Goodnight Mommy (2022)
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Twin brothers begin to suspect that the woman they are living with is an impostor after their mother returns home following cosmetic surgery.
The story
Twin brothers Elias and Lukas return to live with their estranged mother, a former actress, following their parents' divorce. They are disturbed to find her head covered in bandages after cosmetic surgery and find her behavior unsettling; she is temperamental, drinks heavily, and enforces strict house rules. The boys become increasingly uneasy as she refuses to reconnect with them or perform familiar childhood rituals. After discovering a photograph with a different eye color and overhearing her speaking to an unknown person about 'pretending,' the boys begin to question if the woman in their home is actually their mother.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Twin brothers Elias and Lukas return to live with their estranged mother, a former actress, who appears with her head bandaged after cosmetic surgery. Her behavior is erratic and distant, leading the boys to suspect she is an impostor. After Elias overhears her saying she 'cannot go on pretending' and they find a photo with different eye colors, tensions peak. One night, Elias tries to remove her face mask, leading to a violent confrontation where she slaps and douses him with water. The boys flee to a nearby house but are returned home by state troopers. The next morning, the boys find their mother bound to a bed with duct tape. She claims she wore green contacts as an actress, but Lukas remains skeptical. Elias eventually returns to the house to find the contacts in her purse. The mother then takes Elias to a barn and reveals a blood-stained bullet hole. It is revealed that Elias accidentally shot and killed Lukas, and has been hallucinating his presence. The mother, consumed by grief, had been estranged from him. In a confused rage, Elias pushes his mother from the barn loft, causing a fire. As the barn burns, Elias sees both his mother and Lukas appear beside him, with his mother smiling and telling him he has done nothing wrong.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Matt Sobel
- Writers
- Kyle Warren · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Naomi Watts · Mother; Cameron Crovetti · Elias; Nicholas Crovetti · Lukas; Peter Hermann · Father; Crystal Lucas-Perry · Sandy; Jeremy Bobb · Gary
- Genres
- psychological horror; psychological thriller; horror thriller
- Themes
- dysfunctional families; amnesia; self-deception; mother–son relationships; hallucination
- Tone and mood
- chilling; psychological; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; psychological horror; twin brothers; plastic surgery; hallucination
- Source material / true-story basis
- Goodnight Mommy (2014 Austrian film)
- Content notes
- violence; torture
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Naomi Watts' performance but criticized the writing, pacing, and compared it unfavorably to the original Austrian film.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The film was announced in early 2021.; Principal photography began from June to August 2021.; Alex Weston composed the score for the film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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