By Geno McGahee
On December 1st, Anchor Bay Entertainment and RADiUS will release GOODNIGHT MOMMY on Blu-ray and DVD. It has been called “terrifying” and “sinister” and with good reason. GOODNIGHT MOMMY is a unique film with plenty of unsettling moments, twists and turns and tension to keep you glued to the screen.
Written by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, GOODNIGHT MOMMY surrounds very young twin brothers, Lukas (Lukas Schwarz) and Elias (Elias Schwarz). Their mother (Susanne Wuest) has just returned home after plastic surgery to her face and she has some demands that have made the children suspicious. She doesn’t want any light coming into the home, no visitors, nothing brought in from the outside and she doesn’t want the kids to bother her that much. She ignores Lukas and does it blatantly and has a certain edge.
Elias and Lukas begin to closely monitor their mother and become more and more convinced that she is not who she claims she is. They begin by hiding a baby monitor under her bed, spying on her, and then, remarkably, placing a live roach on her body while she sleeps. Lukas becomes the leader of this duo and decides to raise the stakes and things get really out of control.
When their mother takes off the bandages and shows that she does look like a new woman, they become convinced that she is lying and knows where their mother is. She awakens tied up and confused with two young boys staring her down. They begin torturing her, demanding to know where their real mother is. She insists to be let go, but they will not stop and it gets worse as Lukas comes up with new methods.
As much as she tries to convince Elias to cut her loose, she cannot overcome the hold that Lukas has on him. The two kids put on handmade painted tribal-like masks and make it very clear that she is to reveal where their real mother is or she is going to be tortured to death. Her constant pleas to Elias and the reasons for ignoring Lukas are revealed in a shocking twist. The ending to this film is so unsettling and terrible that it has to be seen. This movie pulls no punches and it’s meant to shock the audience. It does just that.
GOODNIGHT MOMMY is an incredible film with a slow burn that turns into a frantic pace where you nearly want to shut your eyes or turn away. This film has been compared to THE BABADOOK and IT FOLLOWS, but it’s far better. This deserves all the praise that it gets and then some. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 8.5/10
GOODNIGHT MOMMY Blu-ray™
Street Date: December 1, 2015
Pre-book: October 28, 2015
Catalog #: BD63095
UPC: 013132630953
Run Time: 100 mins
Rating: R
SRP: $26.99
Format: Blu-ray™
Aspect Ratio: 2.39
Audio: German 5.1 Dolby Digital
GOODNIGHT MOMMY DVD
Street Date: December 1, 2015
Pre-book: October 28, 2015
Catalog #: WC63094
UPC: 013132630946
Run Time: 100 mins
Rating: R
SRP: $22.98
Format: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 2.39
Audio: German 5.1 Dolby Digital
