Other Mommy Divides Critics Over Jessica Chastain Horror Film

Jessica Chastain's latest horror film, Other Mommy, opened in theaters as audiences approached Halloween, introducing a supernatural threat that imitates a young girl's mother inside her family home. Directed by Rob Savage and based on Josh Malerman's 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, the 93-minute film has attracted attention for its grotesque imagery and frequent jump scares, although several critics have questioned whether its shocks sustain genuine fear.

Chastain plays Ursula, a working mother whose young daughter, Bela, portrayed by Arabella Olivia Clark, encounters a sinister double known as Other Mommy. The entity initially presents itself as friendly but gradually reveals its monstrous nature, seeking to establish a bond with Bela by impersonating her mother. Jay Duplass also appears in the film, which carries an R rating.

The film's first trailer generated widespread attention after screenings of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, particularly through a scene in which Chastain's character contorts into a spider-like creature. The sequence prompted startled reactions from moviegoers and helped establish expectations for a particularly frightening Halloween release.

Savage has emphasized the film's relentless approach to frightening audiences in an interview with Empire.

"Once it starts, it never stops... It disrupts all of the usual horror beats and rhythms that you associate with the genre. It's got some of the most scary, jump-filled scenes that I've ever shot." Rob Savage said.

However, reviews published by multiple outlets on October 9 offered a more divided assessment of the film's effectiveness. The Guardian's Benjamin Lee argued that its frequent shocks and graphic imagery undermine the suspense, while Variety's Siddhant Adlakha criticized the repetitive structure of its scares.

Adlakha described an "endless litany of numbing jump scares that grow quickly stale," noting that many sequences follow a similar pattern in which the camera circles a character before revealing Chastain's supernatural double nearby. He also argued that the film gives genuine threats and false alarms similar levels of intensity, weakening its ability to build tension.

ScreenRant's Josh Bate was more critical, arguing that the supernatural threat becomes too clear too early in the story. IGN's Carlos Morales acknowledged that some jump scares work but found fewer effective moments than expected, while Slashfilm's Chris Evangelista praised Chastain's willingness to embrace the creature's grotesque physicality.

The Hollywood Reporter's Richard Lawson described the film as only occasionally spooky and argued that it lacks the gradual buildup needed to make its frightening moments more effective. He also suggested that the story could have been more unsettling if it had remained closer to Bela's perspective.

Other reviewers found value in the central family conflict despite their reservations about the execution. Lee considered the psychological pressure placed on Bela more frightening than the visual effects, particularly as the entity threatens the child's understanding of parental love and trust.

The Guardian's assessment also highlighted Chastain's performance as a strength. Her portrayal distinguishes an emotionally distant working mother from a deceptive supernatural imitation attempting to win the child's affection, giving the film's central double role a more compelling dimension than some of its repetitive effects.

The film adapts Malerman's novel but shifts toward more immediate shocks and graphic body horror rather than maintaining a slow-building atmosphere. The Guardian's review criticized the resulting story for feeling like a succession of loosely connected set pieces, while also noting that Savage's technical execution remains effective in places.

Other Mommy follows Savage's earlier horror projects, including Host and The Boogeyman. The reviews suggest that the director's visual technique and Chastain's performance provide the film's strongest elements, while its repetitive scares, underdeveloped supernatural mythology and inconsistent tension have limited its impact among critics.