“Other Mommy,” directed by Rob Savage and based on Josh Malerman’s bestselling novel Incidents Around the House, is a creepy and surprisingly emotional supernatural horror film that takes something as comforting and familiar as the love of a mother and slowly turns it into something extremely unsettling.
The film follows eight-year-old Bela, who begins communicating with a strange entity that she calls Other Mommy. It looks exactly like her mother, but there is always something odd and slightly off about her, even during the moments when she appears completely normal.
The film wastes absolutely no time establishing feelings of discomfort. It also does not immediately explain everything about Other Mommy. Instead, it allows Bela, and the audience, to slowly realize just how deeply rooted Other Mommy’s presence has become a part of her daily life. Mundane and common household moments start feeling strangely suspicious, forcing you to question who the real mother is.
Jessica Chastain is the best aspect of the movie. She plays both Ursula, Bela’s actual mom, and Other Mommy, and I really enjoyed how she delivered subtle, unsettling transitions between the two characters. Sometimes Chastain seems perfectly normal, then there is some small gesture, a bizarre facial expression or delayed reaction, or simply a different posture that immediately creates unease, as if something is eerily wrong. Those moments were actually some of the creepiest parts of the film. Savage does not need a huge transformation to tell you that you are looking at Other Mommy. Chastain is able to make something as simple as standing in a room feel intensely uncomfortable.
Jay Duplass, who plays Russ, also brings a lot to the family dynamic as Bela’s dad. He seems to be both protective and loving, yet at the same time feels very overwhelmed by all the events taking place, particularly those involving Other Mommy. He never feels removed from all of the emotional problems happening inside the family, even though Bela’s relationship with her mother is clearly the larger focus.
Arabella Olivia Clark also gives a great performance as Bela. She carries a great amount of the emotional weight throughout the movie because the story is told through her perspective. Clark brings a lot of innocence, curiosity, fear, and frustration to Bela without making her feel like one of those horror movie children who somehow reacts to everything like an adult. She feels like a child and reacts like one. She feels confused. And she feels like a child who knows there are things happening around her that she does not completely understand. Things that she is unhappy with and wants to change, but is unsure of how to address and resolve those feelings, especially given the nature of the problems going on in her home outside of Other Mommy.
That is also one of the reasons Bela’s dynamics with Other Mommy are interesting. Other Mommy does not seek only to scare Bela. She pays attention to her; she knows when Bela feels ignored, when she is upset with her parents, when she feels hurt, and when she wants someone to make her feel better. Instead of presenting herself in her true frightening form, Other Mommy also knows how to make herself feel safe and comforting to Bela. This is exactly what makes her so dangerous. She wants Bela to believe that she alone can protect her from ever feeling pain again; she is the only one who truly understands her, so Bela will want to choose her and let her into her heart. Watching the relationship between Bela and Other Mommy further unfold was honestly more disturbing to me than some of the larger scares.
The film also has some really great visual horror moments. Other Mommy’s movements are insanely creepy. There are several scenes where nothing huge is happening, but something about the way her body moves immediately makes the entire moment feel wrong. Savage also plays around with space and Bela instantly finding herself in places she was not expecting to be. Some of those sequences were some of my favorite parts of the movie. They almost feel like playful dreams slowly turning into terrible nightmares.
There were a number of great jump scares in this film. I can say that I jumped at least once or twice. That being said, I do appreciate that the movie doesn’t rely entirely on them.
The movie also has a lot more happening emotionally within Bela’s family than I originally expected. The problems within Bela’s family become extremely important to what is happening with Other Mommy. There are things Bela does not fully know about her parents and things the adults around her have decided not to tell her. Some of that is fully understandable given Bela’s age, but she is aware of issues going on with her family, even if she probably can’t articulate or understand them. Her parents believe they are protecting her, but all of that confusion still affects Bela emotionally. And Other Mommy understands exactly how to use it. That added a lot more to the story for me because it becomes about more than a supernatural entity chasing a little girl around a house.
My biggest issue with “Other Mommy” comes in the last third of the film. After Bela and her parents leave her grandmothers , the pacing changes pretty noticeably. The first part of the movie spends so much time developing Bela, her relationship with her parents, and the mystery surrounding Other Mommy that I expected the final portion to really dig into all of the unawnered questions. Instead, it feels extremely feeling rushed. There is a lot happening toward the end, and to me, some of those moments needed more time. There were a couple of scenes where I was still thinking about what had just happened and the movie had already moved on to something else.
I went into “Other Mommy” expecting a little more based on the trailer. The trailer made it seem the movie would be something that would really get under my skin, and while the movie definitely has some disturbing moments, it never felt l like it ever fully achieved the high-intensity level it seemed to be aiming toward.
Now, that does not make it a bad movie. There is actually a lot about the film that I liked. The performances are strong. Jessica Chastain is wonderfully unsettling, Arabella Olivia Clark gives Bela enough personality that you care about her, and there are several visuals that I will probably remember. I just wanted more from the ending, which felt rushed. I really think the final act needed more time. Some of those emotional moments came and went too quickly.
“Other Mommy” is still a decent horror movie and an entertaining way to kill some time. I would recommend checking it out eventually. I am just not sure I would tell someone they need to rush out and pay theater prices to see it. For me, this feels more like the kind of movie I would recommend putting on once it reaches streaming platforms or on a long flight. It has some good scares, an interesting idea, and performances that are better than the movie around them at times.
