Goodnight Mommy (2015)

I had seen a preview for this movie early in 2015. The preview was actually quite unnerving for me! I knew I'd have to watch this movie, and sure enough it made it's way to Amazon Prime. I just watched the movie and it is fresh in my head. Let me tell you that this is a very good psychological horror!

Here is the IMDB synopsis: "Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognize."

The Grade: A (Very strong story that is also very effective.)

The Good:

This movie is the epitome of great horror for my own personal taste! It is a slow burn. You sit there and just let yourself get sucked in to the story. The story is so engaging! It's very scary when you let yourself take it in. "What if your mother has facial surgery and an imposter returns to your home in her place?" The movie takes some twists and turns that are somewhat easy to spot early, however they do not gift wrap it for you. Makes you wonder if she really is their mother. Makes you wonder a lot of other things as the story unfolds. This is just great storytelling at it's best! Great acting from the twins and the mother. Cinematography was definitely good as it makes you feel the general isolation of the house. The horror is mostly psychological, which for me is always a huge plus. It's themes became more and more apparent and I felt emotionally connected.

The Bad:

Really not much to say here guys! It can be a bit slow for some folks. Some have claimed that it is not even "horror." I would have to disagree with this notion. It very much has it's place in horror. The twist is good, but perhaps a bit "too" telegraphed for some viewers. I personally enjoyed the twist due to the fact they do a good job of making things seem like they could go either way. I guess one other item of note is that it is subtitled. Some people do not like subtitles, so here's your subtitle warning.

The Ugly:

Other reviews I have watched and read! There is a general criticsm of a point in the movie where the tone shifts. There is violence and a lot of folks don't like the shift from psychological to physical. I have a comment on that: It makes sense! If you pay attention to the movie and what drives the characters then you can see why at some point it was bound to escalate. I won't spoil anything, but there are many things the characters do throughout the movie that simply leads to violence as a natural escalation point.

In Conclusion:

This is a wonderful movie! It is slow and just beautiful. I really feel this is story telling at it's very best! I personally love subtitled movies, and this one did not disappoint. I found it scary in a psychological way. I cared a great deal for the characters. I'm quite excited that this movie found it's way to Amazon Prime! I am not sure that this movie holds up to repeat viewings, but I know that letting it unfold for the first time was a treat!

#Mystery #Foreign #Suspense