Film Review : Goodnight Mommy (2014) | OUT OF FRAME
Continuing Haneke’s Legacy
Writing good horror is notoriously hard. So is filming it.
Especially so for Austrian directors of Goodnight Mommy (2014), Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. They have big shoes to fill, left behind by the likes of fellow countrymen Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl (who happens to be Franz’ partner and Fiala’s uncle).
The film starts with an unassuming overture, where twin brothers Elias and Lukas spend their paradisiacal days playing hide-and-seek in the idyllic Austrian countryside and caring for their bug terrarium. That is, until their mother comes home from a cosmetic surgery... looking like a different kind of mummy. Her bandaged visage and bruised eyes seem to betray a transformation that penetrates deeper than skin, and she starts treating Lukas coldly, refusing to speak to him or even serve him breakfast. With strict instructions to keep all the blinds and doors closed to allow her adequate rest, the twins’ expansive house, once an unsupervised haven, now transforms into an eerie manor.
In the second movement, Franz and Fiala shift their melody to a different, more dissonant key. As the twins’ feelings of suspicion grow into a palpable hatred, the psychological narrative starts to become something more visceral. And just when you think the film is done, Goodnight Mommy segues into a final cadenza, closing the curtains with a bleak twist that ties it all together.
Body Horror for the Sake of It
Unfortunately, the bold finale missed the mark for me. Frankly speaking, the twist is easy enough to guess from the first twenty minutes – in fact, you might already have a rough idea just based on the few plot details I’ve given in this review. Predictability aside, the efforts Franz and Fiala take to conceal the twist tend to veer the narrative way off track. The third act seems to be entirely synthesised for shock value, which (personally) doesn’t add much without larger significance to the plot.
Goodnight Mommy ticks off all the phobia boxes: body horror, creepy crawlies, gore, the dark, you name it. I wish it had more faith in the original psychological premise of the film, but regardless, it’s versatile and serves up a satisfyingly scary (and admittedly not so pleasant) viewing experience for all. While the film takes on a more understated approach to its scares, it does so with surgical precision. No jumpscares or cheap tricks – Franz and Fiala achieve all of it by sheer virtue of atmosphere and slow burn suspense, thanks to the amazing sound and set design on 35mm film. Not to mention Elias and Lukas may be one of the spookiest twin pairings in film history, right behind the Grady twins of The Shining.
Twins & Trauma: Symbols in Goodnight Mommy
Horror’s all about symbolism, and that’s something Goodnight Mommy does exceedingly well. The film’s horror grows out of grief. It’s about picking up the pieces as you navigate those feelings. It’s about the deeper psyche of familial dynamics, the primal fear of losing each other, and the endless gulf between one person’s lived experience and another’s.
Goodnight Mommy is an artful introduction to the genre, but it lacks the seamless storytelling needed to bring out its true potential. That being said, it’s still a stylistic gem with an enduring combination of well-choreographed scenes and alluring visuals to soak up. And once the credits start to roll, it’ll feel like you’re waking up from a fitful fever dream; one where so many things happen that you’ve forgotten them all. What lingers though, is a residual feeling of dread.
Ich seh, ich seh. Ich sehe was, das du nicht siehst.
I spy, I spy. I spy something you don’t see.
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ABOUT THE FILM CRITIC:
Jane is a student who loves all types of media and creative expression, including film. She especially has a soft spot in her heart for Asian cinema and films that make her bawl. Apart from lurking on Letterboxd, she loves crafting and collecting trinkets too!
