Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 2, 2015

Shades of M. Night Shyamalan are evident throughout Goodnight Mommy, a German language Psychological Chiller from the writing/directing tandem of Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala. Low on jump scares and gore and high on spine tingling uncertainty and fear, the film caters not to the blood and guts audience but instead those who would find patience with the movie as it, like the title mother figure, gradually unwraps its layers and reveals the truths tucked deeply within. It's the film's ability to convey so little yet keep the audience unnerved and desperate for any clue as to what's happening and why that makes it work so well. The film's pleasures are, then, less in its final reveals and more in how it gets there, regardless of where "there" is and what any given audience member may think of it.

The twins.

Twins Lukas and Elias (Lukas and Elias Schwarz) live in the idyllic German countryside. Their mother (Susanne Wuest) has just returned home from the hospital. Her entire face is bandaged, her eyes swollen and bruised. The boys continue on with their lives, playing with their cockroach collection and taking in a stray cat they've found nearby. But their interactions with their mother aren't as they used to be. She's more aggressive and other little hints lead them to believe that she's not who she seems to be, at least beyond the physical. As the boys lose trust in her, they go to extreme measures to verify her identity, even as her wounds heal and her bandages come off.

Goodnight Mommy works the "less is more" angle to perfection. Even if "less" here really is just an absolute dearth of context in the first act -- it's all subtle character and location introduction and atmospheric plot organization -- the film is presented in such an engrossing, simplistic way that the audience is always tempted to keep going after that carrot the movie dangles, even as the path ahead is murky at best and fully obscured at worst. Information trickles in. The movie drops a clue here, and precious few bread crumbs there, and the joy comes in following along, desperately searching for the next. That minimalist approach builds an unnerving sensation that comes in large part because there's so little context -- this is as close to being blind as cinema gets without the screen just going dark -- but also because the filmmakers have arranged it all with such elegant precision that the fear of the reveal becomes almost more frightening than whatever the reveal may actually show. It's an interesting watch and a cinema sensation that's far too often overlooked in favor of splatter, jump scares, and other genre tropes that ignore slow-burn psychology in favor of immediate, and frequent, jolts of adrenaline.

What brings it all together, beyond story details and the rate at which the story unfolds, is the expert craftsmanship that keeps the audience drawn into the world. Directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz have mastered the art of subtle, nonaggressive, story-focused filmmaking. The camera doesn't often move, and when it does it's slow and steady. The story unfolds before the camera with a simple grace that keeps the audience's attention on the characters and whatever they may reveal. The picture's steady, unobtrusive, oftentimes lingering photography helps the viewer gaze into the characters' souls, and even if there's not much there beyond a curious void, that steady attention on it only helps the film as it builds towards its crescendo. Performances are excellent, too, blending approachable and strangely creepy very well. The three main actors are magnificent when it comes to keeping the audience in the dark and reinforcing the core idea that centers on the psychology of perception, that sight alone doesn't make something real or otherwise, that one's understanding of the world -- even the world closest to them -- isn't simply a product of what's placed before them. It is instead a more complex universe of unseen metaphysics that must necessarily work in tandem with the world but that, sometimes, does not and yields the kind of creepy, enigmatic, heavily veiled world seen in Goodnight Mommy.

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Goodnight Mommy's 1080p transfer presents the 35mm elements nicely. The picture opens with strikingly bold green stalks and grasses. Colors are never a priority, however, as much of the movie takes place inside, with shades drawn, and clothes, furniture, and accents mostly taking on flat, earthy colors. A bright green mask stands out nicely later in the movie, as does some red blood. Details are fine. Those stalks and grasses are sharp and natural. Close-up skin and clothing textures reveal a good bit of raw information but never quite find that level of intimate exactness found on the very best transfers. Basic image clarity satisfies, though again those somewhat darkened interiors, illuminated only by diffused natural light, only allow for some much raw definition. Black levels are solidly deep and flesh tones are fine if not a bit pasty under the movie's lighting constraints. Grain is light and evenly dispersed. Trace banding appears at times but no other significant anomalies creep into the image.

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Goodnight Mommy features a good, atmospheric DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film opens with the sounds of rustling grasses and buzzing insects that surround the listener, presenting with easy, accurate definition that nicely recreates the idyllic environment. Heavier effects are few and far between; booming and rolling thunder prove well placed around the entire stage and adequately deep. Driving rain pelts the listening area in chapters four and nine, both again with effortless surround details. Music is generally light and airy but well spaced and satisfyingly clear. Dialogue is center focused and well defined with no prioritization issues. This isn't a robust, active sort of track, but it handles what it has on tap very well.

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Goodnight Mommy includes only one supplement. A Conversation with Filmmakers Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala (1080p, 12:48) features the writing/directing tandem sharing a few thoughts regarding the film, including inspirations, story evolution, their love of the fear sensation and how the movies play on fear, what they want from the audience after seeing the film, and more. In German with English subtitles.

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Goodnight Mommy is a textbook example of a movie that will prove rewarding on multiple viewings, with the second serving as an opportunity to explore it more deeply, armed with the understanding of where it's headed, though still not necessarily with an understanding of why. The movie thrives on visual and dramatic simplicity, low heart rate expansion, and pulse-quickening reveals. It demands patience and earns it with its slow-burn draw. It's very well done on every front and a gem amongst its peers. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Goodnight Mommy features strong video and audio. Supplements are limited to a single interview featurette, but truth be told this is a case of a movie working better on its own without any inside insight to shape or alter audience perception. Highly recommended.