Goodnight Mommy (2022)

American remakes of foreign horror films have a reputation for not being as good. While this isn't always true (I'd argue Haneke's English language remake of his own film Funny Games - also starring Watts - is as disturbing if not more than his original version) perhaps it has something to do with attempting to make a film more palatable to the American audience whose sensibilities are somewhat different than other markets. This version of Goodnight Mommy is remaking an Austrian film. I'm not going to compare the films, instead just focusing on this film on its own. I'm not sure if the flaws of this film stem from its source or from its own impulses, but more often than not Goodnight Mommy felt disappointing. 

Without spoiling anything Goodnight Mommy has a "twist" and it often feels like the film is going to great lengths to distract us from it. The film is marketed in a sleight of hand manner to ensure we think this movie is one thing before it pulls the rug out from under us to show us it is something else. But I'm not sure the film works so well in its subterfuge. 

I don't mean the twist isn't a surprise. I'm saying the lengths the film goes to to build up its false narrative often feels so off and unbelievable that it takes away from the enjoyment of it. What I mean is the film could have crafted a story that was compelling on its own before switching gears to its surprise but so often the build up to that felt unreal, unbelievable. And it often felt clear in how it could have done that as it could have leaned well into the issues of loss and how staggeringly hard parenting is. But the film more often than not feels like a cross between Home Alone and Mommy Dearest but without any sense of camp and more eye rolling moments. 

And when all is revealed the rest of the story makes little sense. Thinking back to how characters act feels unnatural in light of the real story. There is a great potential here for a fascinating story about how parents feel they fail their children. But Goodnight Mommy doesn't pull it off. At least this version doesn't. Watts does what she can with the material and there are moments in her performance when I started to see some of it come through, but never enough to overcome its rather pedestrian horror movie impulses. 

Goodnight Mommy

Starring: Naomi Watts, Cameron Crovetti, Nicholas Crovetti

Director: Matt Sobel

Writer: Kyle Warren