Other Mommy

Plot

Seven-year-old Isabela "Bela" Martin struggles to adjust to a new school and cope with the growing distance between her parents. Her mother, Ursula, is consumed by her corporate career, while her father, Russell "Russ", is an unemployed househusband who spends much of his time caring for Bela. Bela begins encountering a supernatural entity resembling her mother that she calls Other Mommy, which repeatedly asks her to let it into her heart.

One afternoon, Ursula returns home from work unexpectedly while Russ is asleep, ostensibly to have lunch with Bela. Ursula's mannerisms are noticeably stilted, and she eventually asks to be let into Bela's heart, whereupon Bela identifies her as Other Mommy. Russ enters the kitchen when the burning food triggers the smoke alarm and leaves the house in a panic with Bela after seeing Other Mommy contorted unnaturally under the counter.

Other Mommy's appearances grow increasingly frightening as it follows Bela beyond her bedroom, changes shape, and distorts its surroundings. At Russ and Ursula's anniversary party, it takes on the form of Bela's babysitter Kelvin, seemingly makes every guest disappear, lifts Bela to the ceiling, and attempts to force its way into her. Bela fights it off and falls back into the crowded room. Realizing that they are in danger, the family goes to stay with Ursula's friend Frank.

At Frank's house, Bela finds Ursula's contact lens case, leading Russ to suspect that Ursula is having an affair with Frank. That night, Other Mommy appears and, exploiting the family's tension, manipulates Bela into wishing Frank out of their lives, subsequently killing Frank in front of the family, surviving the gunshots he fires at it. The family flees to a fast food restaurant, but Other Mommy attacks again, transporting Bela from the play area to her bedroom and then to a lake beneath a hilltop mansion. There, it grows enormous and nearly crushes Bela with its hand. It tells Bela that Ursula wishes she never existed before returning her to the family's car. The family travels to the home of Ursula's estranged mother, Ruth, who claims to be a clairvoyant.

Ruth shelters the family and hires paranormal investigators, who explain that demons are often drawn to children due to their innocence and identify Other Mommy as a trickster demon seeking to "carnate" into Bela and take over her life, though unable to do so without her permission. As the investigators prepare their equipment, Ruth tells Bela that pain is an unavoidable part of life. The team's séance summons Other Mommy, but the investigators prove powerless against it and are killed. The family escapes as the entity continues threatening Bela.

Determined to stop running, the family returns home to confront Other Mommy. Their weapons prove ineffective, forcing them to barricade themselves in the basement. Hoping to stop the attacks, Ursula resolves to "destroy" Bela's innocence and finally confesses that Bela's real father is not Russ, but Ursula's first husband, whom she left for Russ. She then admits that she never wanted to be a mother, but promises Bela that she loves her regardless.

Ursula's confession appears to weaken Other Mommy, but it devastates Bela, who runs to her bedroom and begs the entity to enter her heart. Other Mommy appears and promises that Bela will never experience pain again. Remembering Ruth's lesson, Bela fights back, repeatedly denying the entity permission until she defeats it.

Months later, Bela, Ursula, and Russ happily hang Christmas lights together, though Bela notices a despondent look on Ursula's face.

Cast

Jessica Chastain as Ursula Martin, Bela's mother and Russ' wife

Chastain also portrays the demonic entity known as "Other Mommy"

Arabella Olivia Clark as Isabela "Bela" Martin, a young girl targeted by the Other Mommy

Jay Duplass as Russell "Russ" Martin, Bela's father and Ursula's husband

Dichen Lachman as Lois Anthony, an exorcist

Arian Moayed as Frank

Karen Allen as Grandma Ruth Martin, Ursula's mother and Bela's grandmother

Sean Kaufman as Kelvin

Adam Silver as Brian

Alec Secăreanu as Ruiss

Production

In April 2025, it was announced that an adaptation of the novel Incidents Around the House was in development, with Rob Savage directing, Nathan Elston writing the screenplay, and Jessica Chastain starring in the lead role. In May, Jay Duplass joined the cast. Principal photography took place in Dublin, Ireland between May 12 and July 9, 2025. Dichen Lachman joined the cast in the following month. In July, Arabella Olivia Clark, Sean Kaufman, Adam Silver, Alec Secăreanu and Karen Allen were added to the cast with the film being retitled to Other Mommy.

Release

Other Mommy was released in the United States on October 9, 2026. The film was previously scheduled to release on May 8, 2026.

Reception

Box office

As of October 29, 2026, Other Mommy has grossed $53 million in the United States and Canada, and $47 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $100 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film debuted to $27.8 million from 3,365 theaters, topping the box office. In its second weekend the film made $8.2 million (dropping 70%), finishing in third.

Critical response

The film was panned by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 99 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Despite a valiant turn from Jessica Chastain as the spectral embodiment of a smothering parent, Other Mommy proves too silly for its intermittently effective jump scares to add up to a spooky whole." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 38 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 47% overall positive score, with 33% saying they would definitely recommend the film.

The New York Times called the film a "sometimes-creepy, sometimes-hilarious schlockfest", and questions "What is the other mommy supposed to be?" Benjamin Lee of the Guardian graded the film 2/5. He stated the film started as a "tense, creepy thriller," but turns into an "increasingly absurd battle with a special effects oogum-boogum that gets less scary as the movie progresses."