Goodnight Mommy (2022) movie - Sleep Tight

​Yet another watered-down American remake. Do they make any others? Seriously, do they? What is it exactly about a gun-toting, warmongering, hyperviolent nation that screams “delicate sensibilities ahead, preprocess and water down all media before proceeding?”
One may never know. But point is, time and again properly terrifying and disturbing foreign cinema gets the “shhh, it’s ok, nothing too scary for you” adaptation.
This is the latest. And, to be fair, I’ve not seen the original Austrian movie, only read about it, but from what I’ve read, it’s supposed to be a doozy.
Every review out there seems to be comparing the American version to the Austrian one and find it wanting.
So, I’ll do something different and just review the movie as is instead. Albeit, while being aware that this version is inferior.
As a movie standing on its own two feet, Goodnight Mommy actually does ok. There are two main factors which will determine your enjoinment of it:
1.How much you enjoy actual acting in your genre movies, because this movie is very well acted. It should be, it’s really a three person play. A pair of adorable twins who are quite good actors and hold their own very nicely against a veteran actress like Watts and Watts herself, who is no stranger to remakes (Funny Games, The Ring, King Kong) and is always a welcome presence. Watts as the titular mommy is by turns unsettling, scary, loving, disturbing, sexy, wrecked, traumatized, and above all, thoroughly compelling.
2.How early you can figure out the twist. This is one of those movies that very much hinges upon a plot twist. It took my fiancé much less time than it did me, so proportionately I enjoyed the movie more.
 
And also, why doesn’t Naomi Watts have more of a career? She’s talented, beautiful, versatile; she’s been working non-stop for ages but doesn’t seem to get the right roles. Unlike, say, some of her Aussie (freakishly tall) contemporaries, who despite looking dangerously underfed and plastic, hop from award vehicle to award vehicle. Watts’s career had a peak about twenty years ago and ever since then it’s mostly been quality work in underwhelming movies. Someone get Naomi Watts a new agent or something.
 
Anyway, Goodnight Mommy is, comparisons aside, a perfectly decent movie, especially if you like your thrills on the slow and sedate side. It’s well shot, well-acted, and has a fun (if not especially original) twist. So overall, if you don’t go in expecting too much, yeah, it’s worth 90some minutes of your time.