‘Other Mommy’ First Reactions: “Jessica Chastain’s Worst Movie in a Long Time”

The reviews are finally in for Other Mommy, and some are pretty scary for Universal.

The horror movie didn’t official U.S. critics screenings until the last minute, with previews held Thursday in New York and Los Angeles before the film opening Friday.

Despite a killer teaser trailer that had audiences jumping in their seats, the Blumhouse/Atomic Monster production is largely getting roasted, debuting to a 20 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars Jessica Chastain in a dual role as a mother whose daughter (Arabella Olivia Clark) is being haunted by a demonic entity. The film is based on Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House and directed by Rob Savage (Host).

The director had rather surprisingly bragged that the film features around 50 jump scares, which works out to around one every two minutes. Some critics called the film’s relentless attempts to startle the audience wearisome.

Regardless, Other Mommy is expected to lead the weekend’s box office, opening to an estimated $20 million.

Here are some of the reviews and reactions to the film, which does have a few enthusiastic fans in the mix as well.

The Hollywood Reporter: “In the scope of the film, Other Mommy starts creepy and only gets more so. In that way, the film is missing a sense of dreadful build-up that might help its scares sink in deeper. As is, Savage’s film is an attractive but mostly vacuous collection of jumpy bits and half-baked mythology. … Other Mommy is somehow less engaging than the movie’s really well-cut trailer, a problem shared by a handful of films over the years …At least Chastain seems to be having fun in her role as the nefarious entity, flashing lots of menacing smiles and scraping and jittering around like she’s just come crawling out of Naomi Watts’ TV set.”

Bloody Disgusting: “Savage zips from set piece to set piece, like a film edited and cut to death, linking empty jump scare sequences and uncanny valley-based disturbances with flashy camerawork that signals a stronger vision that never comes to pass …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. Even the briskly paced 94-minute runtime feels too cumbersome for such an inert and empty scarefest.”

The Daily Beast: “With wide, unblinking eyes and a rictus grin that would be right at home in the Smile franchise, the Oscar-winning actress proves a demented figure of parental adoration run amok, and though Rob Savage’s film cares little for reason, its unbridled rollercoaster momentum and hallucinatory haunted-house energy make it a thriller fit for a Friday night out at the multiplex with friends.”

IGN: “The movie can’t settle on a coherent identity, instead grabbing bits and pieces from other movies and trying them on for size like Other Mommy does with other people’s skins … If only Savage was more willing to trust his leading lady, often smothering Chastain’s incredible physical performance with droopy facial VFX and rapid cuts.”

Slashfilm: “Still, there’s some ghoulish fun to be had here. I particularly enjoyed a moment where the family turns to Ursula’s new age mother (Karen Allen!), who brings in some paranormal researchers who prove to be not very helpful when all is said and done. And fans of Chastain will no doubt get a kick out of watching her crawl around on the floor covered in monster makeup while using a creepy voice. But after an admittedly great opening scene (one that’s been completely spoiled by the trailers), “Other Mommy” loses its charm.”

Here are some of the previously reported first reactions to the film:

The Jam Report: “By the time Other Mommy staggered towards its ludicrous finale, the audience at my screening had abandoned any pretense of fear and erupted into laughter … An excruciating parade of ineffective jump scares, woeful CGI, and increasingly nonsensical storytelling, Other Mommy is comfortably among the most disappointing horror films of the year. It had transformed a promising supernatural premise into an unintentionally hilarious endurance test, all while remaining blissfully unaware of its own absurdity. 1.5/5.”

The Matinee Show: “Solid creepy premise, but it definitely starts to lose its grip. Some genuinely unsettling moments, mixed with a few ‘okay… what the hell are we doing?’ moments. Not bad, just messier than scary 3/5.”

Global Box Office: “Other Mommy is a hot mess and Jessica Chastain’s worst movie in a long time. The direction is sloppy, the score is unremarkable, and not even Chastain can save such a terrible screenplay … What should be a straightforward premise is bogged down by cheap melodrama and repetitive, failed jump scares.”

Goldwin Reviews: “Other Mommy is like a buffet of all the other horror movies rolled into one. It can get overwhelming, but that excess becomes part of a meaningful experience. Eventually, it becomes a feast for the soul that yearns for horror with substance. The film isn’t content with settling into just one form. It has many layers, constantly reinventing itself. 4/5.”

The AU Review: “Savage demonstrates an obvious enthusiasm for constructing elaborate sequences that play with perspective, physical space and the vulnerability of a child’s imagination. But while the technical ambition is evident, the storytelling rarely matches it … even Chastain’s considerable talents can only do so much with material that doesn’t offer her character enough depth beyond her unsettling appearance. What begins with the promise of something genuinely nightmarish gradually deteriorates into a disappointingly conventional, occasionally laughable supernatural exercise. 2/5.”

Sean Kelly on Movies: “#OtherMommy is a film that I initially feared peaked during its pre credit sequence, i.e. the scene from the first trailer, but director Rob Savage delivers a demonic supernatural horror film that’s a mashup of everything from The Grudge to IT to Insidious … While the film is the definition of critic-proof, given how it’s tracking to top the box office, I’m still puzzled why Universal opted not to screen the film for critics and I had to luck out on a +1 to an advanced screening.”

Screen Space: “Ponderously paced, over-directed with gimmicky flourishes and confusing in its half-baked message, Other Mommy wants to be ‘elevated horror’ but stumbles trying to climb above the better films it’s seeking to be … There’s an extended sequence that rips off Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist and some realm displacement nonsense that doesn’t make sense, on the way to an embarrassingly overwrought ending. 1.5/5.”

Additional critic reviews for Other Mommy will begin to roll in this evening, with the movie opening in theaters tomorrow.