The film develops from a domestic drama to a psychological horror and in the end it erupts in a tough to watch torture film. There are a number of reasons why this is a truly admirable and terrifying experience. One is the relentless pace and build up of tension. It's a constant rhythm that never shows signs of stopping, never really slows down and progresses at a balanced speed that never looks back. Another is a particular attention to the visual impact. This includes the environment in which the film is set. A glass house surrounded by a forest. But it also includes props and elements. The bandages on the face of the mother not only creates a further barrier between the mother and her sons, but also leaves an air of mystery and arouses the suspect that the woman may indeed not be human. Then there are tertiary elements, familiar to the horror genre, such as disgusting cockroaches and a dead cat in a fish bowl. All this contributes to a truly unsettling atmosphere that, as previously mentioned, erupts in a psychologically dense and droned torture scene that will no doubt make people want to leave the cinema screen.
But despite the horror, there is also a sense of realism and a lack of exaggeration that you simply cannot find in the vast majority of horror films this day. The quasi art house approach reveals an original style by Franz and Faiala that is quite admirable already in their first feature (which it must be said was produced by Ulrich Seidl and some of his own directness can be seen in some of the film's elements or occasional digs at religion). This is not just due to the realism of the chemistry between the central twins, who go from being thoughtless and funny little angels to truly unscrupulous sadistic creatures, but also in an added humanity that can only be achieved by shooting in 35mm, a choice that makes the tension in Goodnight Mommy more organic in every way.
