From the moment I first saw the trailer for Other Mommy I knew it was love at first sight. In case you missed it, it featured the reigning queen of modern-day horror, Jessica Chastain acting freaky and twisting herself into a contorted pretzel person. All I could say to that was, “One, please”.
Chastain has a dual role. She is the regular mommy to a little girl (Arabella Olivia Clark) and the “other” mommy, which is kind of like a combination of imaginary friend and demon. The thing longs to be human and the only way to do that is to enter the kid’s heart. The family then has to come together to stop Other Mommy.
It sounds simple. It is simple. (In more ways than one, really.) What I enjoyed about it is how straightforward it was. There were no unnecessary subplots or wasted scenes with people not believing the kid. Basically, from the first scene on, the family knows the score. Other Mommy also fucks people up with panache (even if some of the kills use a little too much CGI). There’s also a funny bit where one of her early attempts to look human is undone because she has too many fingers, a clear jab at AI.
The movie excels mostly because of Chastain’s commitment to the bit. Her facial gymnastics and intense teary-eyed stares do and say more than any CGI can. She also does fine work as the “real” mommy, as she isn’t exactly a goody-two shoes either. I also enjoyed seeing Karen Allen popping up late in the game as her kooky mother.
Clark is excellent as well. She holds your attention during the scenes where she’s interacting with nothing more than shadows, balloons, or plastic balls that may or may not be hiding places for the Other Mommy. If they hand out acting awards for kids, she’d probably be on the short list this year.
To sum up, Other Mommy is a solid spook-a-blast. It’s not going to be mistaken for a classic, but it’s a well-oiled machine featuring plenty of jump scares. In fact, the most amusing part at my screening was after a jump scare, some dude ripped a big fart, which cracked the entire audience up. I mean, Other Mommy literally scared the shit out of him. If that isn’t a recommendation, I don’t know what is.
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