Goodnight Mommy: A chilling Mother's Day thriller | Cinemaworld
We are playing a different tune this Mother’s Day, with an unsettling psychological horror-thriller thrown in the mix. From heartwarming, real-life inspired stories to dark dramas—this curated list of films will certainly make this Mother’s Day a unique experience.
Goodnight Mommy
Starting off the list with a dark twist, Goodnight Mommy begs the question: do we ever truly know our mothers, or our children?
Clinching both the Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography Awards at the Austrian Film Award, 2016, the Austrian psychological-horror thriller is set in an isolated house in the countryside between woods and corn fields. Twin brothers Lukas and Elias return home, anticipating their mother who had just undergone a cosmetic procedure.
But waiting at home, stood a heavily bandaged woman who seems nothing like the loving mother the twins once knew. Unable to accept the stranger in their home, Lukas and Elias are determined to uncover the truth—even if it takes turning against their mother.
Premiering this May, catch the movie on CinemaWorld and CinemaWorld On Demand.
*Just a gentle PSA: we’re here to celebrate moms, not turn against them!*
Victim
Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film, FIPRESCI Prize in 2023, Michal Blaško’s debut feature Victim blends a mother-son tale with eye-opening social-critique on two-class societies. Set in a small Czech town, the film follows single-mother Irina who is an Ukrainian immigrant trying to make a life for herself and her son Igor.
One day, one of her worst fears is realised when her son is brutally assaulted. All fingers point to their Roma neighbours, but police investigations soon reveal the shocking truth about the incident that turns Irina’s life upside down.
However, an ongoing political campaign in town quickly latches onto Igor's case, with different actors in the media, politics and society manipulating the incident to their own ends. Amid the relentless pursuit by the prying tongues of the public Irina has to contend with the xenophobia, discrimination, and prejudice around her. Torn between protecting her family and searching for the truth, she is ultimately forced to make a fateful decision.
Confetti
Directed by the award-winning director Ann Hu (Shadow Magic (2000)), Confetti is an inspirational semi-autobiographical film about a mother’s unwavering love for her child.
Lan’s (played by Chinese star Zhu Zhu) 9-year-old daughter Mei Mei, learns differently from her peers, and the world seen through her eyes is filled with colour and magic. But seen as slow and strange, Mei Mei is an outcast. When her condition is finally given a name—dyslexia—Lan takes on the daunting journey from China to New York City in search of greater opportunities for her daughter.
Halfway across the world, Lan becomes the live-in caretaker of wheelchair-bound writer Helen (Oscar nominee Amy Irving). Though Lan can’t speak a word of English, she, with Helen’s help, will stop at nothing to fight for her daughter’s education.
Remember To Blink
Mother knows best? A haunting and atmospheric film, Lithuanian psychological-drama Remember To Blink (2022) explores themes of parenthood, control and obsession. Set in an idyllic house in the French mountains, Jacqueline and Leon (Anne Azoulay and Arthur Igual) welcome a pair of adopted siblings from Lithuania.
Unable to interact with the children in their native language, the French couple hired Gabriele, a young Lithuanian student, to serve as an interpreter and nanny. But as Gabriele forms a deep connection with the children, her growing influence begins to unsettle Jacqueline who feels herself losing her grasp on her maternal role.
The film won Best Film Award (Silver Crane) at the Lithuania Film Awards 2023.
Keep Going
Based on the novel Continuer by acclaimed author Laurent Mauvignier, Keep Going (2018) is an arresting road drama that charts the emotional terrain between a mother and her teenage son.
Samuel, a volatile teenager slipping into a cycle of violence, finds no sense of purpose in his life. His mother Sybille (award-winning Belgian-French actress Virginie Efira) , a divorcee plagued by her own demons, is desperate to save her son from spiraling down the same dark path she did.
Will a gruelling horseback ride across the sweeping and untamed steppes of Kyrgyzstan uncover life’s meaning? Amid the magnificent yet brutal terrain, their journey is one of reckoning and healing.
Whether you are celebrating Mother’s Day with a special day out or a cozy night in, these list of movies will surely make this day more memorable (Goodnight Mommy too—a different kind of memorable🫣).
Happy Mother’s Day!
Want more exclusive behind-the-scenes content, international premieres, and box-office hits? Join our community of film lovers today!
Subscribe to CinemaWorld now for the best of international cinema!
