10 Confusing Horror Movies You Need To Watch Twice To Understand

Malevolent and untrustworthy kids are a staple of the style, and Goodnight Mommy demonstrates that better than most other spine-tingling movies from the 2010s. This is particularly evident once the secrets are exposed, the credits roll, and the narrative takes on chillingly fresh rationale and resonance.

In a nutshell, it finds twin brothers Lukas and Elias becoming highly sceptical that their mother – whose head is covered in bandages because she’s just returned from having cosmetic surgery – isn’t really their mother. Instead, they suspect her suddenly strange appearance and behavior are due to the fact that she’s an imposter who’s come to harm them.

Part of her newfound touchiness involves her lashing out at Elias and imposing strange rules (like keeping the blinds closed during the day). In response, the boys torture her so that she'll confess to not being who she says she is, leading to an alarming conclusion that incorporates aspects of several mental ailments (such as dissociative identity disorder, Capgras syndrome, depersonalization, and prosopagnosia).

Written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Goodnight Mommy is a pleasingly warped tale that – like their latest venture, 2019’s The Lodge – unveils darker repercussions and clues with each new examination.