Ruined by the third act - Ich seh, Ich seh (2015) Discussion

[–] Giraffe_Monster 9 years ago

How was it wasted, exactly?

It just becomes apparent that what was happening was a very real and traumatic issue, something that got way out of hand and ended the way it did; in tragedy.

Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?

reply

[–] jenna-side 9 years ago

I'll make myself clearer: the ending has been done before in other films. The ending itself wasn't even bad, as I said in my post. I don't mind endings like that, I have liked this kind of films my entire life but it's time to stop. It's not funny anymore. That's why I said it was a waste. Not a bad film at all, just the same film I watched a hundred of times.

reply

[–] AtZReviews 9 years ago

Name the horror films that you've seen "100" times before with this ending...

reply

[–] chet19 9 years ago

The Other (not The Others, but The other)
Sixth Sense

98 more...

reply

[–] radb707 9 years ago

Sixth Sense?? What? You're going to have to explain that one, because it's not the same at all. Fight Club is closer to this ending than Sixth Sense. All the movies people are listing is really trying to stretch it.

reply

[–] chet19 8 years ago

Easy to explain.... Sixth Sense portrayed a ghost as a real-life human. Both the audience and the characters thought the ghost was a real person. then at the end, we find out it's just a ghost.
Exactly the same Goodnight Mommy and 6th Sense

reply

[–] chet19 8 years ago

Easy to explain.... Sixth Sense portrayed a ghost as a real-life human. Both the audience and the characters thought the ghost was a real person. then at the end, we find out it's just a ghost.
Exactly the same Goodnight Mommy and 6th Sense

reply

[–] SaliceMcD 8 years ago

Um, *what*, chet19??

(The Sixth Sense spoiler!!)

No character in The Sixth Sense thought Malcolm was a living vs dead person except for Malcolm, himself. (All due respect.)

reply

[–] tushar500 8 years ago

A tale of two sister
The Uninvited

this two also have the same story

reply

[–] Superdessucke 8 years ago

I didn't like the ending either but don't think it was quite "Sixth Sense" like. The movie made little attempt to hide the fact that the twin was dead. I figured that out well before the end and if I'd paid more attention I probably could have figured it out much sooner.

I just really didn't care for how the ending kind of wasted the suspense that the rest of the film had built up. After all of that, which was quite good, all the end shows is that the kid is mentally F'd and the mom is probably really the mom, and you end up feeling kind of sad and sorry for her. Wouldn't say that was per se unoriginal, it was just kind of a let down.

reply

[–] minervara99 9 years ago

Name the horror films that you've seen "100" times before with this ending...

Tale of Two Sisters
Alone (2007/I)
Carnival of Souls
Alice ou la dernière fugue (1977)
Siesta (1987)

reply

[–] minervara99 9 years ago

One more:
Dead Man's Shoes

reply

[–] Willtur 8 years ago

tale of two sisters, now that is a damned good horror/suspense film. This one was lame all the way through, you could tell immediately what the issue was and maybe on purpose but it left nothing, no reveal, no explanation for the odd dreams, just silly.

There is a movie very similar to this called the Death and the Maiden with Sigourney Weaver, now that had a plot and suspense.

reply

[–] Giraffe_Monster 8 years ago

What "odd dreams"...?

Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?

reply

[–] halbian 8 years ago

I just watched "The Death and the Maiden" and it's a pretty interesting movie.

However I think it's vastly different from this movie in almost every way I can think of.

I liked "Good Night Mommy" better because it was more mysterious, ambiguous and thrilling.
The ending of "The Death and the Maiden" didn't intrigue me at all. I just didn't care. "Oh. So he was indeed guilty after all. Oh well...he might have just admitted it at the beginning of the movie and saved me some time." Whereas in "Good Night Mommy" I actually went back to all the key scenes of the movie and watched them with a different perspective.

reply

[–] NiteOwl94 8 years ago

Key scenes? Are you kidding me? I knew the twist within the first five minutes. The mom refused to acknowledge Lukas. Dead giveaway.I paid attention throughout the whole movie, and nobody at all talked to him, addressed him, and the mom could never hear him. I was DYING for the movie to prove me wrong somehow, but nope.

It was a pathetic twist and one that was easy to see coming for miles away.
Every single scene had the biggest friggin clues.
The sea shells or whatever? "One from me and one from Lukas"
And she didn't take the one from Lukas?
The game they played. She didn't know anyone with two kids?
She only put one tray of food out?

If anyone reads all this, and thinks it's a spoiler- congratulations, you have a brain.
If you can't guess the twist after all that, then you should watch more movies.
It was so horribly apparent that I feel insulted it wasn't a red herring.

reply

[–] BladeJrs 8 years ago

So true. Was hoping they were just trying to trick me; surely there was no possible way they'd make it so obvious, right? Wrong...terrible writing.

Waaarriors, come out to playy-y-ayyy!

reply

[–] BladeJrs 8 years ago

So true. Was hoping they were just trying to trick me; surely there was no possible way they'd make it so obvious, right? Wrong...terrible writing.

Waaarriors, come out to playy-y-ayyy!

reply

[–] wreckage-1 8 years ago

I figured this early, too, but set that theory aside when Elias went downstairs to see the freezer guy unloading his stuff. I figured Lukas must have let him in. I guess I should have resurrected that theory when the Red Cross people did the same.

reply

[–] carjones51 8 years ago

Yeah . . . the twist was obvious to me when the mom didn't give Lukas any food. What mother does that?!?! My sister was quicker than me and figured it out in the opening scene when they were in the water. I read others who also said that's when they figured it out.

In fact, the twist was so freaking obvious that I thought there had to be a second twist! I believed there had to be more to the story but, sadly, there wasn't.

reply

[–] bladexz95 7 years ago

I was actually hoping they weren't going to do the dead thing, and the mother was actually going insane and not seeing his brother who was alive and well.

Then they pulled it, and you just felt sorry for her that she was trying not to be stricken with grief and move past Lukas' death.

I also saw it incredibly early in the movie, and was hoping it wasn't going to go that route.

reply

[–] carjones51 7 years ago

Yeah . . . they went the obvious route w/this movie though some say they didn't figure it out. I can only guess those ppl haven't watched a lot of horror/suspense/thriller movies, tv shows, etc.

reply

[–] 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] diederik-saxofoon 8 years ago

A beautiful mind (non horror)

reply

[–] the_real_Doc_Justice 7 years ago

Carnival Of Souls ? What is wrong with you ? You missed the whole plot didn't you

reply

[–] tvli_z-477-296218 8 years ago

all stories are retold in a different way. nothing is original, but all can be well-told

reply

[–] Robrocop 9 years ago

Even if they went the other direction posts would pop up recycling the same nonsense. What direction could they have gone and it be something that hasn't been done to death already. As for movies that have done this before and better, Tale of Two Sisters EASILY is a better horror film.

reply

[–] timolet 9 years ago

You consider it ruined because the movie turned out to be really realistic and you were probably expecting some kind of grand Hollywood exposition where the spooky ghosts and special effects kick in.

The good thing about this movie, is that it takes a very tragic but 'simple' situation, injects the viewer at a certain point in the story and then we watch it evolve. The third act is the reveal, but realistically you can figure out what's going on earlier. It's the fact that it really is just a realistic tragedy and not some kind of doppleganger paranormal *beep* or whatever that gets the movie the praise, and it's not until the third act that you find out it really is that way. There's no major plot twist or anything, just a confirmation of your intuition. For some reason, that takes guts to do in this day and age of film.

reply

[–] Giraffe_Monster 9 years ago

Thank you. As you said, some folk who didn't like this movie were clearly hoping to be spoon-fed something else...

Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?

reply

[–] nkavy71488 9 years ago

Or maybe they just didn't like it. Assuming that just because someone doesn't enjoy a movie, that they need to be spoon-fed information as if they can't use their imagination, is pretentious. I'm not even saying I didn't like it. Certain aspects of it were exceptional. But come on... no need to be so presumptuous.

reply

[–] Giraffe_Monster 9 years ago

Good sir, I'm only referring to those who said "the twist was crap" and/or that they "saw the twist coming" (seen a lot of those replies already), which to me is the same as missing the point of the entire movie since Goodnight Mommy isn't one of those that rely solely on the very final minutes/final jumpscare/twist to have an effect on its audience :/.

Just what I meant/think.

Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?

reply

[–] nkavy71488 9 years ago

Again, I shouldn't have bothered. I myself have gotten very defensive over films that I adore. I used to get pretty bent out of shape on The Descent's board at certain gripes people had about the film.

Similarly, I've gotten quite irritated with posters on A Perfect Getaway's board about how they thought the writing was either too lazy or too manipulative. There is a somewhat similar technique used to hide the big reveal in that film - though the circumstances within the plot are very different.

reply

[–] adia07 9 years ago

It's unfair to say people who didn't like it expected Hollywood nonsense.

I am a film critic and watch a LOT of horror movies as it's my favorite genre. Because of this, I am pickier with horror films and also since I've seen so many, I recognize when a particular trick or plot has been done over and over.
So, like other people here, I too was disappointed.

************************SPOILERS**********************************************
The big "twist" in the movie is not hidden well. I figured it out in literally the second scene with the mother at the table. I also figured early on it wasn't paranormal because every time any paranormal event occurred it was a dream. (A cheap tactic overused in many horror films.) Furthermore, the great tone the director set in the beginning just became a series of misdirects that made no sense and led nowhere. (the dark cave, the other cave with human skulls in it, the "twin" in the picture, etc.) There were never explanations for those moments so it just becomes an easy way to misdirect the audience. The final act just became like a 100 movies I've seen before. It just wasn't an original ending at all. Had the final moment (with the mother in the house) revealed what the boys suspected - THEN I would have been surprised. Otherwise, it just was just a very well made film, with a story that ultimately felt stale.

reply

[–] ichinr99 9 years ago

For me the ending sucked, wasted time tbh.

When the mother looked in the mirror topless, i thought the skin colors was different, so i actualy thought they writers was clever and maybe made it out to be a "man" who faked it. Maybe hiding or killed her mother or somthing like that.

But no it was just a kidd once again who ruined the movie.

reply

[–] Giraffe_Monster 9 years ago

You thought the skin color was different?
Different to what...? Wasn't that the first time that we were seeing the Mother "exposed"? What exactly could we compare her skin tones to/with?

Also, had it been an impostor/doppelganger/twin, or even a "man"... Wouldn't that "fantastic" twist raise more questions than answers...?

It's one thing to want an over-the-top, crazy mindf_cking ending just for the sake of it, and it's another different matter to give closure to the story itself in a "realistic" way, which is what I think this movie aimed at from the start, a "real" ending (although tragic) to something "real", everything that seems unnatural is really what the kid(s) think are "real" or "true", according to their warped sense of reality.

Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?

reply

[–] zombieDANCE 9 years ago

The "big twist" is not a twist, it's a slow reveal. There's no "SHOCKER!' moment at all. And the dark cave and cave with skulls in it aren't necessarily misdirections. They show us insight into Elias' psyche. I thought the skulls part raised many questions that I'm GLAD weren't answered. It's creepy to not always know WHY in my opinion. What did he do in there? Did he kill lots of animals? Or what did the skulls symbolize? I don't think it was random and I personally love that ambiguity.

"You got big fat titties, and I like to kill babies. Unborn babies!"

reply

[–] ThatNoodleLizard 9 years ago

The "big twist" is not a twist, it's a slow reveal. There's no "SHOCKER!' moment at all.

Well, there is. There's a very clear moment where they reveal it and actually leave pause for the audience to gasp (which they did, in my screening). Also, the film wouldn't be very effective at all if you were meant to know that Lukas is dead/imaginary from the off.

reply

[–] carjones51 7 years ago

I definitely agree that there is a "big reveal" moment in the movie. It didn't work for me b/c I had already guessed that about FIVE minutes into the movie.

Your last sentence is on point. The movie wouldn't be effective if the viewer knows Lukas is dead, which is why the movie was a failure to me and others. It was blatantly obvious - to me and my sister at least - that one twin was dead. No parent is going to feed one child but not the other, and when questioned why she wasn't giving that kid food, the response of "You know why" made it clear to me that the one twin was dead. And then you see she never speaks to that twin. By that point, I was just hoping the movie was about something else or would have another twist, which it, sadly, did not.

reply

[–] wrlord2001 8 years ago

The "big twist" is not a twist, it's a slow reveal.

If by slow you mean the first five minutes, I guess....

reply

[–] indyj1 8 years ago

I agree that the reveal being what the boys suspected would have been more interesting. I have to admit, I got distracted when the key moment of the reveal happened, so I read the summary on Wiki. Upon reading the twist, my thought was "Oh, so they remade The Uninvited/A Tale of Two Sisters. Quite frankly, as you pointed out about all the misdirects that weren't really explained, just used as trickery, they made for a meandering plot that took too long to get to the finale.
I think this film had some of the ingredients of being much better, but all in all I found it did not live up to the hype.

reply

[–] RamonNewdul 9 years ago

Exactly. I don't understand why people can't watch a film like this without expecting some ridiculous twist.

reply

[–] jenna-side 9 years ago

You consider it ruined because the movie turned out to be really realistic and you were probably expecting some kind of grand Hollywood exposition where the spooky ghosts and special effects kick in.

Uh... no. I find it laughable that you went with that poor, predictable argument to disprove my opinion on this movie since you don't even know me and know nothing about my tastes for movies. Well... I would probably do the same if I were you... That's why I thought it was so funny.
I actually like "realistic horror movies" (I suppose you're talking about movies who are apparently paranormal, horror tales and turn out to be a story about a mentally ill and/or delusional character and everything that was shown before was product of imagination or simply a misguided point of view of what was going on? - the last example being the case of "Ich seh, Ich seh"). Those are the ones I tend to like the most actually, instead of mediocre extravanzas like "Mama". But the problem is that "Ich seh, Ich seh" came in too late... It has already been done before. In better and worse ways.

reply

[–] ThatNoodleLizard 9 years ago

You consider it ruined because the movie turned out to be really realistic and you were probably expecting some kind of grand Hollywood exposition where the spooky ghosts and special effects kick in.

Mm no, they're probably people like me who have seen a lot of films (horror or otherwise) which use the exact same device - or an approximation thereof. I was confused when people gasped at the reveal in the cinema, as since around the 10 minute mark where they make it painfully obvious that she only interacts with one of them, I'd just assumed it was a given that one of them was either imaginary or dead.

So just because the film didn't screw up the third act in the same way as most modern horror films do (with the daft CGI ghost overkill) doesn't make it good. I definitely understand the OP's reservations, and I'm sure his sentiments are shared by many other cineliterate people. The people who panic and throw out the "Ah you're just stupid Hollywood this is art go watch Transformers" retorts are usually the ones I'm more skeptical of.

reply

[–] jenna-side 9 years ago

Oh! I forgot to mention how glad I was that the whole "dead brother" "plot twist" wasn't treated like a plot twist at all and that we get to know that he's dead from the beggining. I liked how they knew they were playing with such a tired cliché, so they wouldn't underestimate our cleverness and reveal it in the end as if it was a big thing or an actual plot twist.
That was one of the things I really liked about the film.

reply

[–] nevenavasovic 9 years ago

I have to agree. The ending to me felt out of place. The tone and the way the story developed was somehow thrown out of window and instead the movie went with the usual torture Hostel IV style. If they wanted to show consequences that were real and had real effects on the characters, they didn't have to stray away from the creepy, tense but eerie atmosphere.

reply

[–] songod-95003 9 years ago

Okay I admit I had an inkling something bad happened when the boys were either swimming or going into what looked like an old mining shaft\cave; but then snapped out of it when the mom came home and that aspect f the film kicked in. You saying you knew from the beginning the brother, Lukas, was dead. Good for you! I didn't. Now that you mention it yeah, I recall feeling that maybe they both were dead or something along those lines and the rest of the film would turn out to be a dream\dying moment illusion and we'd be brought back to that mine scene ala "Jacob's Ladder". Speaking of, was that scene with naked mom in the woods doing the JL head spinning part of Elias' delusion? Or was the mother off in some way??

Overall without reservation I enjoyed the film. It was different for me in the way so many moan and groan for "different" in today's horror genre. Funny thing is when they get it, they moan and groan that it wasn't different enough!! Shakespeare said ages ago that there is "nothing new under the sun" and that holds true for stories, movie plots, and music. Want something completely new and never ever before seen\heard? Can't help you. There is even a genre of music called "Atonal" that is purposely off key!!

reply

[–] kinwardog 7 years ago

"Jacob's Ladder" is exactly how they should have went with this story. I recently just got done watching "Stranger Things", and I have to say.... If they did a bit more with the boys "dying" in the mine shaft then coming back home to a different mother and world, I think it would have elevated the film quite a bit. Everything would start to make sense at that point. The skulls, the cat, their longing for their real mom, the religious symbolism, and their trip into a strange and almost desolate town. Everything would point to them having to move on and come to terms with their death. But having said that, any horror film benefits from referencing "Jacob's Ladder". That movie is still a hard watch and still gets to me to this day, lol.

reply

[–] redd4576 7 years ago

Okay I admit I had an inkling something bad happened when the boys were either swimming or going into what looked like an old mining shaft\cave; but then snapped out of it when the mom came home and that aspect f the film kicked in. You saying you knew from the beginning the brother, Lukas, was dead. Good for you! I didn't. Now that you mention it yeah, I recall feeling that maybe they both were dead or something along those lines and the rest of the film would turn out to be a dream\dying moment illusion and we'd be brought back to that mine scene ala "Jacob's Ladder". Speaking of, was that scene with naked mom in the woods doing the JL head spinning part of Elias' delusion? Or was the mother off in some way??

songof-95003>>>>I too didn't know Lukas was dead from the very beginning. But I don't catch a lot of things right off the bat all of the time either. But whatever, I went in with an open mind and didn't read too much into it. I agree with some other posters that the trailer was misleading and was expecting something more of a supernatural ending or something else. However, overall I did enjoy the movie and liked it.

reply

[–] Sabre-El 9 years ago

I see what you mean. But I don't know what ending they might have given to it. I thought that him burning her was a bit too much.

Clark: Jonathan Kent; isn't it a little past your bedtime?

reply

[–] songod-95003 9 years ago

Have you seen "The Boy"? Its available on Amazon Prime. It's a fairly unique tale, I thought, but I don't know you may not think so.

There's no mystery that the boy in question is building up to doing something heinous. The tag line is, after all, something like "The making of a serial killer" so you know something along those lines is going to happen. Still I was surprised at the deed and at the motive.

reply

[–] jenna-side 9 years ago

I might check it out. Thank you!

reply

[–] darkholefilms 9 years ago

This film made me feel disgusted, was settling into a really nice horror film and then it went all sadomasochist on us. Left me cold and empty, not sure this is what my girlfriend and I wanted...

The ending was horrific. The trailer misleading. Won't be recommending it to anyone that's for sure. Now having said that, if they had thought - as film-makers, to somehow subvert the notion of violence enacted upon the mother, a la Haneke's Funny Games, to question our understanding of what violence is, it would have been a tremendous film. But they opted for the something more banal, simply unforgivable choices when your first two acts are so wonderfully executed.

What a disturbing, horrible film this was.

Disappointing.

reply

[–] hadok 9 years ago

Good movie yes but it took me maybe 20 minutes to figure out the twist. As TS states, good movie, good ending but we've seen it a million times already so it would have been refreshing with an ending that wasn't easy to figure out.

Some other commenter said sarcastically that "you consider it ruined because the movie turned out to be really realistic and you were probably expecting some kind of grand Hollywood exposition where the spooky ghosts and special effects kick in. "

Well, to be fair I would have to say that this type of cliché ending IS Hollywood. To some it seems that having opinions on non-English speaking movies automatically turns you into a Michael Bay/Hollywood lover.

reply

[–] Henry_Kane 9 years ago

Yeah, we didn't get the movie we were promised. It was a bait-and-switch right up until the lame M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist. Third act killed it for me.

6/10

reply