In Goodnight Mommy, even Naomi Watts can't make this parental nightmare seem scary
Twin brothers arrive at their mother's house and begin to suspect that something isn't right. Remake of the 2014 Austrian film.The story takes place mostly in that big manor house. The boys run around being mischievous as their mother hides her face and acts in ways they find disturbing. Even when she dances in front of the mirror, Watts is shot and lighted to look eerie. At first, the audience watches her from the boys’ point of view, suspecting every little gesture.
The original Austrian film had shock value and genuine, gruesome horror. This new Americanized version sands the edges off of the narrative every chance it gets. The three main characters are more sympathetically drawn, which hurts the suspense between them. The audience’s allegiance is supposed to see-saw between the two sides, but in this version, neither side goes to the extreme and the result is a lack of audience investment.
The original film became a sensation by depicting children doing awfully gruesome stuff. It’s understandable to want to remake it, but why remove the elements that made it unique? With, add another miss—not just to Watts’ filmography, but to the growing catalogue of U.S. remakes that are far inferior to their predecessors.
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