Other Mommy: Movie Review

'Tis the season to be spooked...but not whilst watching Other Mommy.

We’ve all seen the trailer for this movie, which took the internet by storm when it first dropped. It was packed with jump scares, creepy imagery, and the promise of a genuinely terrifying and unsettling cinema experience. With the film hitting theatres just a few weeks before Halloween, it felt like the perfect opportunity to get a few friends together and spend a Sunday afternoon watching what looked to be a seriously scary movie.

What we got was, unfortunately, extremely underwhelming.

Other Mommy’s biggest sin is just how painfully unscary it is. It’s truly remarkable how little the film managed to frighten me, or seemingly anyone else in the cinema. It’s packed with jump scares and moments that desperately want to unsettle you, yet almost none of them actually land. Considering just how terrifying the premise sounds on paper, it’s difficult to understand where things went so wrong. The story follows a young girl who finds herself haunted by an entity that looks exactly like her mother, whom she refers to as “Other Mommy”. It’s a horror movie that never quite commits to being horror, yet simultaneously fails to establish itself as anything else. Like so many recent entries in the genre, it attempts to break up the frightening moments with comedic ones, presumably to offer some contrast and give the audience a chance to breathe. Unfortunately, these moments are just as unsuccessful, with the humour falling flat just as frequently as the scares, leaving the film struggling to deliver on either front.

The pacing is another big issue. Just twenty minutes into the film, it already feels like we're heading towards the climax, and the whole thing feels really disjointed, almost like a puzzle that's been put together in the wrong order. Everything moves far too quickly, and we barely get a chance to take anything in before the film rushes on to the next scene. We don't get enough time to sit with the characters or get to know them properly, and by the time things start to pick up, we have little to no connection to any of them, whether that's rooting for the protagonists or actually finding the antagonist threatening. The lack of world building or character development ultimately makes the whole experience feel pretty empty.

The special effects are disappointing too. The CGI used for the entity is pretty poor, and one particular kill that happens fairly early on looks so bad that it completely takes you out of the movie. Instead of making these moments more frightening, the effects just make them feel cheap, which is the last thing you want from a horror movie that's supposed to leave you unsettled.

Jessica Chastain does the absolute best she can with the material she's been given, and unsurprisingly, she's easily the highlight of the movie. That said, it's hard not to feel like there's so much wasted potential here, particularly when you consider just how much more she could've done with the role. We barely get to see Other Mommy outside of her more monstrous form, when she's simply meant to resemble an ordinary person, and I can't help but wish the film had given Chastain more opportunities to explore that side of the character. She's an incredibly talented actress, and it's frustrating to see a performance like this feel so limited by the material, especially when you know she's capable of so much more.

Looking back at the last decade of her career, though, you really have to wonder... what is going on? It feels like it's been a long time since she's starred in anything truly great. Her last genuinely good film was arguably Molly's Game in 2017, while her last great one was The Martian back in 2015, over a decade ago now. Even The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the film that earned her an Oscar for Best Actress, was ultimately a pretty forgettable affair, and certainly not the kind of film you'd expect to define a career-best performance. For an actress of Chastain's calibre, it's genuinely disappointing to see her continue to take on projects that do so little to showcase her talent.

Unfortunately, Other Mommy is a miss for me, and not one I'd recommend. Even as a fun afternoon at the cinema with friends, it doesn't quite deliver. And with so many great films currently showing in theatres, you're probably better off spending your time and money on something else.