Other Mommy: How Scary Is the New Movie?

How scary is it?

Scarier and bloodier than the "some bloody violence" in its rating makes it sound. Common Sense Media, which reviews films for parents, calls it gruesome body horror and lists killings, stabbings, skin torn away and a slow-motion scene of a head exploding, alongside jump scares and a child in danger throughout. Expect:

• Dread first, then gore. The first half builds unease around the thing in Bela's closet; the graphic material arrives later.
• A child in peril. An eight-year-old threatened by a copy of her own mother is the core of the film. For many viewers that lands harder than the blood.
• Lots of swearing. Strong language runs through the arguments between Bela's parents.
• No sexual content. Beyond a kiss and references to infidelity, there's none.

Why is it rated R, and what age is it for?

The MPA rated it R for "some bloody violence, and language", so under-17s in the US need an adult with them. Common Sense Media puts it at 16 and up. If your teenager handled The Boogeyman or A Quiet Place easily, this is a step more graphic; for younger viewers who like the "other mother" idea, Coraline is the gentler version of the same nightmare.

What did critics and audiences think?

• Critics: poor. It sat around 18 to 21% on Rotten Tomatoes in its opening weekend.
• Audiences: split. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score was around 46%, and opening-night viewers gave it a D+ on CinemaScore.
• Box office: strong anyway. It opened at number one in the US with $27.5 million, ahead of the studio's projection of about $20 million, and took $45.2 million worldwide in its first weekend against a reported $19 million budget. Rotten Tomatoes noted it was the biggest opening ever for a film with a D+ CinemaScore.

Our read: a strong hook and a committed double performance from Jessica Chastain, in a film most viewers felt didn't pay off. See it for the premise and the scares, not for a satisfying story. If you want a horror film with better word of mouth, try The Boogeyman, Talk to Me or Host.

What it's about

Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) is eight, and her parents' marriage is falling apart. Then something starts coming out of her closet that looks exactly like her mother, Ursula. Bela calls it "Other Mommy," and it becomes more threatening to her and her family as the film goes on.

Cast and crew

• Jessica Chastain as Ursula and as the entity copying her.
• Jay Duplass as Russ, Bela's father.
• Arabella Olivia Clark as Bela, with Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed and Karen Allen.
• Director: Rob Savage. Writer: Nathan Elston, adapting Malerman's 2024 novel Incidents Around the House.
• Producer: James Wan, through Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. Universal is distributing.

Release and production

It was filmed in Dublin from May 12 to July 9, 2025. Universal first dated it for May 8, 2026, then moved it to October 9, 2026, putting it in the run-up to Halloween, the strongest stretch of the year for horror. It runs 93 minutes, and no streaming date had been announced as of October 13, 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Other Mommy rated R? The MPA rated it R for "some bloody violence, and language." There's no nudity or sexual content; the rating comes from gory body horror and frequent strong swearing.

What age is Other Mommy suitable for? Common Sense Media recommends 16 and up. Under-17s need a parent or guardian with them in US cinemas because of the R rating.

Is Other Mommy connected to Bird Box? No. It's adapted from a different novel, Incidents Around the House (2024), by the same author, Josh Malerman.

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