On the one hand, yeah, Jessica Chastain has always seemed scary to me; it’s about freaking time the cinema recognized this. On the other hand, I don’t even remember how this film ended. That is how underwhelming an impression the plot made.
Other Mommy is a horror film which seems to be making it up as it goes along. The rules of this horror film seem oblivious. You can hear the producer whisper, constantly, “Just keep showing scary Jessica Chastain; the audience won’t care.” And there is some truth to that. Jessica Chastain is so scary, we don’t quite know what we ought to be doing here.
There’s a little girl, Isabella (Arabella Olivia Clark), who inadvertently summons “Other Mommy.” Actually, I have no idea if she summoned the thing by chance or by design; maybe the seven-year-old has some sort of occult presence. Anyway, sensing need, Other Mommy comes to live in Bella’s closet. Bella finds the thing by opening and closing the closet door a bunch, which would annoy me even if I were that demon. Other Mommy is a shape-shifter; it can assume any number of living entities. Not sure what the rules are for that, either, but it prefers becoming Ursula, Bella’s mother.
Ursula (Chastain) is having an affair, which has put a strain on her marriage. Bella senses the tension between parents which is why Other Mommy has come along, presumably. Other Mommy really wants to connect with Bella in some weird ethereal way, but somehow needs permission to do so (?!) Well, geez, Other, you sure didn’t need permission to come live in the closet, now, did ya? And, for some reason, the way Other Mommy endears herself to the child is by acting like a spider or adopting a creepy Smile or placing the child in some demon-realm of surreality. You know, for an entity that has figured out copycatting pretty well, you kinda suck at endearing yourself.
This brings me to my biggest problem with the film which is that, at times, it seems like the demon is the best thing for the child. The demon can show Bella a reality in which all is right – her parents are together and happy and everything is just spiffy. And Bella can live in this world.
It’s not reality, but is it really that bad? I mean, what’s the alternative? Bella grows up in a broken home, resentful of both her parents and unable to form
a trusting adult relationship. Eventually overcoming her worst fears, Bella survives to age forty, and goes all in for once in her life, getting a cat.
Ok, that’s one big stretch, I acknowledge. But I really don’t feel like Bella is destined for a great true reality. What if the demon could make the child happier? All you have to do is let her share the body for, you know, ever.
Other Mommy exists to show the world exactly how creepy Jessica Chastain can be. That answer is “pretty creepy.” Mission accomplished, Jessica. This is still a shitty horror film.
There was once little girl named Bella
Who strove for a demonic umbrella
Her demon once there
Aped mommy without care
In an effort to bring the child down to Hella
Rated R, 93 Minutes
Director: Rob Savage
Writer: Nathan Elston, Josh Malerman
Genre: Stupid demon tricks
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: How desperate are you for a cheap thrill?
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: What are the rules here?
