Blumhouse and director Rob Savage's Other Mommy, which stars Jessica Chastain (Dark Phoenix, Lawless) in a dual role, is now in theaters, and the full reviews have arrived following yesterday's social media reactions.
It's rarely a good sign when a studio only lifts an embargo on or very close to a movie's release date, and sure enough, very few critics had anything positive to say about the supernatural chiller.
With 28 verdicts counted, Other Mommy is sitting at a fairly dreadful 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Horror movies tend to do well in the run-up to Halloween, and despite the negative reviews, Other Mommy is expected to claim the No. 1 spot at the North American box office with a solid $20 million debut. It will have some competition from Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, which is also displaying the dreaded green splat on RT with a 58% score.
Savage's movie focuses on a young girl, Bela, who forms a relationship with a mysterious demonic entity who looks exactly like her own mother (Chastain plays both roles).
Other Mommy is based on the 2024 novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, and also stars Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen.
"The great thing about Jessica is she is an absolute horror fan, and she completely understands the assignment," Savage said of his lead in a recent interview. "She knows exactly what you’re doing. You can go up to her and say, 'Well, we need the audience to feel this. We want them to think that you’re the mother character, but just give us like 5% distrust. Give us 5% other mommy so the audience will lean forward.' She’s like, 'Okay, watch this,' and you’ll be looking at the monitor and she’s got it. She’s able to just achieve that technicality that horror needs, whilst at the same time giving this really raw, emotional performance, both as other mommy and as Ursula, the mother character. It’s an incredibly emotional movie, as well as a terrifying one. Being able to switch between those two modes so seamlessly was when we knew the movie was going to work."
"Can I go inside your heart?
From producer James Wan, one of the most influential architects of modern horror, and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, the studio behind Backrooms and Obsession, comes a terrifying trip from breakout genre director Rob Savage, into the darkening world of a young girl, Bela, who forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home who looks uncannily like her own mother."
Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain (It Chapter Two, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) stars in dual roles as Bela’s mother and as “Other Mommy,” a manifestation of the entity. Jay Duplass (Transparent, Industry) plays Daddo, Bela’s father, and Arabella Olivia Clark (The Housemaid, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle) plays Bela. The impressive supporting cast includes Actor Award nominee Dichen Lachman (Severance), Emmy and Tony Award nominee Arian Moayed (Succession) and screen legend Karen Allen (Indiana Jones films).
Other Mommy is directed by Rob Savage (Host, The Boogeyman) from a screenplay by WGA award winner Nathan Elston, writer for the Emmy-winning sensation Succession, based on the New York Times bestselling novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (Bird Box).
The film is produced by James Wan (Saw, Insidious and Conjuring franchises) of Blumhouse Atomic Monster, and is executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Rob Savage, Josh Malerman and Ryan Lewis.