Other Mommy

Based on the 2024 novel “Incidents Around the House” by “Bird Box” author Josh Mallerman, Other Mommy, directed by Rob Savage and adapted by Nathan Elston, stars Jessica Chastain as Ursula, working mom and wife whose vague distance and distraction is felt by both her husband Russell (Jay Duplass) and seven-year-old daughter Isabela (Arabella Olivia Clark in the lead role). It is established very soon, perhaps too soon, before we have a chance to get to know anything about the characters, that an entity is in Isabela’s room who first manifests as Ursula in the kitchen. And in freaky ways (which never make any sense).

What proceeds is a mounting horror of a haunted girl, hounded by a strange being who disrupts the couple’s anniversary party and even assumes the form of Isabela’s babysitter. The scenes of manifestation go from real world to dream/nightmare sequence, in confusing ways both narratively and visually. The direction is skittish and A.D.D., as is the script, neither giving the audience time to settle into the world and people we are witnessing nor understand the rules of this particular horror story – what is this entity, where does it come from, how and why can it do what it does? Of course these unanswered questions are part of the mystery and horror of any good horror story, but the storytellers have to start laying down “the pipe” as it’s called – both story/character elements that will become significant later and the cosmological guidelines and limitations within the story. Other Mommy doesn’t trouble itself with any of this; it just goes full-bore into overly-elaborate, nonsensical, non-emotional set pieces and tableau (and with not great CGI on top of it).

After Ursula and Russell acknowledge that something supernatural is happening (entirely too quickly, by the way), they flee to a family friend’s house, where the first brutal murder occurs and the family is lost at sea, not wanting to go back to their haunted house but also realizing it is following them everywhere.

What follows is the inevitable visit to the family witch/medium/occult expert, in this case Ursula’s estranged kooky mother, Grandma Ruth, played by Karen Allen, known to audiences primarily from her Raiders of the Lost Ark role. What proceeds is a useless séance scene, serving zero purpose to the story and over in just a couple minutes. It provides just one more flashy, empty scene to distract the audience from the fact that nothing is actually being developed in this movie, with yet more characters who have zero substance, distinction, or personality. I couldn’t have cared less about any of it or them.

Perhaps the most preposterous in a series of preposterous “scary” sequences involves millions of playground multi-colored balls, a beach, and a massive clawed hand reaching up out of the water as if the mommy ghost has somehow transformed into Jaws. Because no rules or world were established up front, scenes like this not only hold no emotional resonance, they leave the audience utterly confused and laughing out loud at scenes that are randomly happening, schizophrenic, cartoonish, and just loud.

I left wondering why in the world an actor of Jessica Chastain’s talent, status, and busy schedule would give any of her attention and time to drivel like this. There is not a single scene, moment, or line of dialogue to recommend, no poignancy or connection to a human being or event depicted on screen. Some will disagree and point to a later scene where Ursula reveals a deep dark secret to her daughter that is, somehow, confusingly, maybe behind what’s happening (but from the mother’s guilt or the daughter’s unconscious knowledge of that guilt? No one knows).