Very disappointing...

Best movie ever!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is a movie for grown up horror fans. This Czech film is violent and dark and features great performances and fantastic direction. You must watch this if you are remotely interested in the genre but beware- It is not for the faint hearted. But if you have the courage than give it a shot- you'll be surprised. (Great horror for the grown-up horror fan)

This one's thick with atmosphere. Unfortunately, I could never get over the basic premise that two young boys are left alone at home in a remote country house beside a lake and forest waiting for their divorced mother to come back from the hospital after a bad accident. The overall tone might be that of a dark and disturbing fairy tale, but at least the beginning should have been grounded in a little more realism. Otherwise, there is no real incentive to figure out the underlying psychological motivation of the characters and their interdependence. It feels like the directors had assembled all the creepy movie ingredients they could think of and then run out of their own ideas. The result is a demented shopping list where almost no cliché is left out. The bandage fetishism is a nice touch (a cross of Maria Beatty and Scott McGehee/ David Siegel), so is the art direction, although a bit obvious with the pictures of blurred silhouttes on the walls. The coackroaches, the candles, the children's games, the nursery rhymes, the bow and arrow, the pagan masks, the dark spaces, the dead cat, the bondage and torture, it's all too familiar and stripped of any real emotional attachement or narrative consequence. It's a clinical study of whatever they where trying to dissect, one that gets rather tiring about the half-time mark. The third act should have been the second act leaving room for a truly innovative story twist towards the end. Alas, that twist never comes and this viewer felt slightly frustrated when the credits started to roll.

The idea behind this film isn't bad at all, but the execution falls well short of its potential. As with any horror film, you have to give the plot some leeway, but 'Goodnight Mommy' is so poorly written that it's impossible to overlook the many flaws and unanswered questions.Questions such as: Why is the mother so evasive and unpleasant to the children when she returns home? Why is her entire head mummified from a cosmetic procedure that, when she takes the bandages off, appears to be minor? If it was the mother all along, why could she not remember basic information about her children when asked? These are crucial aspects of the plot and are impossible to overlook.Not to mention the ridiculous scene where two strangers invite themselves into the house (and then take a good look around!) when nobody answers the door. Is that normal in Austria or something? 'Goodnight Mommy' kept my attention throughout, but it loses its credibility very early on.

With over 100 reviews to date, I will only add that this movie is a great depiction of denial, grieve and guilt. The rest is cinematography and acting, which are as good, by the way. It's sad to read so many bad reviews criticizing the badly hidden twist, when it was never intended to be hidden. It's shown very early what's really happening and we just have to watch how these characters deal with the terrible situation. Whoever doesn't get it in the beginning should watch fewer teenager horror gory flicks and pay more attention to what happens below the surface in films like this one. It reminds me of the Antichrist and Babadook psychotic managing of guilt and grieve.