DIRECTOR: Matt Sobel
CAST: Naomi Watts, Cameron Crovetti, Nicholas Crovetti, Peter Hermann, Jeremy Bobb, Crystal Lucas-Perry
RUNNING TIME: 92 mins
CERTIFICATE: 15
BASICALLY…: Two brothers (Crovetti and Crovetti) become convinced that their bandaged mother (Watts) isn’t who she says she is…
NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
While it wasn’t without its share of flaws, namely an all-too predictable twist that was obvious from the beginning, the Austrian horror film Goodnight Mommy was an undeniably effective film that boasted an eerie atmosphere, some chilling performances, and an unapologetically uncomfortable level of torturous violence that made even those with the toughest stomachs wince at the screen.
Unfortunately, it has now fallen victim to the all-too common trait of being remade as a much more tepid English-language thriller, which translates almost none of the genuine thrills or suspense from the original, and replaces them with surface-level drama that constantly thinks its audience is too slow to catch up. While it’s far from the worst remake in the world – hell, it’s not even the worst remake I’ve seen this month – it is an entirely pointless one, as it adds nothing to a story which already wasn’t perfect, but still had much more to offer than this version does.
The plot is almost the same as in the original; twin brothers Elias and Lukas (played by real-life twins Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti) welcome home who they at first believe to be their mother (Naomi Watts), an actress who’s just undergone some reconstructive surgery, and as a result has her head completely bandaged up, save for her eyes and mouth. However, the boys start to notice a change in their mother’s behaviour, which to them seems colder and more demanding than normal, including not allowing them anywhere near their barn for unknown reasons. They eventually decide that the woman they’re staying with isn’t their mother at all, and is in fact an imposter, and so they set out to make her confess to her apparent fraud, by any means necessary.
Even if you haven’t seen the original Goodnight Mommy, you can clearly tell that this is a far inferior version of a much better movie, because director Matt Sobel (working from a script by Kyle Warren) is unable to access the same level of suspense or creepiness that original filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala were able to. Instead of relying on mood and atmosphere to build towards a truly horrifying resolution, this one revels in a generic horror movie score that is constant throughout, always reminding you that you’re watching a movie instead of experiencing something meant to truly disturb the senses. It also lacks the original’s sense of ambiguity, because almost every plot point is over-explained to a point where nothing is left to the imagination, and makes you wonder if this writer and director thought that their audience wouldn’t be smart enough to figure things out for themselves, unless each bit of information was spoon-fed to an almost patronising degree. This is especially apparent with the film’s big twist (which, like in my review for the original, will be detailed as little as possible, just in case you’d still like to go in blind), which in the original was already obvious to figure out, but here it’s made REALLY obvious, as it is telegraphed so hard that it’s rather surprising that they didn’t just flash text on-screen telling the viewer what it was.
It’s left to the actors to carry the movie, and in fairness they are trying extremely hard, even if they never once come across anywhere near as unsettling as the original’s performers. Naomi Watts is doing her absolute best here, and so are young actors Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, but part of the original’s tension came from how eerie and other-worldly those performances were, with the young boys in that film particularly sending chills down your spine with their sadistic edge that became more and more apparent as it went on. Here, you’re never creeped out by these kids, because the performances – while serviceable – contain little, if any, actual menace to them, while Watts – who, again, is giving this part all she’s got – isn’t given enough free reign to go all-out crazy to a point where she may actually be a different person than what she seems. Sometimes she gets to do some wicked things, such as one scene where she practically goes full Mommie Dearest, but it just feels like you’re watching Naomi Watts in yet another remake of something, rather than be truly terrified by this mysterious character.
The whole thing just feels unnecessary, especially when there already exists a much better version of this story which, while once again imperfect, does have a creepy tone and sinister edge to it. This is entirely safe, toothless material that does almost nothing to set itself apart, and makes you just want to watch that original which actually does some shocking and gruesome things every now and then. Again, though, it’s not like this is an overall terrible film – the acting is good, and despite not being a fraction as well-shot as the original, it still has some nice cinematography once in a while – but between this version of Goodnight Mommy and the other one, it’s clear which one is going to be the more essential viewing.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Goodnight Mommy is an entirely unnecessary remake of the chilling original, which lacks the atmosphere, ambiguity, and memorable performances needed to match that previous version in almost every way, rendering it a toothless and even safe carbon copy.
