Other Mommy: Horror Classic or Disappointment?

By Angus Smith

Image from Other Mommy Trailer - Getty Images

Other Mommy is a newly released supernatural horror film directed by Rob Savage, starring Jessica Chastain and Arabella Olivia Clark.  

The film built a lot of hype around it with its creepy trailers and the eerie feeling it produced. It used effective jump scares during the trailer which had audiences discussing the movie online and creating a strong cinema reaction. 

Despite this, the backlash after release of Other Mommy has been nothing short of disappointing. Critics point out that the goofy look of the monster takes away from the effective jump scares which makes it a lot less scary. Benjamin Lee, arts director from The Guardian stated that it is a “bit of a jumble” and criticised not showing the film to reviewers prior to the release led to a “troubled release.” However, critics were quick to praise the acting performance of Jessica Chastain. Experts were very impressed by the way she played an evil monster doppelganger as well as a stress ridden mother. Many used the phrase “wasted potential” when describing this film, due to the effective trailers and hype that was built around the film prior to release, only to be extremely disappointed.  

However, casual horror fans have labelled the film as a “good one to just chuck on”, without needing to pay your full attention to enjoy it. This is due to the lack of emotional relevance with the characters and the creators relying more on cheap jump scares and dodgy CGI.  

I went to see the film upon release and agree mostly with the critic's reviews. I think the beginning of the film is much stronger and builds an eerie presence surrounding the film. I felt the jump scares were effective until they were using the same ones in phase three as they were in phase one, it felt repetitive and lazy. The performance of the 8-year-old girl, Arabella Olivia Clark, I thought was very well done – same for the mother, Jessica Chastain. I felt the end of the film became silly and almost funny rather than scary. The appearance of the monster when not in human form I found looked very peculiar and just not scary whatsoever.  

All in all, I was very excited for the release of this film and can agree that I was left extremely disappointed. Some of the scenes and jump scares used in the trailer were not included in the film which I thought was strange as it was the trailers that built the hype surrounding the film. I too would label this film as wasted potential. It most certainly failed to live up to its buzz, and I think majority can agree on that. While still potentially an enjoyable fun film to have as background noise during spooky season I would not put it anywhere near the top or even middle in the ranks of classic horrors.