Director: Rob Savage
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, Karen Allen
Runtime: 93 minutes
Based on: Josh Malerman’s bestselling horror novel Incidents Around the House
TL;DR: I thought Other Mommy was alright, but I can't say I enjoyed it that much - Jessica Chastain is good, there are a couple of decent horror moments, and the idea behind it had potential, but it never really grabs you.
Jessica Chastain Is Good, But...
I'm a fan of Jessica Chastain, and here she plays both the mother and the version of her that isn't quite what it seems, and I thought she handled that pretty well, and it was nice seeing her do something a bit different, even if I don't think this is going to be one of the performances people remember her for.
Arabella Olivia Clark is good as Bela, too. I had no real complaints about the acting, and I think the cast does a reasonable job with what they've been given, but the problem is that I never got particularly invested in the people on screen. I didn't dislike them, but I wasn't especially bothered about what happened to them either.
That's not ideal when you're watching a horror film that needs you to care about the people in danger. I wanted to feel a bit more involved in the story, but it never really managed it.
I Was Hoping for Something Creepier
The whole idea of something pretending to be your mother is pretty disturbing. There are moments when Other Mommy does get it right - the kitchen-table scene was one of the better bits, and the jungle-gym sequence too - but I wish there had been more scenes like these, because I found a lot of the horror pretty forgettable.
I will say I am not against jump scares, but Other Mommy leans a bit too heavily on them. Apparently, there are around 50 of them, which feels like a lot, and I can't say I was impressed by how often the film tried to make me jump. A few worked, but after a while you just start expecting them, and that takes a lot of the fun out of it.
The Story Didn't Do Much for Me
I also wasn't completely sold on the story. There are ideas here that could have been really interesting, but I don't think they all come together particularly well, and the central creepy concept wasn't done as well as I was hoping it would be.
Apart from a few bits, nothing really worthwhile is going on to make it interesting enough, and the family side of the story could have been better, too, where it feels like you are watching from a distance rather than involved and caring about what is happening on the screen.
I also think the film could have done with a bit more editing. It's only 93 minutes, so it's not as though it goes on forever, but there are parts that could have been handled better. I wouldn't necessarily want a shorter film just for the sake of it, but I'd rather have seen the time spent on the things that actually worked.
Final Verdict
I didn't hate Other Mommy, but I can't say I liked it very much either - Chastain is good, and there are a couple of decent moments, but the story never really hooked me and most of the scare attempts didn't really work.