What are critics saying about horror ‘Other Mommy’?

We're well and truly into spooky season, and there's a new horror film in cinemas that's provoking strong reactions from critics.

Other Mommy is a supernatural horror films starring Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen.

"Bela, an eight-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity that comes out of her closet. The presence, whom she calls 'Other Mommy,' becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family," the plot synopsis reads for the film which is based on the 2024 novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman.

Jessica Chastain as Other Mommy in Other Mommy, directed by Rob Savage.© 2026 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

In the trailer we see Chastain play the dual role of Ursula and Other Mommy and there's a pretty creepy shot of her distorted body under a table.

Even before it's release, the film went viral as the trailer had been frightening cinemagoers when it played before screenings of The Odyssey,

What are critics saying?

(from left) Daddo (Jay Duplass) and Mommy (Jessica Chastain) in Other Mommy, directed by Rob Savage.© 2026 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Critics have shared their thoughts on Other Mommy and overall the film has received unfavourable reviews, and at the time of writing has 17 per cent critics score on film and TV review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Elsewhere, the film has an IMDB rating of 5.5 out of 10, and a score of 2.3 out of 5 on Letterboxd.

"Other Mommy is so flat and devoid of tension that by film’s end, you’re more likely to laugh or groan at the absurd lengths this family will go to avoid therapy than root for their triumph over an ultimately forgettable demonic entity," shared Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro

The Guardian's Benjamin Lee gave two stars in his review, writing: "There’s a chillier, quieter version of Other Mommy that could have really crept under our skin, but Savage is too busy trying to give us a heart attack to care if he gives us nightmares.

"Savage, with an appetite for spectacle that sometimes outpaces his patience for storytelling, stays genuine enough in his emotion that it makes the creative excess worth watching," said IndieWire's Alison Foreman, grading the film at C+.

The Hollywood Reporter's Richard Lawson noted, "The film is missing a sense of dreadful build-up that might help its scares sink in deeper. As is, Savage’s film is an attractive but mostly vacuous collection of jumpy bits and half-baked mythology."

"Among the most limp and ineffectual works to grace the screen this year, misfiring in every direction, including and especially its tone," commented Variety's Siddhant Adlakha

When is the release date?

(from left) Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) and Mommy (Jessica Chastain) in Other Mommy, directed by Rob Savage.© 2026 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Other Mommy was released in cinemas on October 9.

Why not read...

• Trailer for horror movie 'Other Mommy' is scaring everyone at The Odyssey screenings
• What are critics saying about 'You Can See Everything'?

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