Editor’s Note: Below are spoilers for the 2014 and 2022 versions. good night, Mom. Act at your own discretion.
Austrian horror film 2014. good night, Momfrom cinematic duo Veronica Franz as well as Severin Fiala, became a cult favorite in the genre, spawning even a new American remake starring Naomi Watts. A deeply unsettling, slow-paced psychological horror about young twin brothers Elias and Lucas (Elias as well as Lukas Schwartz) who believe their mother (Suzanne Wuest) returned after cosmetic surgery on the face of a different person. The twins resort to extremely evil measures, torturing her because they are convinced that she has been replaced by someone else. But as the film’s plot twists unfold, we learn that she was their mother all along, and Elias imagined that his twin brother Lucas, who died in a tragic accident, is still alive. Elias’ cruel actions towards his mother, triggered by his hallucination of Lucas, paint a tragic portrait of mother and son, heartbroken and unable to convey their complex feelings to each other.
With bloodshot eyes and bruised skin protruding from layers of gauze, the mother is a creepy, mummy-like image of horror. Upon arrival, she acts strangely, treating Elias coldly when he mentions Lucas, and imposing strict new house rules. During the meal, she only gives juice and dinner to Elias, completely ignoring Lucas. At first, it seems that the twins are correct in their assumption that something sinister is going on. Of course, knowing that Lucas is dead makes it clear that his mother is not ignoring him maliciously. Elias sincerely believes that his brother is still alive, apparently due to the fact that he cannot get over his brother’s death. The mother also deals with her grief in unhealthy ways. She has put in place strict rules that she claims are meant for her recovery from surgery, requiring silence in the house, closing the blinds at all times, and isolating herself in her room, asking them to knock if they want to see her.
Growing tensions between Elias and his mother stem from their opposing methods of coping with Lucas’ death. While Elias wants his mother to continue as if Lucas was still alive, she desperately wants Elias to stop imagining him. She expresses her concern and frustration at Elias’ denial, telling her friend on the phone that he will have to face what happened. Meanwhile, Elias conspires with Lucas, which incites and fuels his belief that she is maliciously trying to separate them and has been completely replaced by another person. Lucas pushes Elias to illogical conclusions, a visual manifestation of Elias’ severe mental crises after the tragedy. His mother is understandably a different person after a life-changing loss, but he does not realize that she is still his mother. When Elias sneaks into her bedroom, she pretends to be asleep, only to open her eyes the moment he leaves. Although her actions are cold, they are still understandable in the context of immense grief. As a result, Elias will have to face two incredibly difficult trials: the loss of his brother and the loss of the mother he once knew. He repeatedly begs her, “Where is our mother?” His pleas are a desperate cry for life to return to the way it was before the accident.
Her isolation and refusal to entertain Elias’ imagination of Lucas causes him to resent her, and Lucas encourages his resentment, which escalates into violence. In many shots, Lucas looms over Elias’ shoulder. Thrown into darkness, it is a visual image of a metaphorical devil on his shoulder. In the nightmare episode, Elias dreams of Lucas entering their sleeping mother’s room and cutting open her belly, only to find cockroaches inside her. In each case, it is Lucas who encourages Elias’ dark suspicions by presenting all the dark thoughts he struggles to process. As the film turns into stomach-churning horror, Elias often doubts they should continue torturing her, the sympathy and pain in his eyes convey deep regret and the knowledge that his mother might still be there. Lucas urges him to continue, angrily scolding him for believing it could be her. It is easier for Elias to assume that this woman is not his mother than to believe that she is telling the truth. Recognizing that it is true also means recognizing that his brother is dead.
It becomes clear throughout the film that the mother is not a villain, but rather an imperfect woman faced with the incomprehensible problem of losing her son. When Elias and Lucas try to escape and the priest brings them home, she confesses to the priest, telling him that it was overwhelming, both the accident and Elias’ separation from his brother. Judging from the drastic cosmetic surgery and the twins’ revelation that she’s putting their house up for sale, it’s clear she’s trying her best to start a new chapter after this loss. Unfortunately, Elias does not understand this, as his subconscious way of coping with the situation is to imagine everything as it once was. Having lost their son and twin brother, they both suffer quietly in very different ways, unable to find a clear line of communication.
The film’s heartbreaking ending shows that the mother is just as much a victim as Elias. No longer a frightening and intimidating presence, we see her frightened face under the bandages. She is their mother, exhausted by ruthless torture. Surrounded by candles, she lies bloody and disheveled on the floor, begging Elias to listen to her. She convinces him that Lucas died through no fault of his, hinting that Elias must be deeply guilty for what happened. Elias says he will set her free if she tells him what Lucas is doing, and in desperation she tells him that she cannot see him. He believes that the mother he once knew knew what Lucas was up to and would see him. This is a heartbreaking moment of fatal misunderstanding. While his mother no longer sees Lucas because she accepted that he had died, Elias’s inability to process this manifested itself in his dark hallucination of Lucas. He looks to Lucas for a signal and they set her on fire. The last frame depicts embers dancing in the dark, glowing fragments of a family shattered by loss and grief.
Ultimately, the film is a family tragedy - a grim and grim exploration of the unhealthy coping mechanisms that people cling to when grieving, and what can happen when such a mental breakdown becomes fatal. Fueling Elias’ illogical and evil decisions, Lucas represents all the deeply complex, dark and tragic emotions he can’t process. Just a child, he tragically and traumatically lost the person closest to him, probably believing he was to blame. These feelings are too painful and difficult to handle alone. good night, Mom is a careful exploration of the darkest ways in which such feelings manifest themselves.
Source: Collider
