A terrifying doppelgänger, an Oscar-winning actress playing both a mother and the entity imitating her, a critically acclaimed horror novel, and James Wan's name attached as producer. On paper, Other Mommy had almost everything needed to become one of 2026's most talked-about horror releases.

Instead, the film has become one of the year's biggest critical disappointments.

Directed by Rob Savage and starring Jessica Chastain, Other Mommy briefly stood at just 20% on Rotten Tomatoes from 25 critic reviews, according to early ratings circulating around its theatrical opening.

The reception has worsened as additional reviews have arrived. At the latest check, its Rotten Tomatoes score was 19% from 48 critic reviews, while its verified audience score stood at 48%.

For a movie backed by Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, and a creative team with established horror credentials, the numbers represent a difficult opening.

But the more interesting question is why a project with so much apparent potential has struggled to satisfy critics.

The answer appears to involve the very elements that were supposed to make Other Mommy frightening: its relentless jump scares, disturbing central monster, and ambitious attempt to transform childhood anxiety into supernatural horror.

Other Mommy's Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Among 2026's Lowest

Rotten Tomatoes · Critics

19%

48 critic reviews

Verified audience

48%

250+ ratings

The film previously registered 20% from 25 early critic reviews. Ratings can change as additional reviews are included.

Rotten Tomatoes calculates its Tomatometer by determining the percentage of approved critics whose reviews are classified as positive.

A score of 19% therefore does not mean critics awarded the movie an average of 1.9 out of 10. It means approximately 19% of the reviews included in the calculation were positive.

The distinction matters because an extremely low Tomatometer reflects a broad lack of critical support rather than a straightforward average rating.

For Other Mommy, reviewers have repeatedly raised concerns about the film's storytelling, uneven tone, and dependence on sudden scares.

Although several have praised elements of Chastain's performance and the creature's unsettling appearance, those strengths have not been enough to lift its overall reception.

How Other Mommy Compares With the Worst-Reviewed Horror Movies of 2026

Rotten Tomatoes critics scores

Selected poorly reviewed horror films released in 2026. Scores are snapshots and may change.

0%6.25%12.5%18.75%25%Killer WhaleThe Strangers: Chapter 3Other Mommy

Other Mommy isn't the absolute lowest-rated horror film of the year.

At the time of checking, Killer Whale held a 16% Tomatometer, while The Strangers: Chapter 3 stood at 18%.

Those numbers place Other Mommy among the poorest-reviewed titles featured in Rotten Tomatoes' 2026 horror guide, though not necessarily among the bottom three of every horror release worldwide.

Its position is especially notable given the creative expectations surrounding the film.

Unlike a relatively obscure low-budget production, Other Mommy arrived with a recognizable star, an established literary property, and major horror production companies.

That combination made the poor initial reviews particularly newsworthy.

What Is Other Mommy About?

The story follows Bela, an eight-year-old girl whose home life is already strained by the deteriorating relationship between her parents.

Her mother, Ursula, played by Jessica Chastain, is frequently distracted by work and personal difficulties. Bela's relationship with her father, Russ, played by Jay Duplass, offers a different form of comfort.

Then something terrifying begins appearing in Bela's life.

An unsettling supernatural presence calling itself Other Mommy looks and sounds like her real mother.

But its intentions are anything but maternal.

The entity attempts to insert itself into Bela's life, exploiting her loneliness and desire for love and attention.

As the creature grows increasingly intrusive, the family must confront a threat that blurs the distinction between parental protection and something far more sinister.

The film is based on Incidents Around the House, written by Josh Malerman, the author of Bird Box.

A Promising Horror Premise That Critics Say Never Fully Works

The central concept has considerable potential.

Children depend on their parents for safety, emotional stability, and reassurance.

A creature that perfectly imitates a parent attacks that sense of security at its most fundamental level.

Other Mommy isn't simply a monster hiding under the bed.

It is a monster that wants to replace the person a child trusts most.

The setup could support a deeply unsettling story about identity, family dysfunction, emotional neglect, and the fear of losing parental love.

But several reviewers argue that the adaptation struggles to develop those ideas coherently.

Repetitive Jump Scares Replace Sustained Dread

One of the most consistent complaints concerns the film's dependence on jump scares.

A sudden noise, grotesque appearance, or violent interruption can be effective when supported by carefully established tension.

Repeated too frequently, however, those techniques may become predictable.

Critics reviewing Other Mommy have argued that its frequent attempts to startle viewers ultimately undermine the atmosphere of dread the material needs.

Rather than gradually building uncertainty around the entity, the film repeatedly emphasizes startling visual moments.

That criticism appears across several reviews, including coverage from Entertainment Weekly and The Indian Express.

The Story Becomes Increasingly Confusing

Another recurring criticism is that the narrative introduces disturbing supernatural events without establishing sufficiently clear rules governing the entity.

A mysterious monster does not necessarily need a complete explanation.

In fact, withholding information can make supernatural horror more unsettling.

But there is an important difference between mystery and confusion.

When a story repeatedly changes what its creature can do—or how characters respond to its presence—the audience may struggle to understand the stakes.

A review in Vulture specifically questioned how casually some characters react to Other Mommy, despite the entity's extraordinary and frightening behavior.

For critics who found those inconsistencies distracting, the film's attempt to maintain supernatural ambiguity became one of its weaknesses.

Jessica Chastain's Double Performance Is One of the Film's Stronger Elements

Despite the negative reviews, Jessica Chastain has received some praise for embracing the film's unusual central performance.

She plays both Ursula, Bela's real mother, and the sinister entity attempting to take her place.

The dual role presents an intriguing acting challenge.

Ursula is an imperfect but recognizable human being, dealing with the pressures and conflicts of family life.

Other Mommy, by contrast, represents a horrifying distortion of maternal affection.

The creature offers attention and apparent devotion, but there is something disturbing beneath its desire to become Bela's mother.

A Monster That Looks Like Someone You Love

Horror frequently relies on transforming familiar things into sources of fear.

A safe home becomes dangerous. A comforting voice becomes threatening. Someone you trust suddenly behaves like a stranger.

Other Mommy takes that concept quite literally.

By placing Chastain in both roles, the film can make the creature's resemblance to Ursula part of the horror.

Some critics have found this aspect of the movie more successful than its overall storytelling.

The Daily Beast, for example, offered a notably more enthusiastic assessment of Chastain's grotesque villainous turn, highlighting the film's visual energy despite acknowledging weaknesses in its narrative.

That divided response demonstrates how viewers may react differently to the film's chaotic approach.

For some, exaggerated supernatural spectacle is part of the appeal.

For others, it cannot compensate for insufficient suspense or character development.

Rob Savage Faced High Expectations After Host and The Boogeyman

Rob Savage

Savage entered the project with an established reputation in modern horror, particularly for experimenting with how supernatural threats are presented on screen.

His previous films include Host and The Boogeyman, making him a recognizable filmmaker among genre audiences.

Savage's 2020 film Host became a notable example of screen-based horror, using a video-call setting to create tension through confinement and uncertainty.

His later adaptation of The Boogeyman explored supernatural terror within a family coping with grief.

Both projects made him a logical choice for a story involving a child, a troubled household, and a supernatural entity.

However, critics have questioned whether Other Mommy successfully combines the filmmaker's enthusiasm for elaborate scares with a coherent emotional narrative.

The central challenge is familiar to horror filmmakers: how do you show the monster often enough to satisfy audiences without destroying the uncertainty that makes it frightening?

In this case, much of the negative reception suggests that the balance was difficult to maintain.

James Wan and Blumhouse Couldn't Guarantee a Critical Success

Another reason Other Mommy attracted attention was its production pedigree.

The film was produced with involvement from James Wan, whose work helped shape some of the most commercially recognizable modern horror franchises.

Wan directed Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, establishing a reputation for horror that combines unsettling imagery with crowd-pleasing scares.

His Atomic Monster company and Blumhouse Productions were involved in Other Mommy.

That background naturally raised expectations.

But producing a film is not the same as directing it, and Wan's association should not be mistaken for creative control over every individual sequence.

A recognizable production company can provide financing, experience, and industry expertise. It cannot ensure that every film will satisfy critics or audiences.

Other Mommy illustrates that distinction particularly clearly.

Did Other Mommy Fail to Capture the Terror of the Original Book?

The source material gave the adaptation an especially intriguing foundation.

Josh Malerman's Incidents Around the House, published in 2024, explores a family's encounter with a sinister supernatural presence through the perspective of a young child.

One of the novel's defining qualities is its ability to filter unsettling events through Bela's limited understanding of the world.

Readers encounter the terror alongside a narrator who cannot always interpret what is happening.

That perspective allows ordinary household experiences to become increasingly frightening.

The Challenge of Adapting Childhood Fear

A written story can conceal details through narration.

Readers might know only what a frightened child notices, misunderstands, or chooses to describe.

Cinema operates differently.

Once a filmmaker shows the monster directly, the audience receives visual information that can fundamentally change the experience.

The adaptation therefore faces a difficult creative problem: translating the book's unusual perspective into a visual medium without revealing too much too soon.

Some reviewers suggest that Other Mommy struggles with precisely this challenge.

Vulture criticized the adaptation for failing to fully develop the novel's psychological themes, while The Indian Express argued that the creature's early visibility weakens the film's suspense.

For readers familiar with the novel, that difference may be particularly noticeable.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics and Audiences Aren't Entirely in Agreement

Although the film's critical score is extremely low, its audience reception is somewhat more mixed.

Critical reception versus audience reaction

Critics

19%

Verified audience

48%

Rotten Tomatoes snapshot, October 10, 2026.

A 48% verified audience score is hardly an enthusiastic endorsement, but it indicates that some viewers have been more receptive to the movie than professional critics.

Audience reactions posted on Rotten Tomatoes include praise for Chastain's performance, the film's creature design, and individual frightening sequences.

Other viewers criticize its pacing, narrative decisions, and ending.

That division is not unusual for horror films.

Some audiences prioritize atmosphere and coherent storytelling. Others primarily want frightening imagery, grotesque creatures, and sudden shocks.

A film can therefore disappoint viewers seeking psychological depth while still entertaining those looking for a chaotic supernatural experience.

Is Other Mommy Worth Watching Despite the Bad Reviews?

The film's critical reception makes it difficult to recommend as an obvious choice for viewers seeking a carefully constructed psychological horror story.

Nevertheless, its premise and performances may appeal to a particular audience.

Viewers who enjoy supernatural doppelgängers, unsettling creature effects, and aggressive jump scares may find elements worth appreciating.

Fans of Jessica Chastain may also be interested in seeing her take on two dramatically different identities within the same story.

Those who prefer slow-burning horror, consistent supernatural rules, or adaptations that closely preserve the atmosphere of their source material may find the experience less satisfying.

The most useful way to approach Other Mommy is with expectations shaped by the actual reviews rather than its impressive list of creative contributors.

Where Can You Watch Other Mommy?

Other Mommy opened in U.S. theaters on October 9, 2026, through Universal Pictures.

The film carries an R rating and runs approximately 93 minutes.

Its principal cast includes Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen.

Streaming and rental availability may vary by market, so viewers should check current listings rather than assume a particular platform or release window.

Frequently Asked Questions About Other Mommy

What is Other Mommy's Rotten Tomatoes score?

At the latest check, Other Mommy had a 19% critics score from 48 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Its verified audience score was 48%. The critics rating had previously been reported at 20% from 25 reviews.

Is Other Mommy the lowest-rated horror movie of 2026?

No. Among the titles included in Rotten Tomatoes' 2026 horror guide, Killer Whale had a lower score of 16%, while The Strangers: Chapter 3 stood at 18%. These figures can change as more reviews are added.

Does Jessica Chastain play both characters in Other Mommy?

Yes. Jessica Chastain portrays Ursula, Bela's mother, and the disturbing supernatural entity known as Other Mommy, which resembles her.

Is Other Mommy based on a book?

Yes. It is adapted from Josh Malerman's 2024 horror novel Incidents Around the House. Malerman is also known for writing Bird Box.

Other Mommy Had the Ingredients for a Horror Hit, but Critics Wanted More

Other Mommy arrived with an attention-grabbing premise, an acclaimed source novel, an Oscar-winning lead actress, and the support of some of modern horror's best-known production companies.

Those ingredients generated expectations for a memorable supernatural thriller.

Yet its early critical reception suggests that combining promising ideas and recognizable talent is not enough.

Reviewers have repeatedly pointed to weaknesses in pacing, storytelling, and the way the film delivers its scares.

Even praise for Jessica Chastain's unsettling double performance has done little to reverse the overwhelmingly negative critical verdict.

Still, a poor Rotten Tomatoes score does not mean every audience member will dislike the film, nor does it establish its long-term reputation.

Horror has a history of films that provoke sharply divided reactions, and theatrical audiences may ultimately respond differently from critics.

For now, though, Other Mommy has become one of 2026's most striking examples of a promising horror adaptation receiving a deeply unfavorable critical response.

The monster might look like Jessica Chastain, but the film's most frightening number may be the one on Rotten Tomatoes.

Have you watched Other Mommy? Did the movie deserve its low score, or did critics overlook what makes its creature frightening? Share your reaction in the comments.