Other Mommy Review: Plenty of Chaos, Not Enough Scares

There’s something inherently terrifying about a child finding comfort in a mysterious figure who looks exactly like their mother.

It’s a premise with the potential to deliver a deeply unsettling psychological horror film, particularly with Jessica Chastain playing both the mother and her supernatural counterpart.

Unfortunately, Other Mommy seems to be more interested in startling audiences than building genuine fear.

Directed by Rob Savage and adapted from Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House, the film follows Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), a young girl whose family is already experiencing problems before anything supernatural enters the picture.

Her mother, Ursula (Chastain), is emotionally distant, while her father, Russell (Jay Duplass), attempts to maintain some sense of normalcy.

Then there’s Other Mommy, a sinister entity who resembles Ursula and offers Bela the attention and affection she craves. But her intentions become increasingly disturbing as she repeatedly asks Bela to let her into her heart.

The premise creates an opportunity to explore childhood vulnerability, parental relationships, and the dangers of seeking comfort in the wrong places. Unfortunately, those ideas often take a back seat to increasingly chaotic supernatural encounters.

One of the film’s more refreshing decisions is how quickly it establishes that the threat is real. Rather than spending half the movie watching adults dismiss a child’s concerns, Other Mommy moves directly into the conflict.

It’s a welcome departure from a familiar horror formula, and the early scenes generate genuine tension.

However, that accelerated pacing eventually becomes a problem.

At just over 90 minutes, the film moves rapidly between frightening encounters, rarely allowing its characters or the audience enough time to process what’s happening.

New developments, supernatural abilities, and family revelations arrive so frequently that the story gradually becomes more confusing than compelling.

The scares themselves are equally inconsistent.

There are effective moments, particularly when Other Mommy appears unexpectedly or uses subtle physical movements to reveal that something isn’t quite human about her. Those quieter scenes are far more unsettling than the elaborate supernatural sequences that follow.

As the film progresses, the creature’s increasingly exaggerated movements and reality-bending abilities begin working against the horror. Some visual effects are impressive, while others feel noticeably artificial, occasionally making scenes unintentionally amusing rather than frightening.

Thankfully, the performances provide some much-needed stability.

Jessica Chastain is easily one of the film’s greatest strengths. Playing both Ursula and her supernatural counterpart, she creates two distinct personalities without losing the connection between them.

Her portrayal of Other Mommy is particularly entertaining, combining unsettling expressions, unpredictable behavior, and an almost desperate desire to be loved.

Chastain fully embraces the absurdity of the role, even when the material doesn’t give her much to work with. Watching her switch between a disconnected parent and an increasingly unhinged supernatural presence is often more entertaining than the horror surrounding her.

But the film’s biggest surprise is Arabella Olivia Clark.

As Bela, Clark delivers an impressively natural performance, capturing the confusion, fear, and vulnerability of a child caught between two versions of someone she desperately wants to trust. Her performance gives the story an emotional foundation that the screenplay doesn’t always support.

The relationship between Bela and her parents should drive the film, particularly as family secrets begin to emerge. Instead, those revelations often feel rushed, and the characters’ emotional responses aren’t always convincing.

That becomes especially frustrating during the final act, when Other Mommy attempts to resolve its family drama amid increasingly elaborate supernatural chaos.

The conclusion introduces interesting ideas about love, forgiveness, and complicated parental relationships, but the execution doesn’t give those themes enough room to resonate.

Still, Other Mommy isn’t completely without entertainment value. Its frantic pacing, bizarre imagery, and Chastain’s committed performance make it a reasonably enjoyable experience, particularly for audiences who appreciate supernatural horror that embraces a little absurdity.

Other Mommy is a slightly uneven but occasionally entertaining horror film that benefits tremendously from Jessica Chastain and Arabella Olivia Clark. There are enough interesting ideas and unsettling moments to make it worth watching, but rushed storytelling and inconsistent scares prevent it from reaching its full potential.

Sometimes the most frightening thing a horror movie can do is allow its audience to sit with the fear. Other Mommy rarely gives us that opportunity.

Other Mommy is now playing in theaters.

 

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