Goodnight Mommy (2014)
Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Starring: Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz
Format: AVI
Plot: Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognize.
And so the 2015 edition of 31 Nights of Terror comes to an end with the 40th entry, which I'm pretty sure is my best effort yet. I wanted to finish with something good, and I've been wanting to see Goodnight Mommy ever since I first started hearing buzz about it last year.
This German-language Austrian film is pure psychological horror. There's no body count and there's no gore, so if you're after that, look elsewhere. Instead Goodnight Mommy is a beautifully-shot slice of surreal and suspenseful mystery. The idea is that you're kept guessing the whole time as things unfold and the plot takes a bunch of twists and turns.
I say that because unfortunately I picked the plot twist right from the start, as I'm sure a lot of horror fans will. When you watch so many of these types of movies it happens. While I think not guessing the twist would add a lot to the viewing experience here, I did enjoy the movie anyway.
The directors do a fantastic job of capturing the absolute beauty of the remote countryside location, with some simply stunning cinematography. Simultaneously they use this isolation to build a atmosphere of complete and utter dread, without relying on lazy jump scares. Helped by some fantastic acting from the three leads (young twins Lukas and Elias are outstanding), this movie will have your skin crawling and the hairs on the back of your neck standing up for the whole ride.
To say too much more would be to give too much away, but if you like slow-burning, suspenseful stories that will make you think, you can't go wrong with Goodnight Mommy.
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