The new Prime Video Original Movie Goodnight Mommy is free from monsters, gore and bloodshed, yet it is still able to chill you to the bone.
Instead, this clever new psychological horror takes the safest and most familiar elements to us all — family and home — and turns them into sinister forces that can no longer be trusted.
Goodnight Mommy is a re-imagining of the classic 2014 Austrian film of the same name, but with a set of new twists to how this scary tale unfolds.
Take a look at the trailer for Prime Video Original Movie Goodnight Mommy. Post continues below.
The film opens on young twin brothers Elias and Lucas (played by siblings Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti) as they are being delivered to their mother’s isolated country home by their father (Younger's Peter Hermann).
The brothers, who have been cared for by their father during their parent's apparent tense separation, are shocked to discover that their normally warm and loving mother, played by Naomi Watts, is now cold and indifferent to them.
Her face is also completely obstructed by bandages, leaving only her eyes and mouth showing. The result from a mystery surgery which she offers no further details on when her sons first arrive home.
The boys are initially thrown by their mother’s surprise appearance, especially when she claims their father must have told them about it. But what’s even more unsettling are the new rules she has implemented in the home that now feels unwelcoming to them.
She demands the boys move around the house without making any noise, insists the curtains must remain closed so no sunlight can creep into the rooms, and strangely, seems more intent on reprimanding Elias over Lucas for their perceived bad behaviour.
Yet as the boys spend more time at the house, more unsettlingly behaviour from the mother emerges. However, it's only when she appears to heartlessly throw away a picture the boys have made for her, Elias and Lucas start to come to a truly chilling realisation.
That perhaps this person staring back at them from beneath the bandages is not their beloved mother after all.
Naomi Watts' brilliant performance as the mother is what elevates Goodnight Mommy to being both a truly terrifying horror experience and an emotionally driven family drama; playing out in a home where the history of these people is not exactly what it appears to be on the surface.
Even with her face covered, the Australian actress is able to take the audience on a journey throughout the film by using the depth of emotion in her eyes. At times, her character seems truly evil, then in the next moment you'll find yourself feeling complete empathy for a person who seems lost in deep personal pain.
It's an unnerving yet brilliant performance and one that will keep you watching until the movie's final moments, all to discover what is really motivating this character's intense behavior.
Both Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, who received critical acclaim for starring opposite Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies, are also incredibly skilled performers.
Watching them grapple with this apparent new stranger in their mother's place will thrust you right back into one of your greatest childhood fears: a world where the person you love most becomes a total stranger, and that the walls of your home feel as if they are safeguarding monsters, instead of keeping you safe and secure.
Goodnight Mommy has a few well-placed shocks and big scares carefully placed amongst the slow-burn tension of the story, so you'll definitely find yourself jumping up from the couch on more than one occasion.
The action also intensifies in the second half of the film, where all the pieces of the story begin to come together and build to a truly surprising plot twist. A twist that will entice you to go back and experience the whole film all over again, just to spot all the clues you missed the first time around.
We see Elias and Lucas begin to face off against the woman they no longer believe to be their mother in a cat-and-mouse game within the dark house that begins to feel completely suffocating. And while other adults come briefly in and out of the story, they are unable to help the family navigate this new nightmare.
Goodnight Mommy is a well-crafted horror film that also delves into the complexities of family, motherhood, and the perils of growing up and leaving the safe space of childhood behind.
It's a movie experience you won't want to miss.
The Prime Video Original Movie Goodnight Mommy is now streaming, only on Prime Video.
Feature Image: Prime Video.
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