Goodnight Mommy (2022) - Okay, but a bit drawn out

Damn-it, I really wanted to like this film a lot more than a did.  Naomi Watts is a talented actress and can always elevate even the more mundane of films.  She played the titular 'Mommy' - a former actress who lives in a large country house.  Her two sons are dropped off by their estranged dad after an extended parental visit and the boys return, only to find her face wrapped in bandages.

Now, naturally the two lads seem a little uneasy with their mother's appearance, but I don't think anyone would take too much convincing if they're told that an actress has resorted to plastic surgery to rekindle her dying looks and is merely in the 'recovery' phase.  The real problems start when they start to realise that her entire personality has also changed and she may actually not be who she says she is.

It's an interesting premise, but the trouble is with only really three primary members of the cast, you know full well that nothing will really happen to any of them (not until the final act, at least).  Whatever 'secret' may be going on we know that it's hardly going to be revealed in the opening five minutes, so what the film consists of is an overly long and drawn out game of cat and mouse where the children never really get any closer to finding out any answers.

Obviously, the story does eventually conclude and tie up all the loose ends, but what you ultimately have is an idea that would probably have been better suited to some sort of sci-fi anthology TV show (like 'The Outer Limits' - if that's still going!), rather than a full length feature film.  Put simply... there just isn't enough material here to justify the runtime.

However, what's there isn't necessarily all bad.  Watts is excellent - as usual - and the two young actors are both convincing in their roles - a feat many a young star fails in when too much of a movie is placed on their youthful, inexperienced shoulders.  Overall, it's okay, but once you know the set-up you can effectively have most of the movie on in the background and ultimately just wait for the final conclusion where things are revealed.  Not bad, but a bit too drawn out.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights