Packing in 53 jumpscares within the film’s 93 minutes, “Other Mommy” is a surefire way to get your scare on this spooky season. Directed by Rob Savage, and adapted from Josh Malerman’s novel “Incidents Around the House,” the film stars Jessica Chastain, Arabella Olivia Clark and Jay Duplass. The movie takes us on a wild paranormal thriller that feels simultaneously fitting within our world, while also playing with uncanny effects and reality distortions.
The film opens with the quote, “Both gods and demons long for the chance to be human because humans possess one thing they do not—being alive—and that this state of living is what demons covet more than anything else.” Before fading all the text away the audience is left with just the words, “demon” and “human” on the screen before slipping into a slow motion playful dance scene, accompanied by distorted tunes that sound as though a record is being played with the tempo knob turned down, slowing the track down in a creepy and unsettling way.
Then straight away from the opening scene the film hits the gas and refuses to slow down as it moves through the plot, forking over only the most needed and intentional details, sparing us in the theater any fluff. Following Bela, we watch as she navigates the other mommy make her presence known to her family. Meanwhile, we also watch through Bela’s perspective her parents’ relationship falter as illusions to infidelity begin to become more and more obvious. The story then intertwines both of these plot points into one narrative that both require remedying in order to get rid of the other mommy for good.
An argument can be made that this film is really all about trauma and young Bela’s coming-of-age or loss of innocence, using the other mommy as a mirror that foils her real mother and all the lies she’s kept, in an attempt to protect Bela. A theme also known as “trauma-informed horror” that we have been seeing more and more frequently within the horror genre as of late. A tricky theme to maneuver but in the case of “Other Mommy” I think it is done very well. I believe many audience members resonated with Bela, growing up with secrets never talked about like a massive elephant in a room during family get-togethers. However, getting to watch and feel those tensions rise through the perspective of Bela made the scares all the more impactful, not only in gasps and jumps from movie-goers, but also in sympathetic “oh-nos” and cringes in worry for the child.
Another thing I think this film got right was its pacing. Often horror films take a long while to get through lots of exposition to set up their scares or to get the audience to feel for the characters and promote some form of stakes. This movie however, did a fantastic job of getting straight into the scares and giving us plenty of reason to care for the characters through the wonderful acting of Duplass as Bela’s father and of course, Clark as Bela. Within the first six seconds of the film we feel the bond between these two characters and are rooting deeply for them to stay safe from the other mommy. I also really appreciated that there was not a ton of arguing around the fact that there is in fact another mommy terrorizing the home. The conversation between Chastain and Duplass felt organic and real to what I imagine would happen if this movie was based on true events.
Where I feel this film failed, was somewhere around the halfway point. The scares up until this point, had been largely practical and allowed Chastain to shine playing the creepier version of the real mother. Where the film began to lose me was with its scares is when they chose to change the other mommy’s shape, allowing the demon form to come out thus veering away from the practical effects into more of a CGI appearance. This wouldn’t be the first time we have seen something like this with horror films, as I can recall the same thing happening in the last “Conjuring” movie when they chose to make the creepy Annabell doll as big as a house, or in film “Backrooms” when the hidden monster the entire film ended up looking like a massive digital pirate puppet, completely ruining the scare factor. Thankfully, the film does not keep this version of the other mommy for the rest of the film and goes back to just using practical effects and Chastain’s incredible acting abilities to freak us all out.
Despite the mixed reviews, I think “Other Mommy” is definitely worth the watch this spooky season. Especially, if you are a fan of paranormal horror and are looking for something with more of a psychological trauma based fear factor over a film packed with gore. A solid 3.5 on the spicy scale, this is one I recommend you go see in theaters with friends before the Halloween season ends!