Warning! This review does contain some mild spoilers for the first half hour or so of the movie! If you wish to go into the movie knowing nothing, or almost nothing, you might not want to read until after you have seen the movie. I don't really spoil anything that happens after those initial first 30 minutes though. But just in case you are sensitive to even mild spoilers, I thought I should give this warning!
The word on Other Mommy was pretty bad. A lot of it stemmed from the fact that Universal Pictures hid this from critics. I don't know if there were even any press screenings, but if there was, the review embargo didn't even release until the night the movie came out, so when people were going out to see it on Thursday night screenings, there was still no official reviews out yet. So, clearly Universal Pictures didn't believe in the movie. And, indeed, when the review embargo lifted and reviews started coming out, the reviews were pretty bad. But not as bad as they could have been. I read a lot of 2/5 reviews or 4/10. Not good. But there have definitely been worse in the year. Consequently, that made Universal's decision to hide the movie from critics a bizarre one. And it has led to people thinking the movie was going to be a stinker. But you know what? I didn't hate Other Mommy. Mind you, it's not perfect by any means. It is a pretty uneven movie with some bizarre choices from director Rob Savage, but I do feel overall, the good outweighs the bad.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are just bizarre and awkward to the point where I starting to think the movie was going to be every bit as bad as the word of the movie was. There is no real introduction. It just kind of throws the audience into the story. There is no buildup. That's not always a bad thing, but a little introduction to the characters and story might have made the movie go down a little easier. Then we cut to the kitchen scene and it's just way more bizarre than scary. Even a little unintentionally funny. And then we get the title card, one word after another with loud music. It is a really terrible scene.
After that, more weirdness as the father character, Jay Duplas, whom his daughter calls him Daddio, has kind of a bizarre reaction when he actually sees the demon whom Bella, the little girl, calls her other mommy because it looks exactly like her mom, played by Jessica Chastain. That's when Bella comes clean about other mommy, and they seem to take the news rather well. Then comes an anniversary party that they throw and that's an awkward scene although this time, it's actually a good awkward and this is a marriage that clearly appears to be going through something. Then we meet Uncle Frank in this party, and it becomes clear what is going on with the marriage. We also meet Bella's male babysitter. There is a nice interplay between these two characters. Although this character completely disappears after this entire sequence. We never hear from him afterward. But this party scene, while not the best scene of the movie, is effective, especially in getting us to feel the isolation that Bella is going through. Clearly, there is something troubling Bella and we do get the feeling that this is a troubled family from the beginning. One of the failings of the movie is I wish they had further explored some of these themes. It gives the movie an eerie and sad subtext. There are secrets that are eventually revealed. One of them is very predictable and the other one, I didn't see coming. Still, despite the fact that some of these themes could have been explored further, they actually are a strength of the movie as well as they give the movie an emotional core that is very effective and even surprisingly moving as well. The family dynamics are strong. Of course, it helps that the performances from Chastain, Duplass and the young child actress playing Bella are uniformly excellent. Later in the movie we meet Chastain's mother, Bella's grandmother, played by Karen Allen. And she has a really nice scene with Bella as well.
The party scene ends with Chastain seeing other mommy herself and so they finally come to terms that this must be some kind of ghost or demon or something. When they stay the night at Uncle Frank's house (he's not actually an uncle, but a friend of Chastain's character), they find out it's not the house that is haunted. It has attached itself to Bella. This leads to the best scene of the movie. An absolutely horrifying sequence that takes place at a kid's indoor playground with ladders, tubes and a ball pit. Definitely not a scene recommended for anyone who has claustrophobia.
That scene, btw, is part of why Savage's direction is so frustratingly uneven. For he has moments where his choices are just awkward and bizarre and don't work. Later in the movie, we are introduced to a group of paranormal podcasters who try to kill the demon that is attached to Bella. It's a scene that could have been great, but it is a misfire. Savage doesn't seem to go for camp, but there is some humor that almost hint at that. And there is a moment in which the buildup is kind of creepy and eerie, but there is no payoff. The kid's playground/tube/ball pit scene is a virtuoso piece of horror filmmaking. And yet there are other moments that just don't work. It is a huge mishmash of great scenes and moments and awkward, bad ones.
But the ending, when another big truth comes out and Bella is finally forced to confront everything head on, absolutely does work. Mind you, a lot of it rests on the shoulders of the young actress who plays Bella, but she is more than up for the challenge. And because we have come to care about this family and especially Bella, the ending just works. As both horror and as family drama. I do still wish the movie had further gone into Bella's psyche. The themes of isolation, neglect and marital woes and past decisions, all are compelling material that could have added a deeper layer to the horror. The movie just seems to scratch the surface. And it still works. It works enough that it's able to overcome the movie's many downsides. The movie is based off of a book. I'll have to look for it. Maybe the book delves deeper than the movie. But still, the good more than outweighs the bad. This is a pretty decent horror movie and a surprisingly moving, and emotionally satisfying family drama. It just could have been great.
Grade: B
