My Review of Other Mommy (2026)

 

Written by Nathan Elston

Directed by Rob Savage

Other Mommy: "You were in my heart. Can I go into your heart?"

Bela: "You said you wouldn't leave my room."

I have been wanting to see this one for a few weeks. The trailer looked really creepy and it was a hit but the reviews weren't exactly glowing. Now that I've seen it, I'll admit that it's something of a mixed bag.

The focus was on a girl named Isabela Martin (Arabella Olivia Clark). She's got a rather creepy supernatural friend of sorts that she's called "Other Mommy". Mostly because the creature looked like Isabela's mother, Ursula (Jessica Chastain) and while the creature wanted to befriend Isabela, the latter was rightfully terrified of the creature.

I did like that early into the film, both Ursula and Russell (Jay Duplass) become aware of the creature, though we still had a scene or two with Ursula being sceptical and dismissive of Isabela's behaviour. Chastain did put in a good performance when the creature assumed Ursula's form.

The creature's relationship with Isabela was fascinating enough. It got rid of "Uncle" Frank (Arian Moayed) in order to try and bond with the girl. In fact, the creature really wanted Isabela to let it into her heart and there's a very pointed talk from Isabela's grandmother, Ruth (Karen Allen) about who to let in your heart.

There's a devastating moment for Isabela when she learned more about when she was conceived and what Ursula really thought about motherhood. It's affecting enough as it proved to be the thing to break the creature's hold on Isabela. 

The ending itself seemed like it could set up another exploration into the creature while giving the Martin family some needed closure. Or did it? It did seem a little too clean a defeat for the creature itself.

- There's some strong support roles from Dichen Lachman, Alec Secăreanu and Sean Kaufman. 

- Based on the book, Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman.

- Standout music: Haircut 100's Favourite Shirt (Boy Meets Girl).

- Chronology: Present day in Michigan. Ended with a scene set during Christmas.

Other Mommy was a mixed bag of a horror film. Some of it worked very well and a lot of it was a bit too schlocky and silly for it's own good. I didn't love it like I wanted to but I didn't quite hate it either.

Rating: 6 out of 10