Jessica Chastain’s ‘Other Mommy’ is a “hot mess” horror, say early reactions

Jessica Chastain’s new horror Other Mommy has been panned as a “hot mess” by those that have seen it early. READ MORE: The best films of 2026… so far! Based on Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, Other Mommy follows eight-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) who is struggling with her parents’ marital issues before her life is disrupted further by a sinister paranormal entity that looks and sounds identical to her mother Ursula (Jessica Chastain). Director Rob Savage has claimed Other Mommy features at least 50 jump scares across its 80-minute runtime. Jessica Chastain shows off how she created her creepy smile for ‘OTHER MOMMY’. pic.twitter.com/jPiH1lUFNd — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 8, 2026 Other Mommy is out today (Friday October 9) but the review embargo still hasn’t been lifted. However a number of movie bloggers, international critics and fans have already seen the horror and they’re not impressed. “Other Mommy wants to be ‘elevated horror’ but stumbles trying to climb above the better films it’s seeking to be,” wrote Screen Space. “Other Mommy is a hot mess and Jessica Chastain’s worst movie in a long time,” said Global Box Office in their t...