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Goodnight Mommy
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Wikipedia article
'Goodnight Mommy' (; UK: 'Goodnight Mummy') is a 2014 Austrian psychological horror film, written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The film stars Susanne Wuest and twin actors Elias and Lukas Schwarz, and follows the complex relationship between twin boys and their newly-returned-from-the-hospital mother in a large isolated house. The boys begin to question the woman's identity, believing that she isn't the same person as the one who went to surgery, and therefore wondering if she is their real mother.
'Goodnight Mommy' had its world premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2014 and was theatrically released on 5 January 2015, by Stadtkino Verleih. The film grossed $2 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its performances, direction and screenplay. It was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
An American remake of the film starring Naomi Watts was released on Amazon Prime Video on September 16, 2022.
Plot
After undergoing cosmetic facial surgery, a woman (Susanne Wuest), who was formerly a choir member famous on local television, returns home to her modern, isolated lakeside house and to her nine-year-old identical twin sons, Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz), who entered the house after playing outside in a cornfield and the nearby lake. Her head is swathed in bandages, with only her eyes and mouth visible. The twins are unnerved by their mother's appearance and are further taken aback when she begins to exhibit strange behavior. She pointedly ignores Lukas and appears to only acknowledge Elias in conversation and meal preparations. Though it is the middle of summer, the mother orders the twins to keep the blinds closed during the day (as recommended by her doctor to avoid sunlight) and not allow any visitors or any animals in the house, imposes a strict rule of silence inside the house (as shes required to rest after the surgery), and allows them to only play outdoors in the garden. The mother also acts cruelly and lashes out at Elias physically and verbally when he is mischievous or disobedient. The boys comment that this is something their mother would never do.
The twins begin to suspect that beneath her bandages, their mother may not be the same person. These doubts are confirmed when they find an old picture in the photo album that shows the mother with another unknown woman who is wearing identical clothes and shares similar physical traits (it is revealed by the woman that the other woman in the photo is her friend who dresses in the same clothes as her). With the suspicion that the woman residing in their house is an impostor, the twins escape from the house and go to a church in a nearby town, where they try to get help from the priest. The priest drives them home, and is satisfied with the woman's explanation that she is their mother, as well as the separation from her husband, and a tragic accident.
The boys tie the woman to the bed with bandages and tape and refuse to let her go until she tells them where their real mother is. The woman insists that she is their mother, and the twins use a magnifying glass to burn her face to compel her to reveal where their real mother is. They then seal her mouth with tape.
Two employees of the Red Cross arrive to collect donations. Although they initially await the return of the mother, they finally leave the house after receiving a large amount of cash from Elias, which he discreetly stole from his mother's purse. Meanwhile, the woman breaks free from the adhesive tape around her mouth and yells for help, but is too late to attract the attention of the Red Cross employees. The twins seal her lips with super glue, only to realize that she is unable to eat. The twins cut open her lips with a small pair of scissors, slicing her mouth in the process.
As the woman is still bound and trapped, she wets her bed. The twins briefly set her free from her shackles to change the bedding, allowing her to subdue the boys and escape. The twins, however, have set up a booby trap that causes her to fall, knocking her unconscious. The woman wakes glued to the living room floor. Elias starts to burn down the house to pressure her into telling them the truth about their mother. The woman firmly insists that she is the twins' real mother.
The woman then tells Elias that Lukas had died in a swimming accident, meaning Lukas has been merely a hallucination as a result of dissociative identity disorder and is suffering from Capgras delusion, incapable of accepting his other half's demise. She tearfully explains to Elias that Lukas's death was not his fault and she begs her son to set her free so they can both move on from the tragedy. Elias challenges her to prove that she is their mother by asking her what Lukas is doing. As she cannot see Elias's hallucination of Lukas threatening to set fire to a curtain, she cannot answer the question. Elias, believing that his real mother could see Lukas, lights the curtain while hallucinating that his brother helps set the fire. The woman subsequently burns to death while screaming in agony before firefighters arrive.
As firefighters attempt to put out the fire, the woman, now unharmed and wearing a yellow dress that was previously shown in a happy family photo, leaves the house and walks into the woods. The final shot of the film shows Elias and Lukas walking through the cornfield and emerging to be with their mother, the three of them smiling and embracing, singing Lukas's favorite song.
Cast
*Susanne Wuest as Mother
* Elias Schwarz as Elias
* Lukas Schwarz as Lukas
*Hans Escher as Priester
*Elfriede Schatz as Rotkreuz Sammlerin
*Karl Purker as Rotkreuz Sammler
*Georg Deliovsky as Pizzalieferant
*Christian Steindl as Mesner
*Christian Schatz as Bauer
*Erwin Schmalzbauer as Akkordeongott
Reception
The film generally received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 85%, based on 145 reviews, with a rating average of 7.40/10. The site's consensus reads: "Dark, violent, and drenched in dread, 'Goodnight Mommy' is perfect for extreme horror enthusiasts or filmgoers who prefer to watch between splayed fingers." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
The National Board of Review named 'Goodnight Mommy' one of the Top 5 Foreign Language Films of 2015.
See also
*'The Other (1972 film)', a psychological thriller with similar themes
*'The Good Son (film)', a psychological thriller with related themes
*'A Tale of Two Sisters', a South Korean psychological horror-drama
*'The Uninvited (2009 film)', American remake of 'A Tale of Two Sisters'.
* List of submissions to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
* List of Austrian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
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