It Had the Potential to Be the Scariest Film of 2026, but Whimsical Aesthetics Overwhelmed Its Terrifying Mythos.
The promotional hook for Other Mommy (2026) highlights its notable connections. For instance, the marketing states, “From Blumhouse, executive producer of Obsession, and James Wan, producer of Backrooms.” The film’s first few minutes deliver everything the trailers promise. However, aesthetic shifts happen. The scenes start to resemble a music video or a commercial for Apple or Android.
The movie relies heavily on eccentric and flashy visual set pieces. It becomes a film that favors spectacle over a cohesive sense of terror. For example, in one sequence, the family’s house completely inverts. In another, the entity forces eight-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) to witness her parents’ hidden marital secrets and dysfunction. Furthermore, Bela goes from a children’s ball pit to finding herself teleported to an unknown oceanic astral plane. In yet another scene, someone explodes into a puff of glitter after being turned inside out. These moments do look striking and unique. But even so, these scenes break the dark, claustrophobic tension the opening scene establishes.
Obsession and Backrooms: Other Mommy is Not.
In 2026, filmmakers ushered in a trendy new subgenre called “smart horror.” Specifically, this style favors intellectual dread over shock value. It also subverts predictable tropes and unflinchingly explores metaphorical depth. For example, Obsession examines the loss of control and the toxic nature of infatuation. Likewise, Backrooms studies modern anxieties about loneliness and corporate monotony.
Meanwhile, Other Mommy tries to position itself among these grounded, high-concept smart horrors. It’s about childhood vulnerability and marital decay. However, director Rob Savage (Host, The Boogeyman) experiments with this inconsistent aesthetic tone. The film shifts violently from serious family drama into bizarre, almost Sam Raimi-esque, surrealist funhouse horror. Because of this shift, it is difficult to view the film as “smart horror.” Ultimately, you may find yourself wondering: what is this supposed to be?
What is the Other Mommy?
The opening epigraph warns, “A chance to be human. The miracle which we mistake for the ordinary is coveted by gods and by demons alike.” Soon after, an entity emerges from the shadows of Bela’s bedroom closet. It takes the shape of her mother, Ursula (Jessica Chastain). This demon, called “Other Mommy,” has a single request. She asks Bela to let her inside Bela’s heart so she can exist in our physical reality.
Had the movie stayed here, it would’ve easily become the year’s scariest film. Bela’s childhood was already quietly collapsing under the weight of her parents’ disintegrating marriage. Her mother, Ursula, and father, Russell (Jay Duplass), are consumed by marital conflict, unexpressed trauma, and emotional detachment. Other Mommy presents an artificially warm, dazzling alternative. The symbolic on-screen glitter and gold represent the “perfect” facade the demon uses to exploit Bela’s loneliness and need for comfort.
The challenge is that Other Mommy adapts Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel, Incidents Around the House, which uses a non-traditional, first-person stream-of-consciousness narrative from Bela’s perspective. Many of the film’s high-concept elements, however, originate solely from its filmmakers.
If Savage had committed to a single perspective—particularly Bela’s, brought to life with impressive nuance by Clark—the film might have achieved a more potent sense of horror. Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of the Cheshire Cat-grinning demon, Other Mommy, is equally noteworthy, delivering a performance that speaks for itself. Either way, the film’s horror depends on the psychological dissonance of a child looking at her protector and seeing a demon.
The Verdict
The biggest issue is that the movie sets up some genuinely interesting real-world tension. However, it completely drops the ball on developing it. For example, we find out that Jessica Chastain’s character might be in love with her husband’s ultra-wealthy best friend, Uncle Frank, played by Arian Moayed. Yet this plot-driving arc just sits there like background noise. Instead of fleshing it out, Nathan Elston’s script rushes into the supernatural elements. As a result, the human drama feels entirely half-baked and pointless.
This problem strains the supporting cast’s performances, as well. Karen Allen, a legend, appears as Grandma Ruth. In the novel, she is simply a loving grandmother who is not involved in any paranormal investigation. However, in Other Mommy, she becomes a spiritual eccentric with ghost hunters on speed dial. It makes you wonder why the filmmakers deviate from the source material yet still don’t anchor the cinematic universe’s new lore.
Dichen Lachman also appears as a ghost hunter named Lois Anthony. Her scenes felt like they belonged in a completely different comedy-horror film. Not even a Sam Raimi or an Ivan Reitman movie, either. Ultimately, Other Mommy delivers some cool and creepy visuals. However, the demon’s lack of clear rules and no clear perspective makes the whole thing feel exhausting by the end. Other Mommy is still a passable Friday night trip to the movies, but it definitely overstays its welcome.
