Goodnight Mom: Did you know that Naomi Watts movie is a remake?

Directed by Matt Sobel, Goodnight Mommy – Available on Prime Video – Naomi Watts stars as a woman who is, to say the least, strange. Her face is covered in surgical bandages and her two children, twins Elijah and Lucas, begin to wonder if this is really their mother.

This American feature film is a remake of an Austrian film – also titled Goodnight Mommy – directed by the duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz. When it was released in 2014, this horror thriller stood out, launching the transatlantic careers of the two filmmakers, who later went on to make The Lodge with director Riley Keough.

If a few details differ between the two versions, the story remains largely the same. Naomi Watts’s film leaves more room for the mother, a complex character that children and viewers care about. Still, the original is worth seeing for its European sensibility, which makes the thriller stand out thanks to its unique style.

The film takes its time and allows the tension to build Crescendo. Not jumpy or twisty action scenes, but a very present weakness that grabs the audience by the throat. Also, even more so than the American version, the Austrian Goodnight Mommy allows itself to go further into the torment, with images and footage that still stirs. In 2015, the film was shortlisted for the Austrian Oscar.

Goodnight Mommy (2014) is available on Shadowz platform.