Prior to its release, “Other Mommy” captivated audiences with its jump-scare heavy trailer and uncanny mirror version of Jessica Chastain terrorizing her young daughter. First released alongside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the trailer became an instant viral success, driving online discussion for weeks. Now out in theaters, “Other Mommy” has dominated the box office in its opening week with a $45.2 million box office opening despite an abysmal 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Directed by Rob Sauvage from a script adapted from Josh Malerman’s novel “Incidents Around The House,” “Other Mommy” follows workaholic Ursula Martin (Jessica Chastain) and her stoner husband Russ Martin (Jay Duplass) navigating a tense homelife while attempting to wrangle overly imaginative daughter Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark). While Bela and Russ - aka Dadd-o - are close, Bela and Ursula seem distant, with Russ commenting on Ursula’s absence at home. Soon after going to bed, we get a glimpse of Other Mommy, a shapeshifting entity that Bela discovers hiding behind various doors in the home. This entity mirrors the absent Ursula, but struggles to impersonate the human qualities of the woman, displaying strange behavior like being unsure how to boil water or how to cross a room while walking on both feet. Russ quickly has a run-in with Other Mommy, only for Ursula to blame her husband’s marijuana use and overencouragement of Bela’s imagination as causing the incident.
It isn’t until Ursula comes face to face with her terrifying doppelganger that she finally believes her family, hiring an exorcist recommended by her mother; however, this exorcist proves more interested in documenting a bona fide supernatural case, forcing the Martin family to determine the best way to vanquish Other Mommy themselves. The film’s resolution is particularly strange with Ursula admitting to Bela that Russ isn’t her real father, that Ursula herself didn’t want to be a mom, and explaining that she still loves Bela even if she hates being a parent. For whatever reason, this articulation of Ursula’s neglect of her child weakens Other Mommy and allows Russ to vanquish her, with the family returning to normal despite Bela being aware of her mother’s mood on the risk Other Mommy returns.
“Other Mommy” is a film that is visually intriguing with director Rob Savage attempting a more aesthetically ambitious film after smaller budget ventures like Host (2020) and The Boogeyman (2023). At times, the entirety of the film’s tension and impact is conveyed via camera angles and editing, creating a film that is intriguing cinematography-wise even when the plot leaves much to be desired. The film leans into surreal effects, including bizarre reality altering scares such as Bela disappearing in a ball pit, only to be vomited up in a pile of plastic balls in the trunk of the family’s car. Other Mommy, herself, plays with the uncanny valley, contorting her flesh into strange shapes, bad imitations of other people, and bizarre anatomy.
While Jessica Chastain excels as the creepy, uncanny valley living Other Mommy, her characterization as Ursula feels surface level and rooted in tired tropes of the workaholic mom who can’t handle the work-life balance. Bela and Ursula’s relationship is hardly explored, which causes the ultimate solution of Ursula being honest with Bela to fall quite short in thematic impact. Jay Duplass is a stand-out, creating a strong comedic counterweight to the film’s near constant jumpscares. Ultimately, the film’s commitment to delivering a jumpscare every ninety seconds, or whatever is advertised, doesn’t really elevate the film, rather making it feel poorly structured and without a strong narrative arc to attach itself to. While I had a lot of fun with “Other Mommy,” its lack of commitment to its character development and creation of a satisfying plot ultimately causes the film to collapse.
“Other Mommy” is out now.
