Other Mommy
When is it okay to lie to your children? And when should you tell them the truth, even if it means revealing your deepest, darkest secrets? Those questions are at the heart of Other Mommy. This supernatural horror film explores childhood trauma, family dysfunction, and the terrifying consequences of the things parents choose to hide.
Based on Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House, Other Mommy follows eight-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark). Bela has a complicated home life that takes a frightening turn when a mysterious entity begins appearing in her bedroom closet. The entity takes the form of Bela’s mother. So, she gives her the name “Other Mommy.” At first, the entity offers Bela the attention and affection she craves. But as its visits become increasingly sinister, Bela and her family must confront a presence that threatens to tear their lives apart.
Jessica Chastain is INCREDIBLE!
The story of Other Mommy feels incredibly personal, whether that is the intention or not, I don’t know. The film tackles childhood trauma in a way that invites viewers to see themselves in any of its characters. The writing is intimate, as though the story draws on experiences that are difficult to talk about openly. Whether you identify with the doting parent, the child caught in the middle, or the mother being blamed for all their problems, something here might hit close to home.
Jessica Chastain as Ursula and “Other Mommy” is incredible. She has already established herself in the horror genre with some of my favorite films like Crimson Peak and It Chapter Two. Now, she gets a chance to bring an unsettling intensity to Other Mommy. This is Chastain’s first time tackling a dual personality, and her performance is a masterclass in physical acting. Her stillness, her unwavering focus, and that deeply creepy smile…all tell the story perfectly. Chastain understands exactly how much fear you can communicate through the smallest movement. Her performance is one of the film’s biggest strengths.
Jay Duplass (Sterling Point), per usual, plays the doting husband and fatherDado. While viewers are supposed to root for him, you’ll occasionally want to reach through the screen and shake some sense into him. Dado is caught in the difficult position of trying to protect his daughter while also navigating the problems within his marriage. Yet, his well-meaning decisions can be just as frustrating as they are understandable.
Chastain understands exactly how much fear you can communicate through the smallest movement, making her performance one of the film’s biggest strengths
The lack of practical effects stifles the brilliance
The scares throughout Other Mommy are paced well and spread throughout the film, giving the story room to build tension before pulling the rug out from under you. Every time Other Mommy visits Bela, whether she is embarking on an adventure or being dragged into another realm, the experience feels surprising and terrifying. Then, just when you think the family is making progress, the film reminds you that they are nowhere near safe. That constant back-and-forth between hope and dread keeps the story moving, making it difficult to settle into a sense of security.
However, the film loses some of its effectiveness for me in the design of “Other Mommy”. The creature’s appearance becomes increasingly CGI-heavy, and at times I wish the filmmakers had leaned more into practical effects. Having seen similar imagery executed with practical effects in older horror films, I couldn’t help comparing the two approaches. Sometimes, the imperfections and tangible textures of practical effects make a monster feel all the more disturbing. Why? It looks like something that could actually exist in front of you. Here, certain visual choices pulled me out of the experience and left me wishing for a return to a style of filmmaking long gone by. That said, the film still delivers genuinely shocking and graphic moments I wasn’t expecting.
Verdict: Other Mommy watches like a therapy session
Ultimately, I walked away from Other Mommy feeling as though I had just witnessed a therapy session. Not necessarily one conducted in a therapist’s office, but one in which a writer took something deeply personal, complicated, and perhaps painful and found a creative way to work through it. The film’s exploration of childhood trauma and parental deception feels so intimate that it is difficult not to wonder how much of that emotional weight comes from a place of personal experience.
For me, Other Mommy was an intriguing, uncomfortable watch, even when its visual effects didn’t always work in its favor.
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