There’s something about terror coming from within the home that crawls under the skin. Case in point: Blumhouse’s Other Mommy, which sees an evil entity take the shape of a mother (played by Jessica Chastain) and unleash unholy horror on a family. Seriously, that smiling contorted scene in the trailer will fuel nightmares for generations. BURN. IT. WITH. FIRE!
Produced by maestro James Wan and directed by Rob Savage of Host fame, Other Mommy looks to settle snuggly into 2026’s splendid horror slate that’s featured outstanding films like Backrooms and Obsession. Another plus in its favor is the fact it’s based on the novel Incidents Around the House written by Josh Malerman – the talented author also behind Bird Box, which was turned into a successful film for Netflix (let’s not talk about the sequel, though).
In an interview with The Nerd Daily in 2024, Malerman revealed more about the chilling inspiration for Incidents Around the House. “I’ve had the idea for some 13 years. My brother told me a story similar to the first chapter, about him and his wife putting their kid to bed for the night and the kid saying goodnight to ‘Other Mommy.’ The little story stuck in a big way.”
Now, while Other Mommy appears to have all the right ingredients to be another smash-hit for Blumhouse, we can’t ignore the fact that this title bears a strong resemblance to a memorable character from Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. In that story, Coraline Jones travels through a tunnel to a warped version of her world where her Other Mother resides – and yeah, she’s basically an evil doppelganger of Mel Jones. The 2009 adaptation of this story is still one of the most underrated stop-motion films of all time, and the Other Mother stands out as a frightening antagonist.
Fans noticed the similarities between Other Mommy and the Other Mother too. One commentator wrote, “Coraline has been real quiet since this dropped.” Another stated, “We sewing buttons on our eyes with this one!”
Look, Other Mommy is definitely a different story, but the choice to title it this specific way feels… strange. Maybe it’s a marketing ploy where the people behind the movie thought they could sucker more viewers into thinking they’d be watching a live-action version of Coraline. Maybe it’s just the fact that the character is called this in the story.
Whichever way, there’s no denying this is a super-scary premise, especially for a young child who tends to view their mother as their protector and safe place. If something happens to that balance, it wreaks havoc on the harmony of the mother-child relationship. It’s exactly this that appealed to Blumhouse and the filmmakers. “It tries to be something that you’re familiar with, that you’re comfortable with, someone that you know that you look up to, to protect you,” Wan told Empire.
Will Other Mommy become the next big horror hit of 2026? And will it lead to the inevitable sequel titled Other Daddy? Find out in October!
