TL;DR – Great production cannot save a profoundly hollow film from falling like a thud.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit sting that you do not have to stay for.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes with flashing lights.

Other Mommy Review Introduction

Today we look at a film that is an odd duality. From the outside, this is a strongly constructed movie with a strong cast, engaging editing, strong cinematography, and an interesting spin on the supernatural monster mythology. It is also an insipid, hollow, dull exercise that turns a ninety-minute film into a slog.

So, to set the scene, on the surface, the Martin family of Ursula (Jessica Chastain), Russ (Jay Duplass), and little Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) are the perfect unit. Maybe mum works a bit too much, maybe dad should have more going on in his life beyond painting miniatures, oh, and maybe Bela should not see Other Mommy (Jessica Chastain) in her closet at night.

What Works

One of the key strengths of the film is Arabella Olivia Clark as Bela. That is such a difficult role to play, because you need to be sympathetically friends with a demon, and make that work. Nearly all of the big emotional moments in the movie hinge on her performance, and she is what makes it work. Indeed, most of the cast is at least fine, and it was great to see Dichen Lachman and Karen Allen pop up towards the end and bring some much-needed life to the proceedings. Then there is editing and cinematography, where you can feel that they were trying to make it engaging. There were a couple of jump cuts and match cuts which were fun to watch. That hard cut from wanting some quiet time to a full-kids play pen was a delight.

The Rest

However, no matter how much ivy you grow around this film, it cannot hide the fact that this is a profoundly hollow movie that fails at its core premise: being a horror film. I was honestly impressed for a moment when they let the dad see Other Mommy in its second appearance in the film. “That was so early”, I thought. “What a bold choice”, I mused. Well, within five minutes I realised why they showed their hand so early: there was no substance to the rest of the film, and this was them trying to find something engaging. If you are going to have a film based solely around jump scares, those jump scares need to work; not a single one did. Mainly because there is absolutely no tension in the entire movie. I didn’t care about their marriage issues, I didn’t care about the affair, I didn’t care about the big reveal at the end, because the film does not give a reason to care. Characters spend most of the film bickering and whinging, making every conversation a drag. Even some UV shenanigans can’t save it.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Other Mommy? Absolutely not. It is clear that some talented people worked on this film, and they tried; they really did. However, there was a foundational structural issue with the film, and if your foundation is not secure, then the rest of your product will fail.    

Have you watched Other Mommy? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Other Mommy, we would recommend The Invisible Man to you because it works in a similar, though less-supernatural space, but it understands how to hold that tension.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Other Mommy
Directed by – Rob Savage
Screenplay by – Nathan Elston
Based on – Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Music by – Patrick Jonsson
Cinematography by – Lowell A. Meyer
Edited by – John Cutler
Production/Distribution Companies – Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, & Universal Pictures
Starring – Jessica Chastain, Arabella Olivia Clark, Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, Karen Allen, & Sean Kaufman
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: 16; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R