Other Mommy Review | Rob Savage | 2026 | 93 minutes
- Director Rob Savage
- Starring Jessica Chastain, Arabella Olivia Clark, Jay Duplass
- Released 9 October 2026
- Distributor Universal Pictures UK
- Subgenre Supernatural horror
- Reviewed by Hope Madden
Seven-year-old Bela lives in a wealthy, unhappy home. Then a presence that looks exactly like her mother appears, and it wants Bela’s permission to become human.
Other Mommy is the new horror film from Rob Savage, and it gives Jessica Chastain two roles: a mother, and the thing that shares her face. Arabella Olivia Clark plays Bela, the seven-year-old caught between them, and the script comes from Nathan Elston and Josh Malerman, whose novel Pictures of You is also reviewed on the site. In this Other Mommy review, Hope Madden weighs a familiar imaginary friend set-up against a cast who give it real weight and a script that corners itself. She finds a Jessica Chastain horror film that is creepy, never quite predictable and not a clean win. Here is how she sees it.
Other Mommy writes itself into the same corner as a lot of imaginary friend horror, yet it never feels predictable. Jessica Chastain commits to some serious freakiness, young Arabella Olivia Clark carries much of the film beautifully, and the creepiness it finds picks a very particular scab.
Imaginary Friend Horror With Real Human Damage
A great deal goes unspoken in Other Mommy, a horror film informed by the complex idea that it’s what breaks your heart that makes you human.
Jessica Chastain is Aurora Martin, mommy to 7-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark). Chastain is also Other Mommy, a mommy-shaped entity who wants Bela’s permission to become human.
If a lot of this sounds familiar—a child, unhappiness in the house, an imaginary friend who’s less imaginary than demonic—credit director Rob Savage and writers Nathan Elston and Josh Malerman for complicating the tale with fairly realistic (if unreasonably wealthy) human damage.
And, of course, Chastain for being game for some serious freakiness.
Jay Duplass keeps things grounded in tenderness as Daddo, the one reminder that humans can be wonderful. A strong supporting cast includes Karen Allen, Sean Kaufman, and Arian Moayed, but Savage’s investment in Clark to keep us engrossed pays off.
She reminds you of a very young Mckenna Grace. Her soulful attention and authentic performance create real tension. The youngster carries a lot of this film and manages beautifully.
Other Mommy spins a cautionary tale about tricksters, letting the wrong person into your heart, people who aren’t as they seem, and the generational damage done by less-than-ideal parents.
Like a lot of imaginary friend horror films, Other Mommy writes itself into a bind it can’t entirely escape. But the cast mines the script for a backstory they wear in their gestures and behaviors, and Savage throws enough random insanity at you that things never feel predictable.
It’s not an uncontested win, but Other Mommy delivers creepiness that picks a particular scab.
The Verdict: Is Other Mommy Worth Watching?
The verdict
A creepy, well-cast imaginary friend horror that corners itself in the script but keeps you guessing, thanks to Chastain, Clark and Savage’s appetite for random insanity.
Watch it if: you like your supernatural horror rooted in family damage, or want to see Jessica Chastain get properly strange.
Skip it if: you have had your fill of imaginary friend films and want one that escapes the subgenre’s usual bind.
The takeaway from this Other Mommy review? If a spare mum turns up asking for permission to become human, check her references. Then check them again.
Jim "The Don" McLeod has been reading horror for over 35 years and reviewing it for more than 16. He's the editor of Ginger Nuts of Horror, Europe's largest independent horror review and culture site, and a British Fantasy Award nominee for his work in the genre. When he's not busy inflicting his opinions on the horror community, he can be found annoying his family or getting thoroughly outwitted by his two dogs, Casper and Molly.
