By Luc Anderson
Staff Writer
This film is able to make even the most audacious horror film fanatics fear what is happening on screen, as well as what spine-chilling event is going to happen next.
Since its launch at last years Venice film festival, the Austrian made movie, Goodnight Mommy, has been growing a notoriety of being an amazing film worthy of going to see. The thrill of not knowing truly is the scariest part of this movie.
Goodnight Mommy is no horror film to be taken lightly. Not only does it never fail to scare the living daylight out of you, it is also brilliantly executed, and strongly performed. This movie leaves other horror films in the dust, and in comparison they are no match at all.
The film follows real life twin brothers Lukas and Elias Schwarz. The mother of the boy’s returns from her surgery with her face completely covered in bandages. Upon her arrival they quickly realize that something isn’t right. She demands constant quiet and absolutely no sunlight to help with her recovery. She becomes increasingly cold and distant, and begins to favorite Lukas over Elias in hopes to distance them from each other.
Despite her attempts the brothers continue to share a strong bond, and resume with their normal activities. As the days go on their mother becomes more and more cruel and bizarre. Since they have no father to look to for help the boys take matters into their own hands and begin plotting a plan to find out who is truly hiding behind the bandages.
This was a great film unlike any others of its type. The storyline was fantastic and very easy to follow. This movie was more thrilling than it was scary, but it did have its moments of true horror. While watching this movie don’t expect to be constantly ambushed by popouts, rather be scared by anticipation.
This film has some very gross and somewhat disturbing parts that seem a little strange. the eating of cockroaches and the killing of very adorable animals are just a few of the grotesque things that occur in this movie, but if you can get past this the rest of the movie is very enjoyable. This is one of the only things that could be seen as somewhat of a flaw.
This movie is in German, so subtitles are used. It was somewhat annoying having to constantly read the subtitles to understand what was going on, but the actors really made up for this with their outstanding performances.
All in all Goodnight Mommy is an extremely impressive film that is an absolute must see for those who aren’t too skittish. This movie is clearly not great for all, but if you are looking for something that will frighten you with thrill, and not just popouts, than this is definitely the movie for you. In my opinion this was a fantastic movie, and my expectations were greatly exceeded.
This film is rated R, and is available on demand and for viewing at select theaters.
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