Ich seh ich seh

Plot synopsis:
After undergoing cosmetic facial surgery, a mother (Susanne Wuest) comes back home to her modern, isolated lakeside house and her ten-year-old twins, Elias and Lukas (Elias and Lukas Schwarz). Her head is swathed in bandages, with only her eyes and mouth visible. The twins are unnerved with their mother's appearance and are further taken aback when she begins to exhibit strange behavior. She pointedly ignores Lukas and appears to only acknowledge Elias in conversation. Though it is the middle of summer, the mother orders the twins to keep the blinds closed during the day, imposes a strict rule of silence inside the house, and allows them to only play outdoors. The mother also acts cruel and lashes out at Elias physically when he displays mischievous or disobedient acts; something that the boys comment that their mother would never do.The twins begin to suspect that beneath her bandages, their mother may not be the same person. These doubts are confirmed when they find an old picture that shows the mother together with another unknown woman who is wearing identical clothes and shares similar physical traits. With the suspicion that the woman residing in their house is an impostor, the twins tie the woman to the bed and refuse to let her go until she tells them where their real mother is. The woman insists that she is their mother, and the twins finally seal her mouth with tape to keep her from screaming for help.In the meantime, two employees of the Red Cross appear to collect donations. Although they initially await the return of the mother, they finally leave the house after receiving a large cash amount from Elias, which he discreetly stole from his mother's purse. Meanwhile, the woman breaks free from the adhesive tape around her mouth and yells for help, but is too late to attract the attention of the Red Cross employees. The twins seal her lips with Super Glue, only to realize that she is unable to eat. The twins cut open her lips with a small pair of scissors.As the woman is still bound and trapped, she wets her bed. The twins briefly set her free from her shackles, allowing her to subdue the boys and escape. The twins, however, have set up a booby trap that causes her to fall and hit her head, knocking her unconscious. The woman wakes glued to the living room floor. Elias starts to burn down the house to pressure her into telling them the truth about their mother. The woman firmly insists that she is the twins' real mother.It is revealed by the mother that Lukas has died in an accident prior to the events of the movie. She tearfully explains to Elias that Lukas's death was not his fault and she begs her son to set her free so they can both move on from the tragedy. Elias challenges her to prove that she is their mother by telling them what Lukas is doing. As she cannot see the hallucinated Lukas threatening to set fire to a curtain, she cannot answer the question. So Elias - believing that his real mother could see Lukas - grabs his arm and lights up the curtain. The mother subsequently burns to death before the firefighters arrive. The film ends with a ghostly shot of the mother reunited with her twin sons at a cornfield near their home.

Tags: cult, suspenseful, sadist, plot twist

Review:
A Austrian psychological drama horror that might not suit everyone just because it is a little bit on the slow side for the first half in particular and is then merely suggestively unsettling than a full on scare.But the slow build-up kept my interest and it definitely paid off in the end.I've read here that some people thought it was too predictable, but I must disagree because there were elements to the story that I had to go here to the message-boards to properly understand, and by then it all made sense of course.It could be because I am currently sick so my brain isn't working properly lol but I really don't think so, and I can usually tell how a horror movie is gonna end half asleep anyway.So yeah, recommended for patient viewers who's looking for a horror that isn't all about cheap jump scares but more of a psychological one..
They become convinced that the woman who has returned from surgery is not their real mother...and I won't spoil the rest.If you have any interest in cinema as an art form, Goodnight Mommy is an absolute must-see.
I've never seen a director put Venetian blinds to such diverse and good use, especially the nighttime shots of them, it made natural movement look slithery and creepy.The most haunting aspect of the incredible visuals was the approach to the scares, if you can call them that, in the first half of the film.
So although not original, it just made the rest of the movie better so I'll accept it as a necessary evil.Goodnight Mommy is one of the strongest horror debut films I've seen.
'GOODNIGHT MOMMY': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Critically acclaimed Austrian horror flick; about twin nine-year-old brothers, who begin to suspect that their mother is not the woman she says she is.
I really enjoyed the film's atmosphere, and slow-building terror!Elias and Lukas (the Schwartz brothers) are twin brothers, that live in an isolated countryside house; with their mother (Wuest).
Even though Goodnight Mommy was widely acclaimed in websites dedicated to horror cinema, it isn't a typical supernatural tale or a gore spectacle (even though it can be said that there are slight traces of both styles); and the twist in the end is quite well implemented, and I had never seen it coming.
Fortunately, the many pros of Goodnight Mommy end up compensating that complaint on a big degree, and I recommend it as quite a solid film, which might be horror, thriller or drama; but its analysis of psychological traumas and family dissolution doesn't need to engage with a specific genre in order to leave the spectator satisfied..
Goodnight Mommy is a decent effort, and I'm sure it will be praised by many people who are desperate for a good horror movie, but I find it hard to give in to the hype because this really just wasn't that great of a movie.5/10.
Goodnight Mommy (Ich Seh Ich Seh) follows two twin brothers, Elias and Lukas, and their mother who has just returned home after having a major surgery on her face.
Horror fans that crave in-your-face, major scares in a movie within the genre will be very disappointed with Goodnight Mommy.
and that one thing is very sad indeed!Goodnight Mommy is pure Art-house horror as far as I am concerned because of the way the story is told and the cinematic techniques employed to showcase it.
Goodnight Mommy is for the discerning horror movie lover who doesn't want everything dished up on a plate and who wants an intense psychological "journey" with a plausible payoff at the end..
And then from there all the way up to the haunting conclusion, Co-Directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz never take their feet off the pedal, unleashing an unrelenting and unnerving undercurrent of fear and dread.Following what we come to learn was a horrific auto accident, a single mother also only recently separated from her husband returns to her country home and to her twin pre-adolescent sons.
It is a genuinely disturbing disintegration to witness.In the closing sequence of "Goodnight Mommy" we realize that we have returned back to the beginning of the story-the perfect picture of a mother and her children.
So what, then, are we meant to see that we do not immediately see?In the opening to the Austrian film Goodnight Mommy, two ten-year- old twins, Elias and Lukas (portrayed wonderfully by Elias and Lukas Schwarz), idle away their boyhood summer at a large countryside house.
To Elias and Lukas, the heavily bandaged woman now in their home is severe and menacing, and the boys soon begin to suspect that she is not their dear mother at all.What unfolds throughout the film is seemingly a monster movie, the tale of a beast that descends from the hills to terrorize a town (population: 2).
Trauma does not discriminate between the young and the old, and ultimately, after the film's graphically violent and shocking turn in the final act, we are left devastated for all members of the family alike.As watchers of horror movies, we are trained to be vigilant, always on edge and scanning for the monster around the corner.
Dark and brutal, Goodnight Mommy is a psychological horror film that haves you guessing what is happening ad what will happen until the very end.
but those films from the 80 was also a fun because they sucked so much, some are even classics now a days, because of the way they sucked and was with huge plot holes.This film has it all, no story, no background story that are usable, mindless things, animals, gore, and no ending that gives even the slightest meaning.I give it 2, but only because of some fine shots in the first 15 minutes, they where nice.Bottom line, there has been movies like this that where a success, but with more story.
I am a huge fan of horror films, and this one is not a good one, I understand that some people like this kind of movie were the silence is everywhere, is very predictable, my wife and me realized everything that was happening at the first 25 min of movie.
It's so not a fun time in any way shape or form, and I think at the end of the day that really does differ it to many other horror films.
And the horror for us is realizing that black and white, right and wrong and good and evil become very blurred when reality is fully examined.Lovers of serious drama should certainly watch this film intently.
Retitled 'Goodnight Mommy' for international release, this Austrian mystery thriller focuses on a pair of preteen twin boys who come to the conclusion that an imposter has replaced their mother.
Other that that, I enjoyed Goodnight Mother and recommend it to fans of any movie that scares, thrills, or makes you think.
But the problem is: those signs are too clear and you end up discovering things too much earlier than you should and this ruins the suspense of the film.To summarize, it's not the worst movie I ever watched, but it's not so good as the trailer suggests.
Insultingly Bad. I can't believe I watched the same movie that everyone else is giving such rave reviews.The big "plot twist" at the end is given away in the first five minutes and you'll pick up on it if you've EVER seen a movie before.
The only plot twist here is that a movie that seems to be setting itself up to be an interesting, taut psychological thriller devolves into mindless, gruesome torture porn and then suddenly ends without resolution.Don't waste your time..
A minimal cast movie, set in an isolated lake house where the 9 years old twin boys and their mother lives.
Different movies explain in a different way, but this movie is not that distinctive from those, except being unconventional in revealing the details related to the story and characters."I want you to repeat ten times that I'm your mother."This film had a few diversions in the name of the genre.
I decided to find and watch this film because of some good reviews on IMDb, stating it was a state-of-the-art movie in terms of cinematography, shot framing, atmosphere and aesthetics.
Even to the point where it makes you think something happens in the movie that looks good, but is just edited that way, and that thing doesn't happen.Ultimately this will leave many viewers disappointed, although I was too, the actual movie was still quite well done.There's not much dialogue really, which leads the viewer guessing as to whats really happening and what the characters are planning to do.
Exhibit B too, and then some.The pretext of this rather complacent display of juvenile sadism is the following: Mommy is a TV personality whose job is to look pretty so she just had a face lift and her face is completely bandaged; she has twin boys, one being a pussy and the other a bully (an iron role in such context); the bully is persuaded that the woman who came back from surgery is not their mother and he's determined to prove his point.
It's great to watch horror films that are actually good, and I'm happy to say that "Goodnight Mommy" has joined the top 10 list of best movies in that category from the 21st century..
At the end of the second act there is one implausible scene, where hopes are raised of a rescue, and that takes out whatever wind is left in the story's sails.It doesn't work as a portrait of a psychotic, it doesn't really scare, and even though it caused me dread at the prospect of body horror the gore was mild compared to many other movies.
This is very well acted thriller / drama set in one house, with twins and their mother, who comes back from hospital after some accident and things start get more and more tens between boys and mom, when they start to suspect that the one who returned from hospital isn't their mom.
Before seeing 'Goodnight Mommy', I was expecting it to be the 2015 "Babadook", just because of the hype from the trailer alone and how both movies had that psychological thriller to it.
The movie acts like it has a deep meaning to it and what were the boys thinking and how they don't understand a lot of the things that was going on, but it just didn't mash well together.
Overall Goodnight Mommy was a very creepy movie that I had a great time watching.
The movie has it's flaws but I still recommend seeing Goodnight Mommy if your interested or not, just please don't watch the trailer..
From one of earliest scenes ("Lukas says he wants some juice too") to the equally early confirmation ("I don't want you to talk to your brother anymore"), any mistery revolving the identity of the mother and her apparently bizarre behaviour vanishes into thin air, leaving nothing else but a disturbingly gruesome, nerve wracking experience that, while interesting to watch, lacks any of the suspense and the tension the films could have had, had Fiala and Franz managed to keep the viewer dissoriented for the majority of the trip.'Ich seh, ich seh' is still a good movie to watch, hard to swallow at times, gruesomely provoking.
Although German-Austrian psychological dramas and horror movies are well known for their slow pace, Goodnight Mommy is on the worse side of being just slow.
For those who believe that a true horror movie does not prove itself from a good buildup and shocking moments, Goodnight Mommy is worth a watch for it's aesthetics and visually satisfying shots.
This makes Goodnight Mommy extremely boring to watch, despite the wonderful performances and good photography in the film.A psychological horror movie that uses a basic (too basic) plot as an excuse to present the audience with some of the most sadistic scenes I've seen on screen in a long time and specially because of those involved, making it completely revolting to watch.If you are looking for this kind of horror, maybe you won't mind enduring a 1 hour 40 minutes' long movie just to realize you were right all along about the big "plot twist" and what could have been a deep, disturbing story, was just a poor and simple excuse to watch people suffer on screen..
An eerie and foreboding horror/thriller that makes your skin crawl but not enough to make its many faults truly worthwhile, Austrian film and festival darling Goodnight Mommy as directed by duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz is a slowly paced and menacing experience that wastes an intriguing premise in a slow burn that will likely be remade in the coming years with an upped ante and hopefully equally creepy twins.A horror film that builds off the what if or what's happening questions rather than the doings and showings, Goodnight Mommy starts off in skin crawling fashion as our two young protagonists and twin boys Elias and Lukas begin to suspect their beloved mother may not be the mother they had before she went in for a medical procedural that has now covered her face with bandages and masked a possible hidden entity behind the wrappings of her facial coverings but the films snail like pacing and eventual culmination of events don't wrap the film up in a sufficient manner that leaves us the viewer wondering if there is in fact a better way to do this story.Fiala and Franz certainly elicit fine performances from both Lukas and Elias Schwarz and the two make for some of modern cinemas most creepy and memorable kids (makeshift arrows, beetle collections) but the way in which the boys arcs grow becomes a little too much to bare and seemingly simple story elements are brushed over in a manner that suggests Fiala and Franz were keen to slowly build up to wince inducing shocks rather than develop their story in a meaningful manner and with a lack of answers towards questions we start to ask as the narrative edges on it's a journey that leaves us wanting rather than giving us the goods even though the films big twist is a nicely formed scenario.Far from the worst horror hybrid of recent times and clearly an effective genre entry for many the world over, Goodnight Mommy has great potential that is sometimes reached here but will hopefully be reached in a more fulfilling manner down the track with a likely American redoing, something that you don't often say when talking about Hollywood remakes.2 ½ water logged cats out of 5.
It's a rough one (Like, sit in "silence for a moment after" rough).Goodnight Mommy is a German/Austrian thriller revolving around precocious twin boys Lukas and Elias who live with their Mutter (Mother in German.
With her face wrapped in bandages and her demeanor a bit out of sorts, the boy begin to questing whether the woman in their home is actually their mother.Already an innovative concept, Goodnight Mommy takes it's time with with the story, allowing for questions and character plots to linger and build.
Concealed with a thin veil of mystery, accompanied by truly arresting imagery, and making brilliant use of horror elements over the course of its runtime, Goodnight Mommy is a methodically crafted Austrian chiller that relies on its ominous atmosphere & violent content to deliver the scares and is a neatly executed example of its genre.Set in an isolated lakeside house, the story of Goodnight Mommy follows 9-year old twin brothers who are reunited with their mother after she returns home following a cosmetic facial surgery but is acting a whole lot differently than before.
Suspecting her to be an imposter, the boys attempt to find out the whereabouts of their real mother through any possible means.Written & directed by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, the surprising twist of Goodnight Mommy is quite evident in the earlier scenes even though the filmmakers try to navigate the viewers towards a different conclusion.
It's pretty clear what happened and they will go on till the very boring end.There is a torture porn scene that make the movie unpleasant for someone who got the twist from the beginning.
Goodnight Mommy, or Ich seh, Ich seh, is the story of two boys, Lukas and Elias, living in a villa in the vast Austrian countryside with their mother (only referred to as 'mother' throughout the film), a famous anchorwoman.
I mean, it's slow and not that much of horror is going on but be warned, it's a sickie towards the end.Twin brothers think that after a facial operation the woman at home isn't their mother anymore.
Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognize.If you enter in to this film after seeing the trailer, you might be disappointed or at least mislead.
Lukas and Elias were amazingly naturalistic in GOODNIGHT MOMMY, even when the story goes off the deep end in the second half of the movie.
This is the case of the austrian horror/thriller film Goodnight Mommy (Ich seh, Ich seh; original title) from the directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz.
Still, it's a very well made and acted movie, especially by the twin boys who play the little boys in the film.
I guess I can understand how sometimes someone might not quite be able to figure out just exactly HOW to end a film, but please believe me, this was NOT it.Again without saying too much, the dang frustrating thing is that these guys had a pretty good movie going for most of the time.
Though "Goodnight Mommy" meanders a bit in the third act, it also went a few places that had me cringing (in a good way).But if you call yourself a horror fan, and you don't see the end of this film coming, then it's time to turn in your badge and retire.