“Bela, will you let me into your heart?”

Based on the novel “Incidents Around the House” (thankfully, they changed the name), Other Mommy follows young Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), who struggles with the tension of her parents’ marriage. Her mom (Jessica Chastain) is distant, while her daddo (cringe) (Jay Duplass) showers her with attention and love. Bela has a demonic friend called “Other Mommy” who looks exactly like her mom, and the being begs for Bela to “let her into her heart.” Other Mommy promises Bela that she will give her a better life, one with a happy family, if she just lets her take possession. Sound familiar? 

It’s far too close to Laika’s extraordinary film Coraline (2009), which follows Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) as she copes with loneliness after a recent move and her parents’ negligence. The Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) wants her soul in exchange for the promise of a happy life with loving parents and anything she’s ever wanted. Other Mommy obviously gleans from this masterpiece, and what are we left with? An unwatchable, ridiculous dumpster fire that attempts to be far too self-serious. 

It is unclear what Other Mommy wants to be, and that is where many of its issues lie. From the trailers, I thought it would center on his Other Mommy figure that haunts Bela and her parents in a way where some semblance of understanding the demon would come to light. Boy, was I expecting too much. 

I also expected that Other Mommy would present serious stakes with Chastain playing a dual role, similar to Lupita Nyong’o’s performance as Adelaide/Red in Us (2019). The beginning of the film is where it is at its strongest, where we actually see Chastain act as Other Mommy, instead of some flesh goblin or weird CGI demon-thing. It relies on her creepy voice and mannerisms, and as she interacts with Bela, it is the only slightly scary scene in the film. And then it’s severely undermined, as Other Mommy hides under the island while twisted up and contorted like a pretzel — similar to Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil (2026) — but lacking any gore or spookiness.

Universal Pictures

I’ve never been in a situation where a demonic figure looks exactly like me and haunts my daughter, but I can guarantee you I’d act better than either of these parents did. Other Mommy is egregiously stupid, and not in a fun, B-horror kind of way; there is an air of nonchalance and acceptance to their current situation. Everyone else around the family just accepts the demon as is — they don’t interrogate what it could mean for a figure to want to possess this young child. Also, Other Mommy can seemingly shapeshift into anything or anyone, which also just felt silly rather than terrifying. As soon as Other Mommy gets close to Bela, the family simply drives away to the next location, seemingly at peace with this reality. It is the same set piece over and over, making the mere 94-minute runtime feel like 8 hours. 

While I want to applaud some of Chastain’s decisions, the overall product drags everything down. Sure, it’s cool she can do a creepy face and smile, but if that moment isn’t given enough time to make you scared or feel its demonic weight, it falls incredibly flat. There are already horror flicks that take a weird smile and actually do something more interesting; think Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024). Other Mommy feels like director Rob Savage threw a thousand different horror ideas and images together and just hoped it would all come together into a cohesive, decent film. The ideas of these other works succeed because they are either written, performed, or directed well. None of that is the case for this film. 

Other Mommy does have two visually interesting moments related to a set piece at a fast food restaurant where Bela plays in a play area away from her parents. Other Mommy crawls through a colorful tunnel (cough cough Coraline), and handprints obfuscate and darken the surroundings. Bela then falls into the ball pit and is pulled down into the “other world.” Other Mommy’s hand is gigantic as she tries to grab Bela while she swims in a fantastical ocean. It fits the film’s lunacy, but at least it looks compelling. Still, visual interest doesn’t take away from the idiotic actions of her parents.  Why would you let your daughter play alone when, at this point, that’s exactly how the demon has been able to grab her? There is no use in trying to understand the motivations or character of Other Mommy. It’s all just so vapid. 

There’s also a sequence that feels so out of place that it doesn’t even look like the same movie. I won’t say too much besides the fact that I can’t take anything Dichen Lachman says or does as seriously as the film makes it out to be. 

Other Mommy sinks lowest in the film’s climax. After being ruthlessly chased by this demon, they think, “Why don’t we just go home?” Of course, Other Mommy returns and fights off Bela’s parents. Then, they hide in the basement, and while Daddo holds back the door from Other Mommy, real Mom reveals it all. The villain of the film: trauma. A horror trope done to death, and in Other Mommy, this catharsis is entirely unearned. And just when you think it can’t get worse, Bela finally kills the demon by screaming, “No, Other Mommy, No!” and punches her in the face, where Other Mommy becomes a cloud of glitter. Not kidding. 

Despite an intriguing concept on paper, Savage’s Other Mommy is a waste of time that uses terrible CGI in lieu of real thrills, poorly written dialogue, and listless direction to show that stepparent trauma is real. I know that it is, but this movie is definitively not a poster child for that. While getting lost in its own foolishness, the film forgets its main job: to scare you. 

If you want a spooky film that showcases a girl dealing with a demonic entity while struggling with parental negligence, just go watch Coraline instead. 

Review Courtesy of Mariana Fabian

Feature Image Credit to Universal Pictures