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Goodnight Mommy Movie Review: Being a remake of the 2014, highly acclaimed, Austrian film of the same name, Goodnight Mommy is a rather good example of how not to sacrifice the themes of the original film in order to make it something more safe. While the original was a great psychological thriller that did its best to get under the viewer's skin, the 2022 remake directed by Matt Sobel sacrifices that shock factor for something less engaging. Everything Everywhere All at Once Movie Review: Michelle Yeoh Knocks It Out of the Multiverse In This High-Concept Sci-Fi Drama (LatestLY Exclusive).
When twin brothers Lucas (Nicholas Corvetti) and Elias (Cameron Corvetti) are dropped off at their mother’s (Naomi Watts) home, to their shock, they discover her face to be covered in bandages. Explaining that they are due to a cosmetic surgery, the boys start suspecting that their mother may, in fact, not be their mother at all as her erratic behaviour sends them off on the worst holiday that they have ever had.
Watching the 2014 Goodnight Mommy, the film did its best in making sure that there was a level of subversion to it that changed your outlook on it by the end. Throughout the movie the boys use various techniques to get answers out of the impostor they believe is in their home, and things got pretty tense. There was a sense of general awareness where the movie did push boundaries and yet still maintained a certain line, and that’s what made it such a great watch.
The 2022 version of Goodnight Mommy lets go off all those elements and creates a santised experience that never really brings you into the fold. Naomi Watts' performance as the unnamed mother makes for a highlight of the film as certain visual cues keeps the viewers guessing, however that’s still not enough for the complete tenseless experience the movie provides.
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The Corvetti brothers do a decent enough job as well. Cameron Corvetti who was last seen in The Boys is able to carry his performance as Elias while Nicholas Corvetti’s laid-back portrayal of Lucas creates for some great chemistry. Bound to happen since they are twins in real-life of course, but the writing of their characters are never able to match the fiendish energy of their 2014 counterparts.
The ways to interrogate the mother back then were pretty disturbing in many cases, however the worst thing the boys do over here is pour water over Naomi Watts’ face, and that’s about it. None of the gruesome and tension building shock factor that was the highlight of the 2014 film is present in this remake. It genuinely feels like the filmmakers brought over a bottle of sanitiser and poured it all over the previous outing to rather explore the intricacies of a worrisome child-mother relationship. Where The Crawdads Sing Movie Review: Daisy-Edgar Jones’ Engrossing Turn Is Marred by An Underwhelming Conclusion (LatestLY Exclusive).
However, it’s not all bad in the remake town though. The ending is pretty subversive in making sure that those last few minutes are worth it. Perhaps the only one narrative choice that is able to bring something to the table, it’s executed pretty well. However, the impact of it can’t be felt much because of the way we reached to the finish point. While the score from Alex Weston creates for some tense tunes and the cinematography of Alexander Dynan is slick, the screenplay from Kyle Warren is lacking as it feels like a barking dog is being held back from a leash. Overall, a disappointing watch.
Yay!
Naomi Watts and the Corvetti Brothers
Ending is Well Executed
Nay!
Film Lacks Tension
Sacrifices Scares to Be More Safe
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of the 2014 Goodnight Mommy, the you should probably stay away from this remake as it lets go off everything that made the original such a cult movie. While new viewers would be tantalised by its twisted ending, Goodnight Mommy just isn’t able to provide for a horror escapade that will leave you tensed. Goodnight Mommy is streaming on Amazon Prime Video right now.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2022 09:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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