There is a special kind of horror reserved for movies that start with a killer premise and then, somewhere around the third act, begin to unravel like a thread pulled too hard. That is the vibe hanging over the first wave of early October 2026 reactions to Other Mommy, the new chiller led by Jessica Chastain and directed by Rob Savage.
Critics are split on whether the film ultimately works. They do seem to converge on the basics: elaborate, visually nightmarish sequences; an alarmingly committed Chastain; and a screenplay that, for many viewers, cannot quite land the plane.
Why reviews get harsh
The toughest reactions focus on structure and payoff. Several reviewers argue the story loses coherence as it charges toward the finale, with some calling it a "hot mess" capped by a "ludicrous finale."
Even among people who enjoyed parts of the ride, a common complaint is repetition: jump scares that start to feel more like a pattern than an escalation. Add visual effects that some describe as woeful, and the movie can tilt from unsettling to unintentionally silly depending on your appetite for chaos.
What still works
Here is the twist in the reaction cycle: plenty of reviewers also admit Other Mommy is scarier than they expected, at least in bursts. It is packed with elaborate set pieces and images designed to get under your skin, and Savage is repeatedly credited with a strong visual imagination for messing with physical space.
Then there is Chastain. Even skeptics tend to agree she is the anchor, delivering a dual performance as Ursula and the creature that many describe as unforgettable and genuinely chilling. If you come for one thing, come for the acting choices. Chastain does not wink at the material. She commits like the fate of the whole haunted house depends on it.
The premise
Other Mommy adapts Josh Malerman’s 2024 horror novel Incidents Around the House. The central threat is an entity that fixates on eight-year-old Bela, pressuring her to give permission for it to go "inside her heart." The movie uses that invasive demand as a pressure point, turning childhood vulnerability into a literal doorway.
Where the film gets extra nasty is in how the supernatural threat feeds on a family already fraying. As the haunting escalates, buried truths surface, and the entity weaponizes distrust like it is another set of claws.
Ending explained (spoilers)
The film takes big swings and makes major changes from the novel, including a different ending.
As the chaos peaks, Ursula (Chastain) reveals a family secret to Bela: Russ is actually Bela’s stepfather, and Bela was conceived through an affair. That fracture in the family becomes gasoline for the entity, which intensifies its terror by exploiting the household’s instability.
One of the film’s most startling beats involves the entity killing a family member in a grotesque, surreal way, making them explode into gold. The climax pivots on Bela refusing to surrender to the creature’s demand. Instead, she defeats Other Mommy by tapping the entity on the forehead with her finger, causing the monster to explode.
Of course, horror rarely lets a clean ending stand. The final sting reveals the nightmare is not fully over: months later, Bela can still hear the entity’s whispers.
Is it based on Coraline?
No. The title and the idea of a sinister maternal double practically beg for the comparison, but Other Mommy is its own story.
The key distinction is in the strategy of the threat. Rather than building a seductive fantasy world to lure a child in, the entity in Other Mommy invades the real world, preying on Bela’s vulnerability and her parents’ marital strain as leverage. It is less about an alternate reality and more about a home that stops feeling safe.
Where to watch
For the moment, Other Mommy is only playing in theaters. It is not available to stream, rent, or buy digitally.
Because it is a Universal Pictures release, its home viewing path is expected to follow a familiar cadence:
- Premium Video on Demand (digital rental): expected in late November or December 2026
- Peacock: projected around February 2027 for a four-month window
- Netflix: projected around June 2027
The Arts Reel take
If you want tidy lore, airtight plotting, and a finale that clicks into place like a puzzle box, the early notices suggest you may leave frustrated. But if your favorite horror is the kind that lives in shadows, with a major actor willing to go full feral inside a heightened concept, Other Mommy might still be your kind of messy.
Sometimes a film is not a perfect story. Sometimes it is a series of vividly staged nightmares, and one extraordinary performance threading them together. The first reviews suggest Other Mommy is exactly that, for better and for worse.
