STORYLINE: Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity which comes out of her closet. The presence, whom she calls “Other Mommy,” becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family.  (IMDb)

   In 2009, a paranormal curse threatened to Drag Me to Hell.  The paranormal took to haunting families on both Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013).  Of course, entitles can sometimes make us Smile (2022) in horror films.  Jessica Chastian frightens audiences, in the new paranormal entity, feature film, Other Mommy.

    I have been a fan of Jessica Chastian ever since I saw the brilliant film Zero Dark Thirty (2012).  Since that incredible feature I have enjoyed features such as The Martian (2014), Molly’s Game (2017), and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021).  Over the years, she became one of my favorite actresses.  At the crossroads of my horror fandom and a movie starring one of my actresses is Other Mommy.

     Some of the best horror films have a singular focus, and excel at that focus.  This focus can be a haunted house picture, slasher flick, or ghost story for example.  Sure, on occasional, something like The Shining (1980) will blend two concepts together.  This focus creates the opportunity for the film to focus on a story, and some really great scares within that story. 

    The problem Other Mommy suffers from is lack of focus of what kind of horror movie it truly wants to be.  The movie tries to go fir being a haunted house film initially.  At one point, Other Mommy, seemed like it wanted to be a slasher film.  By the end the movie was like a paranormal entity, film, similar to Smile or It Follows (2014).  Putting all these ingredients together, gave this motion picture a disjointed feeling. 

    That disjointed feeling was duck taped together with a cookie cutter story, that wa filled was scares that pretty much fell flat.  The story felt like it was ripping off Coraline (2009).  It turned the other worldly element into a supernatural one, and the result was far less entertaining.  In fact it was a down right disappointment.

    Other Mommy is a predictable horror feature, where the scares hall flat, that needs focus of what kind of horror film that wants to be.

    Until next time, I will see you at the movies!