Pete Wright hosts a brutally personal Mother’s Day episode of Sitting in the Dark, joined by regular co-conspirators Kyle Olson, Kynan Dias, and Tommy Metz III, as they dig into three films that ask a profoundly unsettling question: What if Mom is the monster?

We start with Run (2020), a film that’s more “Lifetime original” than it has any right to be. It’s clean, tight, and distressingly effective. Sarah Paulson’s performance is terrifying not because she twirls her mustache but because she doesn’t have one. And newcomer Kiera Allen rolls (yes, rolls) away with the movie by doing exactly what her character does best—staying two clever steps ahead.

Next, Goodnight Mommy (2014). Austrian, austere, and absolutely harrowing. It’s a film about maternal misrecognition, grief-fueled delusion, and the dangers of not labeling your twins’ toothbrushes. There’s a twist, and if you see it coming, that won’t make the third act any less of a gut punch. It’s what happens when grief curdles, and no one’s left to explain bedtime.

And then: mother! (2017). Darren Aronofsky’s symphonic descent into allegorical madness. Sure, it’s “about” the Bible. It’s also about climate change. It’s about patriarchy, artistic ego, and the cosmic price of hospitality. Or maybe it’s just a guy on a cocaine bender writing a play he’ll never finish. Whether you think it’s pretentious or profound (hint: it’s both), one thing is clear—Jennifer Lawrence earns every ounce of your attention and maybe a few gallons of blood.

Across these three films, the panel explores how motherhood in horror isn’t just about nurture gone wrong. It’s about architecture—both of the home and the psyche. It’s about women who are worshipped, consumed, blamed, and erased. And yes, sometimes it’s about cockroaches.

Films Discussed:

• Run (2020) – dir. Aneesh Chaganty
• Goodnight Mommy (2014) – dir. Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
• mother! (2017) – dir. Darren Aronofsky

Coming Attractions

For Pride Month, Kynan’s curating a trio of queer-coded and queer-explicit horror: from the monstrous repression of Nightmare on Elm Street 2, to the camp and creaturehood of Bride of Frankenstein, to the raw queer body-horror ballet of Titane. You won’t want to miss it.

Film Sundries

• The List on Letterboxd
• Watch the movies discussed:
  • Run: Apple • Hulu • Letterboxd
  • Goodnight Mommy: Apple • Amazon • Letterboxd
  • mother!: Apple • Amazon • Letterboxd

• (00:00) - Welcome to Sitting in the Dark
• (08:05) - The Horror Bond of Motherhood
• (15:41) - Run
• (32:43) - Goodnight Mommy
• (49:39) - Mother!
• (01:09:49) - Coming attractions

Follow the other podcasts in The Next Reel’s family of film podcasts:

• Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and Movements
• The Film Board
• Movies We Like
• The Next Reel Film Podcast

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