.
