To avoid fainting, keep repeating: “It’s only a trailer, it’s only a trailer, it’s only a trailer…”
The Austrian horror movie Goodnight Mommy (Ich seh, Ich seh) looks like the perfect end-of-the-summer chiller for those who adore deeply unnerving psychological horror seen through the eyes of children. The film, which garnered rave reviews at last years’ Sitges and Venice Film Festivals, is slated for a limited theatrical release in the US on September 11th.
Read the synopsis below, and check out the trailer—which is one of the most unsettling and disturbing things I’ve seen in a long time!
Official Synopsis: In the heat of the summer. A lonesome house in the countryside between woods and cornfields. Nine-year-old twin brothers are waiting for their mother. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother. It emerges an existential struggle for identity and fundamental trust.
Good Night Mommy, the debut narrative feature from co-writers/directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, is part of the morbid subgenre known as Matricide Horror which includes films like: Mommy Dearest, Mother’s Day, The Girl Next Door, and 2014’s breakout hit The Babbadook. These films grapple with the seemingly incomprehensible concept of a parent who hates his/her offspring, while tapping into a universal human fear of disappointing our parents—and facing the ultimate punishment.
Mommy Dearest
The Girl Next Door
The Babadook
Goodnight Mommy also utilizes the “creepy-twins” trope, presenting characters that seem to have an almost supernatural or telepathic connection. We’ve seen such creepy twins in films like: The Shining, Dead Ringers, Seconds Apart, American Mary, and even The Matrix trilogy.
The Shining
American Mary
The Matrix
The trailer above is a veritable cacophony of nightmare fuel: The surgical mask the mother wears, her bizarre mannerisms—and the consuming of beetles are but a few of the horrors presented for our dismay. Goodnight Mommy looks chock-full of harrowing imagery and bleak, complicated subtext. If you’re a fan of foreign horror like I am, you’ll definitely want to keep this film on your radar.
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What do you think about the trailer for Goodnight Mommy? Are you a fan of Matricide Horror? Sound off in the Comments section!
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