Goodnight Mommy: Movie Review

Cast: Naomi Watts, Nicholas Crovetti, Cameron Crovetti

Director: Matt Sobel

Eschewing some of the nastier edges of the brilliantly menacing 2014 Austrian thriller but none of the sickening claustrophobia, Matt Sobel's superior slice of suspense is a small screen outing that's well worth the time.

Naomi Watts stars as the mother in this thriller about a pair of twin boys, Elias and Lucas who reunite with their mom after she's had surgery. Clothed in a gauze balaclava across her face, the boys begin to suspect their mother is not who she says she is - and despite their investigation, they soon fear the worst.

Fans of the original Austrian film will know what to expect here in this relatively faithful remake that's as commanding as the original, even if it does hold back from some of the more severe moments. Admittedly this is to its detriment, but what emerges from this icy movie is nightmarish in parts, and quite disturbing in others.

Swathed in its chilly aesthetics of whites and blues, there's a piercing discomfort from Goodnight Mommy that's perpetuated by the aloof performance of Watts. One sequence will ensure you'll never listen to Edwyn Collins' mega hit without picturing a scene, there's a riff on The Shining and another owes a debt to Scarlett Johannson's turn in Under the Skin - there's enough nightmare fuel here that reharvests filmic fodder from before to make you worry that Sobel's not got the tricks up his sleeve.

But as he winds the threads of this adept and uncomfortable thriller, what Goodnight Mommy does is more about the unsettling exploration of a family dynamic. Certainly the twins' performance are excellent, but it's Nicholas who shoulders the burden of the role and the majority of the work - and he does so magnificently.

It may be purists feel Goodnight Mommy holds back at times - and admittedly, the film's denouement and last 15 minutes do feel like a bit of an emotional cop-out compared to the original, but to newcomers unaware of the source material, this creepy chamber piece in extremis is an ultra-suspenseful claustrophobic flick.

It's one which has a way of inveigling itself under your skin as the unsettling and foreboding atmosphere ratchets up the tension, leaving you feeling unfathomably sick in your stomach.

Goodnight Mommy is streaming on Prime Video from Friday September 16.