Starring Jessica Chastain, Arabella Olivia Clark and Jay Duplass
Directed by Rob Savage
Written by Nathan Elston
Universal
OTHER MOMMY opens with its protagonist, 7-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), already familiar with the titular being dwelling behind the walls of her home, which gives the odd initial impression of watching the cinematic version of a short story. The movie is in fact based on a novel (INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, by BIRD BOX author Josh Malerman), but that feeling is a symptom of the overall issues plaguing OTHER MOMMY. Running 85 minutes plus credits, it seems very much to have lost plenty of connective tissue, and some visually imaginative and occasionally creepy sequences ultimately have little to support them dramatically or thematically.
There is just a hint of the themes that could have been (and perhaps once were) better explored in the early going, as we learn that Bela’s mom Ursula (Jessica Chastain) is often at work past dinnertime and beyond, leaving her “Daddo”/big kid Russell (Jay Duplass) to be her primary caregiver. That leaves a space in the little girl’s heart that the specter haunting her bedroom would very much like to fill, and “Other Mommy” (Chastain) has already won her trust and friendship. Now, in the jittery kitchen scene you’re likely familiar with from the trailers, Other Mommy begins to make her true intentions known, and they’re not pleasant.
To screenwriter Nathan Elston’s credit, this is not the usual scenario of disbelieving people behaving foolishly oblivious to a supernatural threat to themselves or their child for half the running time. On the other hand, it is a little odd that after Ursula and Russell (your anagrams are showing, Doctor) have discovered that a chameleonic entity is haunting Bela and their house, they nonetheless go ahead with hosting an anniversary party there. Director Rob Savage does a nice job capturing Bela’s out-of-place feeling amidst this adult gathering, and transitions it into a well-staged, surreal setpiece.
Here and throughout OTHER MOMMY, however, the chills and jolts are momentary rather than building a sustained tension, since there’s so little to hang our emotions on in between them. The only thing holding our attention throughout is the performance of Clark, the latest in the long line of remarkable little actors the modern genre has discovered, who handles Bela’s extreme and conflicting emotions with great skill. Chastain, who had a lot more to work with in the similarly themed MAMA, brings what she can to the few notes she’s required to play, while Duplass’ Russell behaves like he’s supposed to be the comic relief, the leavening element in a recipe that has too many ingredients missing.
It is nice to see Karen Allen back as Bela’s Grandma Ruth, but her role and purpose in the story are especially awkward, and lead to OTHER MOMMY’s most disappointing passage. Uneven as it is, the preceding hour at least possesses a few creative inspirations; once the family travels to Ruth’s place, however, the movie devolves into the umpteenth POLTERGEIST knockoff. Like so much else in OTHER MOMMY, it’s too hastily established to deliver the intended impact, and instead elicits unintended laughs. The same goes for a big confession/speech during the climax, which doesn’t work as a payoff because it arrives with so little setup.
OTHER MOMMY’s creators should have taken a cue from THE EXORCIST and THE SIXTH SENSE—two of the all-time horror classics featuring child protagonists—and given the story and the audience room to breathe in between trying to make them scream. Instead, in an attempt to be a scare-a-minute experience, the film winds up feeling rushed and unsatisfying. “Something’s broken in this house,” Other Mommy says at one point, hinting at the subtext that should have been better explicated while unfortunately reflecting on the movie itself.
