Other Mommy made a splash with its first trailer, which debuted ahead of screenings of The Odyssey in some regions, possibly not in the UK.
As a massive fan of Nolan’s Odyssey – it’s now inched ahead of Project Hail Mary as my film of the year – I read a lot of reactions online and found so many that practically boiled down to ‘Yeah, great movie…but that trailer was terrifying!’ In their defence, that initial trailer does have a good scare in it, but one I wouldn’t have minded seeing in the film proper rather than in the marketing…
‘Goodnight, Other Mommy. I’m not sleepy yet. Can I keep playing with you?’
Jessica Chastain stars in a dual role as both Ursula and the malevolent god-knows-what-it-is Other Mommy, who attempts to lead young Bela away from her real family and into some kind of golden, embryonic realm of the fairies, where everything’s made out of glitter.
The film opens with a quote concerned with the miracle of life, something that we humans take for granted but that demons would love to get in on, before those words fade away leaving just humans and demons on screen. Right, so that’s our heading for the next ninety minutes – gotcha.
I do enjoy a good ‘demons in disguise’ picture. One of my favourite short horror films is Vesuvius, from Filipino director Erik Matti, where a ghostly vision of the Virgin Mary tries to steer a Christian man towards evil. We’re always going to be a little more forgiving of films that catch our interest or hit the right niche, and the idea of some unknown force trying (for whatever reason) to weasel its way into American suburbia is a spooky one, to me. I went into Other Mommy having read some rather sniffy reviews and wasn’t sure what to expect, but while the film checks subtlety out at the door, I’d be lying I said I didn’t enjoy it…
The film wastes no time in getting to the action, with Other Mommy already established as a presence within the house (or perhaps within Bela’s mind). While it would’ve been interesting to see that initial meeting, director Rob Savage (with Blumhouse’s backing) speeds along at a similar pace to the film’s trailer, unveiling the supernatural goings on to not only Bela but also her real mum, Ursula and her dad ‘Daddo’ Russell (Jay Duplass).
A cleverer and perhaps more engrossing movie would have had the entire plot play out in the family’s suburban house, the adults doubting Bela’s claims of seeing a shadowy other figure.
As it stands here, though, there is an almost rollercoaster-inspired sense of momentum to Other Mommy’s plotting, which lets the film swerve into fun (if schlocky) territory. Other Mommy herself operates in an off-kilter world where (not unlike her button-eyed cousin over in Laika’s animated classic Coraline) just about anything is possible, and the movie mines a lot of value out of its more surreal sequences, with Bela often suddenly isolated in this otherworld.
It’s not likely to completely knock your socks off – we’ve seen its like before (as a lifelong Doctor Who fan, one scare brought Miss Evangelista and her black veil right to mind) but it gives the film a creative edge that other haunted house horrors (like Evil Dead Burn, for instance) haven’t had this year.
It’s good to see Jessica Chastain back on the big screen after what’s felt like a bit of a leave of absence, and she takes a good stab at both roles. She’s never as chilling as the trailer would have you believe – they definitely led with their best foot when they chose that early scene for the teaser – but there are some good jumps in there, completed again by that sense of an ongoing, unyielding chase.
Perhaps I’m too kind on Indiana Jones alumni (as the man who went to back-to-back screenings of Raiders for its 45th anniversary rerelease last month) but it was a nice to see Karen Allen show up in a grandmotherly role. She’s always good value and yet we see so little of her.
While the family plot at the centre is the kind of thing you could predict from the very beginning, right down to the all but transparent turn involving Daddo’s best friend, the core trio of Mum, Dad and Bela work well enough to have you suspending your disbelief, even if you’re able to poke some well-natured fun at the action along the way. Child actor Arabella Olivia Clark plays Bela admirably, which could’ve unravelled the whole yarn if done wrong, and it’s rather refreshing that even when the discount Umbrella Corporation turn up to try and solve the mystery, the origins and true intentions of her supernatural stalker are left ambiguous.
BBFC: Rated 15 for strong horror, violence, gore, language.
Other Mommy is in cinemas now.
