Movie Review: OTHER MOMMY

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 9th, 2026 / 01:40 AM

OTHER MOMMY movie poster | ©2026 Universal

Rating: R
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Arian Moayed, Karen Allen, Dichen Lachman
Writer: Nathan Elston, based on the novel INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE by Josh Malerman
Director: Rob Savage
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: October 9, 2026

Directed by Rob Savage and scripted by Nathan Elston, based on Josh Malerman’s novel INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, OTHER MOMMY has many virtues. It lets us know at the start that both “gods and demons” want to experience the ordinary miracle of being human. The entity known here as “Other Mommy” seems somewhat informationally challenge to be a god, so we can infer its nature from that.

This means that we can determine immediately what we’re looking at when we are introduced to the ongoing “friendship” between little Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark and “Other Mommy,” so-called because it often appears in the form of Bela’s mother Ursula (Jessica Chastain in both roles).

Happily, OTHER MOMMY also doesn’t go through the sometimes tedious process of dealing with adult disbelief. When Bela’s Daddo Russ (Jay Duplass) and then Ursula see the entity, the situations are so fraught and physical that both are quick to grasp that something supernatural is threatening them.

Even at seven years old, Bela (short for Isabela) detects strains in her parents’ marriage. Ursula works long hours, and Russ likes to get stoned. Ursula is also uncommonly close with Daddo’s pal Frank (Arian Moayed). Other Mommy is there to reassure Bela that everything can go back to being like it was – but Bela has to let Other Mommy into her heart.

Bela can tell this probably wouldn’t be a good idea, although because Other Mommy has been fun so far, it takes her awhile to realize her “friend” is dangerous.

All of this is fine, and the movie sets up lots of unsettling tableaus to jolt us and the characters. These usually work.

However, OTHER MOMMY’s problems mount as it proceeds. Once we know what Other Mommy wants from Bela, we question the entity’s strategy and tactics. Granted, a point is made that it’s not wholly familiar with the human world, but getting the feeling that our antagonist isn’t much of a planner doesn’t increase the dread quotient.

Then there’s Ursula and Russ’s attempts to figure out exactly what’s happening and what they ought to do about it. This is wholly understandable, but it takes up a fair amount of the running time without paying off in a big way. Ursula’s reluctance to try something easily at hand winds up being more time-consuming than psychologically insightful.

Chastain nails Ursula’s high-strung nature and Other Mommy’s emotionalism, and Duplass does a strong job as a man who’s unsure that he’s up to any part of his life. Clark is excellent, and Karen Allen and Dichen Lachman are both welcome in their roles.

OTHER MOMMY has some standout sequences, but it ultimately suffers from lack of narrative drive.

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