‘Other Mommy’ parents’ guide: Is your kid ready for this child-centered horror movie?

Other Mommy crept into the public consciousness over the summer with a scary trailer playing ahead of The Odyssey in theaters nationwide.

From the title and the bit of body horror teased in that clip alone, many grown-ups saw similarities to Coraline, in which a little girl battles with a deformed doppelgänger of her own mother. But before you think this means Other Mommy would be a good pick for a spooky season night out with your scary-story-loving kid, let’s break down what you might want to know first. 

Light spoilers ahead for Other Mommy. 

What’s Other Mommy about? 

Based on Josh Malerman’s New York Times best-selling novel Incidents Around the House, Other Mommy centers on Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), a 7-year-old girl who has been talking to an entity she calls “other mommy.” As you might guess, Other Mommy (Jessica Chastain) looks a lot like Bela’s real mommy, Ursula (also Jessica Chastain). This makes for several troubling sequences where Bela isn’t sure if she’s talking to her mom or the entity. 

When Ursula and Bela’s dad, Russ (Jay Duplass), become aware of Other Mommy and her magical ability to kidnap their daughter to far-off locations in the blink of an eye, they try desperately to stop it. But along the way, there will be casualties and lots of jump scares. 

A special warning to families of divorce: 

Other Mommy might be especially troubling to your children. Part of the power Other Mommy has in the film comes from Bela’s fear that her parents’ might split up.

While she’s very close with her stay-at-home father, Daddo (as she calls Russ), Bela views her mother with a suspicion that Ursula would rather be anywhere else than in their home. This divide between daughter and mother is how Other Mother becomes such a compelling temptation. She’s never too tired to play. She always smiles. She gives Bela whatever she asks for. Of course, what she wants in exchange is a hefty price to pay, as teased in the trailer. 

How scary is Other Mommy? 

Fairly scary! For one thing, the jump scare that had Odyssey audiences gagged happens before the film’s opening title card!

Director Rob Savage has made a name in horror with two terrific movies (Host, The Boogeyman) that make great use of jump scares. (He also made the abysmal and totally-worth-skipping Dashcam. So, don’t let a spooky season marathon lead you there.)

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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Savage estimated Other Mommy has “oh, like 50” jump scares in its 93-minute runtime. By my count, that’s an exaggeration. However, I am a full-grown adult who did jump and scream loudly multiple times in this movie. It’s fun and frightening, no doubt.

Much of the scares are centered around the eponymous entity, who, beyond being able to look like a creepshow version of Jessica Chastain, can shape-shift into other freaky forms too. And when Other Mommy gets mad, the violence she enacts involves some brutal violence, blood, and guts glitter. 

What rating is Other Mommy?

This movie is rated R for cursing (yes, the f-word included), violence, and gore. 

There are also sequences where young Bela is confronted with some hard truths about her parents. 

How does Other Mommy compare to Coraline? 

Both focus on a little girl with a sharp bob who develops a relationship with an otherworldly double of her own mother. Each film is grounded in that girl’s perspective, regarding the doppelgänger with a mix of awe and terror. In both, doorways possess magic to hide and connect the child and the other maternal figure. Both movies have scary bits where the young heroine is put at risk. Both are pretty scary for adults, and for kids more so. 

For what it’s worth, I once asked Coraline director Henry Selick how old he thought someone should be before watching his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book. He said, “At least 12.” 

So, here’s what I’ll say: If your kid isn’t ready for Coraline, they’re not ready for Other Mommy.

Even if the swearing doesn’t bother you and blood doesn’t tend to spook your spawn, Other Mommy takes these scares to a more intense level. Being live-action, there’s a greater horror in seeing the grown-ups around Bela be unraveled by Other Mommy, in very graphically violent ways. And beyond that, the idea that an evil entity can look like a parent might well leave your kid spooked by you after the credits roll. 

How old should a kid be to see Other Mommy? 

Generally, I’d say in their teens, but with the caveat that you know your kid better than I do.

I will warn, when I was 11 or 12, I would have done whatever I needed to do to see a movie like Other Mommy — and I did. I watched slashers and Tim Curry’s IT, and every Child’s Play movie I could find when my parents weren’t looking. And I suspect curious kids who love horror will make Other Mommy a sleepover staple before long. So, even if you don’t choose to take your kid to see this, maybe this article will help you understand why they’re so spooked if they found it on their own.

The Other Mother is now in theaters. 

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