Maternal instinct takes a dark turn in Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy.
The anticipated horror movie, which debuts on October 9, is an adaptation of the novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (Bird Box) that was directed by Rob Savage (Host), written by Nathan Elston (Succession), and produced by James Wan (Backrooms, The Conjuring). 2026’s Other Mommy, which stars Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, and Karen Allen, generated buzz after the trailer began playing exclusively in theaters ahead of the hit Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey.
The plot centres around eight-year-old Bela (Clark) and her parents, Ursula (Chastain) and Russ (Duplass) who are having marital problems. Things get supernatural when Bela discovers a malevolent entity living in her closet. The entity then calls itself “Other Mommy” (also played by Chastain) and exerts control over the terrified Bela – to disastrous consequences.
Universal Pictures released the first trailer for Other Mommy yesterday. “Can I go inside your heart?” Other Mommy says to Bela, tears streaming down her face. Things ramp up toward the end of the trailer when it becomes challenging for Bela to tell if she’s indeed talking to her mom or Other Mommy.
Other Mommy also marks Chastain’s return to the horror genre. She’s previously starred in Take Shelter (2011), Mama (2013), Crimson Peak (2015) and It: Chapter Two (2019).
Given the initial buzz surrounding the movie and the eeriness of the trailer, it seems like Other Mommy is positioning itself to be the must-watch horror movie of the Halloween season, where it will be competing with the survival thriller Whalefall and the DC Studios outing Clayface.
Other Mommy is set to release in theatres October 9th.
