Jessica Chastain in “Other Mommy.”
Universal Pictures
Jessica Chastain’s new horror movie Other Mommy isn’t getting much love from Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.
Rated R, Other Mommy opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. In the film, Chastain plays Ursula, whose marriage to her husband (Jay Duplass) is falling apart. The couple’s personal woes take a backseat, however, when a demonic entity physically manifests itself in many different forms — including a doppelganger of Ursula, known as the “Other Mommy” — in an attempt to inhabit the body of the couple’s 8-year-old daughter Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark).
Directed by Rob Savage (The Boogeyman), Other Mommy also stars Dichen Lachman and Karen Allen.
Since Other Mommy wasn’t screened for critics, critics didn’t start publishing reviews of the film until after it began playing in Thursday preview screenings. Currently, Other Mommy has not yet received a critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, but eight of the 10 reviews posted on the site have scored the film as “rotten.” RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.
Prior to Other Mommy, Chastain’s horror movies on RT have all received “fresh” critics’ scores. The actress’ 2013 horror thriller Mama — directed by Andy Muschietti — earned a 63% “fresh” critics’ score, while her reunion in 2019 with the filmmaker for IT: Chapter Two nabbed a 62% “fresh” critics’ score.
Chastain’s best-reviewed horror film on RT came in 2015 with director Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, which earned a 72% “fresh” critics’ score.
Note: The RT critics’ score for Other Mommy added to this article as new reviews are posted on the site.
What Are Other Critics Saying About Jessica Chastain’s ‘Other Mommy’?
Megan Navarro is among RT’s critics who gives Other Mommy a “rotten” score, writing, “Other Mommy is so flat and devoid of tension that by film’s end, you’re more likely to laugh or groan at the absurd lengths this family will go to avoid therapy than root for their triumph over an ultimately forgettable demonic entity.”
Carla Hay of Culture Mix also splatters the film with a “rotten” score on RT, writing, “Other Mommy is an incoherent embarrassment to everyone involved. This time-wasting horror movie is nothing but weak jump scares and mindless characters in this mishandled story of a demonic entity disguised to look like the wife/mother of a family.”
Peter Gray of the AU Review also gives the film a “rotten” score. Gray writes in his RT review summary, “Other Mommy might know how to make an entrance, but it has absolutely no idea what to do once it’s in the room.”
Karina Adelgaard of Heaven of Horror is among RT’s critics who give Other Mommy a “fresh” review, asking, “Can it live up to all the hype and record-setting pre-release ticket sales? Well, I think so. However, film fans and critics may not agree with each other. This one feels made for the fans first … as it should be.”
Other Mommy opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.
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