‘Goodnight Mommy’: Naomi Watts to Star in Amazon’s Remake!!!

Two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts is set to star in Amazon‘s remake of Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz‘s psychological thriller Goodnight Mommy.

The film is a co-production between Amazon, Animal Kingdom and Playtime, and Matt Sobel (Take Me to the River) is directing from a script by Kyle Warren. The remake will be produced by David Kaplan, Joshua Astrachan, Valery Guibal and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, while Watts will serve as an executive producer alongside Fiala and Franz.

Goodnight Mommy follows twin brothers who are sent to stay with their mother, only to find her face covered in bandages. Eventually, they come to believe that the woman is not their mother and do everything they can to extract the truth from her.

“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,” Sobel told Variety , which broke the news.

Now, here’s the thing about this Goodnight Mommy remake. I didn’t think the original movie was all that good, as it hinged on a big twist of which I wasn’t a fan. However, because of that semi-hot take, I do believe that this is a remake worth doing, as there’s plenty of room for improvement in my book. His attachment isn’t the news here, but Sobel is an interesting choice to direct this movie. His debut feature was a little slow but it indicated that he had some chops as a filmmaker, and I just hope he’s willing — and allowed — to take some chances with this material, which shouldn’t be considered sacred.

There is an interesting idea at the center of this story, but if Amazon just wants to play the same notes all over again, I won’t really see the point. Some could say the same of the streamer’s Suspiria remake as well. So long as the company leaves Raw and Revenge alone, we’re good. But for the record, those are the two recent international genre films — and female filmmakers — that I’ll go to bat for any day of the week.

Watts earned a pair of Oscar nominations for her devastating performances in 21 Grams and The Impossible, and she’s a good choice for this remake, which will likely arrive 15 years after the remake of Funny Games that she starred in opposite Tim Roth. She’s a great actress who starred in two of the most underrated movies of the past six years in my humble opinion — Demolition and Luce — and also led what many (definitely not me!) believe is the greatest film of the century in Mulholland Drive. That said, she has been stuck in some rough films of late, such as The Book of Henry, Shut In and The Wolf Hour. You could even add Boss Level to that list as well, depending on your taste. I guess what I’m saying is, she deserves better roles, dammit! Get on it, Hollywood!

The British actress currently stars in Netflix‘s family drama Penguin Bloom, and her upcoming projects include Bleecker Street‘s thriller Infinite Storm, Phillip Noyce’s Lakewood, and James DeMonaco‘s off-brand Blumhouse movie This Is the Night, which pairs Watts with Frank Grillo and Bobby Cannavale. That’s the one I’m looking forward to, if only because I like when Jason Blum deviates from his tried-and-true horror formula, aka horrormula.