Movie Review: Other Mommy
By: Victoria Malpasso / Staff Writer
Spoilers Ahead!
On Oct. 9th, ‘Other Mommy,’ directed by Rob Savage, premiered in theaters across the United States. With the trailer’s excitement, the film made over $27.5 million on its opening weekend.
Though the trailer teased thrilling jump scares and gory moments, the movie lacked the exciting moments horror fans love.
The movie starts by introducing the protagonist, Bela Martin (Arabella Olivia Clark), an 8-year-old, who is the only child of Ursula (Jessica Chastain) and Russ (Jay Duplass), who are going through marital struggles.
Minutes after we are introduced to Bela and her family’s dynamic, the movie reveals Bela’s “Other Mommy”, an unsettling version of her mother who lives in her bathroom.
Bela confides in her Other Mommy about her parents' struggles, giving the Other Mommy a chance to show Bela affection in exchange for Bela agreeing to let the Other Mommy into her heart and possess her.
To conclude the movie, Bela finds a heartbreaking lie concocted by her parents, though it gives her a new understanding. Bela uses a lie in order to trick the demon by agreeing to let it into her heart, which is a trap to destroy her.
While the movie played on common horror themes, some unanswered questions made the plot awkward and incomplete. It felt like viewers were trying to solve a puzzle on the edge of their seats.
While the actors did an amazing job, the script was lacking. There were scenes when the dialogue felt too unserious during serious moments. The story itself was all over the place. There were times in the theater when I was asking, “Why is this happening?” or “When did that happen?” It made the experience lackluster, and it was difficult to understand the movie.
For a movie expected to show over 50 jump scares, it lacked in that department. All the scary must-see moments shown in the trailer were featured in the first 15 minutes of the movie. For the rest of the movie, it felt like you were anticipating a jump scare that never came. In scenes where things felt unclear, they did not fit within the movie.
In contrast, there were clips where it was laughable and unserious, even when it was not supposed to be. In sequences where Other Mommy would appear out of nowhere, it seemed as though the character’s reactions were forced. Some of this was attributed to the dialogue and the story not making complete sense.
The movie definitely gave an unsettling feeling with all the violent themes and gore, but it made it more entertaining than scary. It was hard to take some scenes seriously with all the unnecessary CGI violence.
I would recommend this movie, but not for the reason one may think. I believe that this movie would be entertaining to watch with some friends if you would like a fun night out. This movie is constantly leaving you on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out how this all makes sense. It may be disappointing in the horror aspects, but it will get a laugh out of you.
Overall, this movie gave plenty of moments where the audience was on the edge of their seats, trying to figure out what happens next, though those questions were never answered. Watching this movie, there was a common feeling that something was lacking in the plot.
Rating: 5/10
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