Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts is set to star in and executive produce the English-language remake of the hit Austrian psychological thriller “Goodnight Mommy,” set up at Amazon Studios.
The streamer will mount the remake with indie prestige label Animal Kingdom and production company Playtime. Released in 2014, the original film became a cult classic and was selected as the Austrian entry for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.
Matt Sobel (“Take Me To The River”) is directing from a script by Kyle Warren. David Kaplan, Joshua Astrachan, Valery Guibal and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert are producing. In addition to Watts, the original film’s directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz will serve as executive producers.
Playtime acquired the remake rights and developed the new film with Playtime. Amazon is financing and releasing worldwide.
“Goodnight Mommy” follows twin brothers who, when sent to stay with their mother, are surprised to find her swathed in bandages from a recent procedure. As her behavior grows increasingly erratic and unusual, the twins become convinced she is an imposter. Their suspicion sets off a roller-coaster of emotional mind games and misunderstandings between mother and her children, that eventually explodes with irreparable and heartbreaking consequences.
“My favorite films are those that invite the audience to step inside their protagonist’s journey. In our re-imagining of Goodnight Mommy, fear of abandonment — and the dreadful realization that those close to us may not be who they seem — create an immersive nightmare, with visceral sensations front and center. I can’t wait to create this heart-stopping story with Amazon and the peerless Naomi Watts,” said Sobel.
Watts is a two-time Academy Award nominee, for Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s “21 Grams” and, later, Juan Antonio Bayona’s “The Impossible.” She can currently be seen in the TIFF-selected family drama “Penguin Bloom,” the Netflix original based on the true story and best-selling book about a mom coping with the aftermath of a harrowing accident. She will next be seen in Phillip Noyce’s “Lakewood” and is currently filming the thriller “Infinite Storm” for Bleecker Street. She is a producer on both films.
Watts is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. Sobel’s “Take Me To The River” premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. He is repped by WME, Cinetic Media and Sloane Offer Weber Dern. Franz and Fiala are repped by WME and Jackoway Tyerman. Kyle Warren is repped by Writ Large.
Playtime is a Paris-based hybrid finance, sales and international production company active since 1997 and committed to giving a voice to talents from around the world. It has been a key enabler for movies by Céline Sciamma, Jacques Audiard, François Ozon, Robin Campillo, Naomi Kawase, László Nemes, Claire Denis, and many others. Recent successes include the Oscar-winning “Son of Saul,” Cannes winner “BPM,” and Berlin winner “By The Grace of God.”
Founded in 2012, Animal Kingdom has been responsible for some of the most distinctive and acclaimed American independent cinema of the past near-decade, including: “Short Term 12,” “It Follows,” “Paterson,” “It Comes at Night,” “Beach Rats,” and “The Dead Don’t Die.” The Brooklyn-based company’s mission is to elevate singular voices, challenge convention and to make vivid, beautiful and original work.
The streamer will mount the remake with indie prestige label Animal Kingdom and production company Playtime. Released in 2014, the original film became a cult classic and was selected as the Austrian entry for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.
Matt Sobel (“Take Me To The River”) is directing from a script by Kyle Warren. David Kaplan, Joshua Astrachan, Valery Guibal and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert are producing. In addition to Watts, the original film’s directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz will serve as executive producers.
Playtime acquired the remake rights and developed the new film with Playtime. Amazon is financing and releasing worldwide.
“Goodnight Mommy” follows twin brothers who, when sent to stay with their mother, are surprised to find her swathed in bandages from a recent procedure. As her behavior grows increasingly erratic and unusual, the twins become convinced she is an imposter. Their suspicion sets off a roller-coaster of emotional mind games and misunderstandings between mother and her children, that eventually explodes with irreparable and heartbreaking consequences.
“My favorite films are those that invite the audience to step inside their protagonist’s journey. In our re-imagining of Goodnight Mommy, fear of abandonment — and the dreadful realization that those close to us may not be who they seem — create an immersive nightmare, with visceral sensations front and center. I can’t wait to create this heart-stopping story with Amazon and the peerless Naomi Watts,” said Sobel.
Watts is a two-time Academy Award nominee, for Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s “21 Grams” and, later, Juan Antonio Bayona’s “The Impossible.” She can currently be seen in the TIFF-selected family drama “Penguin Bloom,” the Netflix original based on the true story and best-selling book about a mom coping with the aftermath of a harrowing accident. She will next be seen in Phillip Noyce’s “Lakewood” and is currently filming the thriller “Infinite Storm” for Bleecker Street. She is a producer on both films.
Watts is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. Sobel’s “Take Me To The River” premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. He is repped by WME, Cinetic Media and Sloane Offer Weber Dern. Franz and Fiala are repped by WME and Jackoway Tyerman. Kyle Warren is repped by Writ Large.
Playtime is a Paris-based hybrid finance, sales and international production company active since 1997 and committed to giving a voice to talents from around the world. It has been a key enabler for movies by Céline Sciamma, Jacques Audiard, François Ozon, Robin Campillo, Naomi Kawase, László Nemes, Claire Denis, and many others. Recent successes include the Oscar-winning “Son of Saul,” Cannes winner “BPM,” and Berlin winner “By The Grace of God.”
Founded in 2012, Animal Kingdom has been responsible for some of the most distinctive and acclaimed American independent cinema of the past near-decade, including: “Short Term 12,” “It Follows,” “Paterson,” “It Comes at Night,” “Beach Rats,” and “The Dead Don’t Die.” The Brooklyn-based company’s mission is to elevate singular voices, challenge convention and to make vivid, beautiful and original work.
#2
DVD Talk Hero
re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Will make a fun companion with The Ring remake and the Funny Games remake.
#3
Moderator
Thread Starter
re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Goodnight Mommy arrives on Prime Video September 16, 2022.
When twin brothers (Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti) arrive at their mother’s (Naomi Watts) country home to discover her face covered in bandages—the result, she explains, of recent cosmetic surgery—they immediately sense that something doesn’t add up. She sets strange new house rules, smokes in her bathroom, and secretly rips up a drawing they gave her—things their loving mother would never do.
As her behavior grows increasingly bizarre and erratic, a horrifying thought takes root in the boys’ minds: The sinking suspicion that the woman beneath the gauze, who’s making their food and sleeping in the next room, isn’t their mother at all.
When twin brothers (Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti) arrive at their mother’s (Naomi Watts) country home to discover her face covered in bandages—the result, she explains, of recent cosmetic surgery—they immediately sense that something doesn’t add up. She sets strange new house rules, smokes in her bathroom, and secretly rips up a drawing they gave her—things their loving mother would never do.
As her behavior grows increasingly bizarre and erratic, a horrifying thought takes root in the boys’ minds: The sinking suspicion that the woman beneath the gauze, who’s making their food and sleeping in the next room, isn’t their mother at all.
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Nope, there is no way this is going to be as good as the original. Trailer sucked as well.
It's completely devoid of all the tension from the original.
It's completely devoid of all the tension from the original.
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Agree. The original was creepy AF and it's trailer made it a must see film. Had I not known anything about the story, this new trailer did nothing for me. Felt bland with zero of the first's tension.
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Rival11 (08-25-22)
#6
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Spoiler:
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Absolutely love the original film.
Definitely agree that the trailer for the remake feels flat.
Definitely agree that the trailer for the remake feels flat.
#10
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
Just finished watching it. My first thought is that I applaud the people behind this remake for not simply doing a shot-by-shot rehash of its Austrian predecessor. When I saw how the American version started differently, I had hopes that it would try to change things up a bit to surprise people who are familiar with the original. The remake definitely does that, changing some of the plot details and taking a detour in the last act.
Having said all this, I found this new version a lot less intense than the original. The remake feels like it was toned down to try to give it wider appeal; the sadism in the Austrian film has been removed completely, leaving a declawed version of the story. With the changes to the plot, I went into the final minutes with a lot of trepidation, fearing that the new Goodnight Mommy would be another fiasco like the remake of The Vanishing. Fortunately it isn't, but the movie says something different than the original as it attempts to preserve the Austrian film's spirit while going in a slightly different direction.
This remake isn't terrible, but it just doesn't have the same bite as the Austrian version. I suspect it'll work better for people not familiar with the original so I'm curious to hear from folks who've only seen this English language version.
Having said all this, I found this new version a lot less intense than the original. The remake feels like it was toned down to try to give it wider appeal; the sadism in the Austrian film has been removed completely, leaving a declawed version of the story. With the changes to the plot, I went into the final minutes with a lot of trepidation, fearing that the new Goodnight Mommy would be another fiasco like the remake of The Vanishing. Fortunately it isn't, but the movie says something different than the original as it attempts to preserve the Austrian film's spirit while going in a slightly different direction.
Spoiler:
This remake isn't terrible, but it just doesn't have the same bite as the Austrian version. I suspect it'll work better for people not familiar with the original so I'm curious to hear from folks who've only seen this English language version.
#12
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Goodnight Mommy - US remake (2022, D: Sobel) - S: Naomi Watts
It had Watts so I had to check it out.
It was not horrible but not great either but a good time killer probably.
It was not horrible but not great either but a good time killer probably.