The main character of this movie, a mother who initially seems put upon by a troublesome young son who may or may not be autistic, is gradually shown to be the nut - in - chief. The rest of the film is about her descent into the abyss.
So, is this a film about what it is (not) to be a mother? Sure, there's an element of critique of the institution of motherhood here but the core of this film is its chill. It's very scary. The creeping sense of madness taking over, of hallucinations becoming reckonable as real, compel the action towards what seems to be an inevitable catastrophe. The stuff that goes on inside your head is more terrifying than anything that goes bump in the night out there.
