‘Goodnight Mommy’ (2022) Ending Explained – Who is the woman behind the mask?

The Goodnight Mommy plot synopsis

The film Goodnight Mommy was a re-make of an Austrian film of the same title. It is a story about the twins Elias as well as Lukas who are visiting their famous mother in her country house. After arriving, they notice an oddity in their mother. She’s not just wearing a medical mask, but she’s a complete change from the woman she was previously. There are no longer the affectionate and loving motherly instincts. Instead, she’s distant and cold, and at times very aggressive with the boys.

Elias and Lukas think that the woman wearing the mask isn’t actually their mother. If she’s not their mother, then who could she be? Does she have plans to hurt her children? Let’s take a closer look at the film.

Why is the ‘mother’ wearing a mask?

When they arrive at the home of their mother They are shocked to find her wearing a mask for medical purposes. It’s a shock to them, however, she clarifies that she had cosmetic surgery, and wears the mask until she heals her face.

Their mother is a well-known actress It’s not surprising that she’d like to preserve her beauty. There are however clues to suggest that the woman isn’t their mother at all. It may be that cosmetic surgery is simply a means to disguise a possible fake identity.

Why do boys think they are fake mothers?

After the arrival of their mother, she sets them up with some rules. They are told not to enter the barn or make noise and to not enter her office or bedroom. It’s not the norm for their mother to have rules that are like this, and this is what causes Elias as well as Lukas to become suspicious.

The suspicions of the boys are further heightened when she does not sing them the lullaby for bedtime that she used to sing to the children when they were young. She explains that they’re too old to sing them goodnight songs, but the boys question her claim since they think she’s an imposter and doesn’t know the lyrics to the song. The woman in the mask also throws away a photo Elias offers her of her family sitting together. This further suggests that she isn’t the person she claims to be since their mother was the one who used to keep the pictures. Then the eyes of the woman are on display. They’re not the color boys associate with and this creates more fear for Elias.

In the event that they violate the woman’s regulations and look into their barn, they discover blood on the walls. At this moment the woman walks into the barn and is aggressive toward the children. This is very different from the mother’s behavior.

The boys flee and take refuge in the barn of a neighbor. However, when the owner calls the police, they are brought back to their home with their mother. They inform the police that the lady who lives in the home is a fake, but when the police arrive, they see the woman, they see she’s not wearing a mask and appears exactly like the mother of the boys.

Elias is taken into his bedroom by a woman, but he is able to listen to the conversations that her and her police. She listens to the woman’s words “He was playing near the pool, and he must have fallen on the water. It’s scary and the line between reality and imagination has disappeared.”What does this word mean? We’ll find out later in the film.

Is the woman the boys’ mother?

The boys remain skeptical about the woman’s claim as being their maternal grandmother. they suspect she’s a stranger who has had cosmetic surgery on her face to resemble her.

While she’s asleep they tape her with duct tape to her mattress. When she awakes, Elias douses her with cold water and asks to be able to identify where their mother is. She claims to be their mother. When asked about her eyes changing color, she informs them that she occasionally wears colored contact lenses.

They are interrupted by police, who have contacted them to inquire about their children. They inquire about the whereabouts of their mother and Elias informs them that she has been out somewhere. One of the police officers is somewhat skeptical of the tale, but when they’re called to another work and they are called to another job, they take the boys to the police station and leave them there.

Elias and Lukas take off on their own. However, before they reach their destination, Elias tells Lukas he has lost his toothbrush. After returning home Elias finds the contact lenses of his mother’s color.

Realizing that this female is the mother of his child, he cuts the tie off her. There’s another problem to be resolved. Although she’s not an imposter there’s a third party in Elias’s life who doesn’t seem to be who they claim to be. The clue lies in the barn, where Elias’s mom takes the boy to force him to face his truth.

What will Elias discover within the barn?

Elias his mother asks him to examine the blood-stained walls in the barn. Here, Elias and I spot an open bullet hole in the wall.

We are told by Elias’s mom that when Elias and Lukas were children and were playing together, they had fun with a loaded firearm. It led to tragic accidents in which Elias fired at Lukas accidentally.

Lukas was killed, but when his mother tries to get Elias to accept the reality of his life, he lashed at her. She falls down from the attic of the barn and strikes the dirt below. Her lantern falls and the hay is forced to ignite.

Elias is seen running away from the barn, while behind him, the building is burning and his mother is still inside the building. As he tries to understand the situation, Elias looks up and sees his mother of his and Lukas walking toward him. They hug and his mother assures him that he’s done absolutely nothing wrong.

Are Elias” mother and brother still alive?

No. It’s obvious that Elias is struggling to distinguish the real from the imaginary and that’s something his mother mentioned earlier in the conversation she had with the cops.

When Elias discovers them in the final moments of the film it is clear that they appear to be hallucinations. This suggests that Lukas, the Lukas that we see in the film was also an imagined character from Elias the movie’s imagination. If you watch the movie again you’ll see that the mother talks about Elias rather than Lukas which could be a sign that Lukas was not really present. It is also evident that Lukas often appears as Elias his reflection, instead of a living alive human being.

Elias’s “delusion” is the result of the guilt and sorrow the man felt following his brother’s passing away. To deal with the grief that occurred and the feelings of loneliness felt, he constructed the illusion that his brother was still around.

The mother’s behavior earlier in the film was also the result of the trauma. She was unfriendly to her son due to her personal grief, which probably caused her to be angry at Elias for causing the death of his brother. She likely tossed out the drawing Elias sketched for her as she did not want to think about her family which was now broken.

The film is not a horror film, but more of a study of the effects of grief and how it may influence us. The original 2014 film featured similar themes. However, beware, if you decide to watch the Austrian original, you’ll find a scene that is more gruesome and brutal than this one!

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