By George Bate
Josh Malerman’s “Incidents Around the House” was one of the most acclaimed horror novels of 2024, earning widespread praise from readers and critics alike for its unsettling atmosphere, effective use of a child’s perspective, and deeply disturbing take on the haunted house subgenre. Naturally, the prospect of bringing such a well-received story to the big screen carries considerable expectations. Unfortunately, while the film adaptation boasts a capable production, a recognizable leading actress, and an intriguing supernatural premise, it struggles to capture the qualities that made its source material so effective.
Produced by modern master of horror James Wan, Other Mommy stars Jessica Chastain as Ursula, a mother whose family is plagued by a demonic entity with a particularly sinister objective. The story follows her young daughter, Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), as she begins experiencing terrifying encounters with a presence that disguises itself as her mother and attempts to convince her to let it into her heart. The demon’s ultimate goal is to take over Bela’s body and become a living being, something it cannot accomplish without the young girl’s cooperation.
While the premise provides plenty of opportunity for psychological terror and intrigue as to what the entity in question is, the film makes a baffling decision that zaps much of the intrigue out of its story before the very first frame even graces the audience’s eyes. Rather than allowing viewers to discover the nature of the entity and piece together its motivations as the narrative unfolds, Other Mommy opens with on-screen text explaining that demons covet the one thing humans possess that they do not: life itself. Although this information establishes the basic premise, it also robs the film of an opportunity to create mystery around its central antagonist. Horror is often at its most effective when audiences are left to wonder what they are dealing with, gradually uncovering the rules and motivations of the threat alongside the characters. By explaining the demon’s fundamental desires before the story has even begun, director Rob Savage’s film makes its central mystery considerably less compelling.
The film’s baffling beginning continues as its peculiar approach to storytelling becomes even more glaring. One of the most prominent scenes featured in the trailers involves the demon disguising itself as Bela’s mother and preparing dinner in the family’s kitchen. When Russ enters the room, he discovers the entity contorted beneath a table, an image that is arguably among the film’s most unsettling. The sequence is effective enough in isolation, but its placement within the narrative raises some significant questions about the filmmakers’ approach to building tension.
In a more conventional horror film, an encounter of this nature might serve as the culmination of an extended buildup, with the audience gradually becoming aware that something is wrong before the characters finally come face to face with the threat. Other Mommy, however, effectively skips this process altogether. Bela, Russ, and Ursula are all aware of the entity’s existence almost immediately, meaning that the film has little opportunity to develop the sort of creeping dread that typically makes supernatural horror so effective. Instead of watching an ordinary family gradually discover that something sinister has entered their home, viewers are thrown directly into the aftermath of that discovery.
From a technical standpoint, Other Mommy is a well-shot and competently assembled production. Its visual presentation is polished, and the filmmakers demonstrate a reasonable understanding of how to stage supernatural encounters and maintain a sense of forward momentum. However, the film features far more jump scares than the average modern-day studio horror film, making it feel somewhat like a throwback to the 2010s, when sudden noises, abrupt appearances, and other startle tactics were such a core feature of mainstream horror. There is certainly an audience for this approach, and the frequency of these moments gives Other Mommy a sense of urgency that might otherwise be missing. Nevertheless, the film rarely uses its jump scares to build upon a particularly interesting atmosphere or deepen the audience’s understanding of the threat.
The performances do little to elevate the material, with Jay Duplass proving particularly ill-suited to his role as Jeff. His performance feels poor and awkward throughout, lacking the naturalism and emotional conviction needed to make the character’s complicated family circumstances believable. Whether Jeff is attempting to conceal the truth from his daughter, navigating his troubled relationship with Ursula, or responding to the increasingly dangerous supernatural threat, Duplass never quite convinces.
Chastain, meanwhile, fares better in a role that requires her to balance maternal affection with the unsettling implications of her character’s connection to the entity, but even her presence cannot entirely overcome the shortcomings of the screenplay.
Perhaps the most surprising quality of Other Mommy is how unintentionally funny it can be. The premise is undeniably dark, and the film clearly intends for its central demon to be a source of genuine terror. However, certain moments have a way of undermining that atmosphere, occasionally turning what should be disturbing encounters into scenes that inspire amusement instead. The film may never be more unintentionally funny than when a ghost hunter refers to the entity as “Other Mommy,” a name that is already difficult to take entirely seriously outside the context of a young child’s imagination. While the name itself makes sense within the story, hearing it spoken with the seriousness of a professional paranormal investigation creates an amusing disconnect between the film’s intentions and its actual effect.
It is always nice to have horror movies hit theaters in October, particularly when the Halloween season gives studios an opportunity to bring supernatural stories to a wider audience. However, horror fans can do far better this month than spending their time with Other Mommy. Television alone has Crystal Lake and Carrie, which are more worthy of a watch, not to mention a ton of indie releases on Shudder for viewers looking for something more subversive. Against that competition, Other Mommy feels like a relatively unremarkable studio effort, especially given the acclaim of the novel on which it is based.
VERDICT: 4.5/10
Other Mommy is a relatively unremarkable studio horror effort that struggles to capture the qualities that made Josh Malerman’s acclaimed novel Incidents Around the House so effective. While the film is a well-shot and competently assembled production, its opening on-screen text zaps much of the intrigue out of the story before the very first frame even graces the audience’s eyes, robbing the narrative of the mystery and creeping dread that make supernatural horror so effective. Its frequent jump scares feel like a throwback to the 2010s, yet rarely generate genuine terror, while Jay Duplass delivers a poor, awkward performance that never quite convinces. Although Jessica Chastain fares better, even her presence and stature as an actress cannot overcome the shortcomings of the screenplay, and unintentionally funny moments, perhaps never more so than when a ghost hunter refers to the demon as “Other Mommy,” further undermine the film’s attempts at horror. Despite its polished visual presentation and occasional moments of technical ingenuity, Other Mommy fails to make the most of its potential, and with Crystal Lake, Carrie, and a ton of indie releases on Shudder available this month, horror fans can do far better this spooky season.