Brief

What Parents Need to Know Before Watching ‘Other Mommy’

Mashable outlines the plot, jump‑scares and family‑dynamic themes of the new horror movie Other Mommy.

By Felo News Desk · Published Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:16:22 GMT

Universal Pictures’ upcoming horror film Other Mommy, based on Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House, is set to hit theaters nationwide alongside The Odyssey, according to Mashable.

What happened

The story follows seven‑year‑old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) who converses with an entity she calls “other mommy.” The entity, played by Jessica Chastain, looks identical to Bela’s real mother, Ursula, also portrayed by Chastain. Bela’s father, Russ (Jay Duplass), discovers the creature’s ability to whisk their daughter away in an instant and tries to stop it, leading to violent confrontations and multiple jump scares.

What the reports add

Mashable notes that the trailer’s body‑horror tone has drawn comparisons to Coraline, while also highlighting a “special warning to families of divorce” because the film exploits Bela’s fear of her parents splitting up. The outlet cites director Rob Savage’s reputation for jump‑scares from previous films Host and The Boogeyman, and mentions his claim in an Entertainment Weekly interview that the movie contains “oh, like 50” jump scares in its 93‑minute runtime, though the writer doubts that exact number.

What was said

Rob Savage told Entertainment Weekly that the film has “oh, like 50” jump scares, a figure Mashable describes as an exaggeration. The article also references the trailer’s opening jump scare that occurs before the title card, calling it “fairly scary.”

How it came about

Other Mommy adapts Malerman’s New York Times bestseller Incidents Around the House. Universal Pictures announced the project earlier this summer, and the trailer’s release generated buzz for its unsettling mother‑doppelgänger premise. Mashable’s guide links the film’s themes to broader parental anxieties, echoing recent Felo News coverage of parenting challenges in modern media.

Key facts

Other Mommy is based on Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House. (mashable.com)
The film stars Jessica Chastain as both Bela’s mother and the entity “other mommy.” (mashable.com)
Director Rob Savage says the movie contains roughly 50 jump scares in its 93‑minute runtime. (mashable.com)
The trailer includes a jump scare before the opening title card. (mashable.com)