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[tab title="Movie Review"]

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How well do you know the people around you?  I mean, really, really, really know them?  Those closest to you, in fact?  That’s the question Goodnight Mommy dares to ask its viewers.  Trust me when I suggest to you that filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fialas will scare the hell right out of you with their disturbing answer. 

Low on gas but high on fumes, Goodnight Mommy definitely goes the distance.  This Austrian horror film made a big splash with moviegoers earlier in the year and - after a brief theatrical stint here in the United States - finally makes its home theatrical debut just in time for awards consideration.

While some audiences might guess the twist inherent to this tale of domestic terror, the idea of isolation that infects every scene is at once a terror worth experiencing when juxtaposed with the frolicking of 9-year-old twins Elias (Elias Schwarz) and Lukas (Lukas Schwarz), who are convinced that all is not right with their mother (Susanne Wuest), a television newswoman recovering from cosmetic surgery.   

Their suspicions begin with the shocking state of her face.  Hidden behind a white mask of gauze and bandages is what once was their mother.  Her eyes – all red and bloodshot – peer out at them in a very menacing way but it is her sharp actions, almost without purpose and clearly without patience that has them completely unhinged.  She has a whole new set of rules and keeps suggesting that things won’t be like they were before.

Something is certainly different about their mother.

Her behavior and their responses to it certainly keeps things moving and us completely on our toes.  Throughout the chiller, the twins’ mother is frightfully on edge.  We don’t know the details but SOMETHING serious has gone on inside the family prior to the beginning scene and it is up to us to make sense of it.  Was it their father?  A friend of the family?  And what’s with all those out of focus pictures on the wall? 

And then Goodnight Mommy gets seriously demented, revealing the lengths that the twins will go to get their real mother back.  As it grows more brutal, the film becomes impossible to shake and, upon the conclusion, one can only sit and soak in the chilling atmosphere and then turned to your loved ones and ask, “who are you really?”

Inspired by a childhood game of “Monster” Franz used to play with her mother, Goodnight Mommy continues to shatter a record-breaking amount of nerves with its release on blu-ray this week.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent content and some nudity.
Runtime: 99 mins
Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Writer: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Cast: Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz
Genre: Horror
Tagline: A mother should look out for her sons....
Memorable Movie Quote: "She's so different"
Distributor: Radius TWC
Official Site:
Release Date: September 11, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 1, 2015
Synopsis: In the heat of the summer lays a lonesome house in the countryside where nine year old twin brothers await their mother’s return. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before and the children start to doubt whether this woman is actually who she says she is.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - December 1, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Audio: German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

Starz/Anchor Bay releases the 1080o transfer on blu-ray with very strong results.  Filmed in 35mm, the film has a nice texture throughout.  Black levels are bold and the texture throughout is visually engaging.  Although the colors are a bit muted, they help to establish the tone of isolation with leafy greens, gritty dirt, and pulpy reds.  The transfer has crisp details and nice textures throughout.  No artifacting is found anywhere in the feature presentation.  The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is an equally atmospheric experience.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• There is but one supplemental item.  It’s a good one, though, as the writers and directors of the movie discuss the origin of the movie and its making.
• A Conversation with Filmmakers Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala (13 min)

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