Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Other Mommy and Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman.Other Mommy brings Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House to the screen, but the 2026 horror film makes significant changes to the source material. The larger premise remains the same: a young girl is haunted by an entity that often takes the form of her mother. Dubbed “Other Mommy,” the creature wants to go into Bela’s (Arabella Olivia Clark) heart. All too aware of her parents’ marital struggles, it promises that doing so will take away Bela’s pain. It’s clear it wants more than that, however, hoping to take Bela’s body for itself.
Despite the unnerving concept and a standout performance from Jessica Chastain, Other Mommy is getting lackluster reviews. As of October 13, it holds a 17% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 48% Popcornmeter rating. After the film’s terrifying trailer, the response is a bummer. It might have fared better if it had stuck to the source material in certain places, especially toward the end. Some of Other Mommy‘s differences work, but others may leave readers scratching their heads.
‘Incidents Around the House’ Is More Focused on Bela’s Internal Experience
One of the main draws of Incidents Around the House is the narration, as the entire novel is told from Bela’s first-person perspective. This means the story is filtered through the lens of a child, which changes how the reader experiences it. There are moments when the reader knows something is terribly wrong, but it doesn’t necessarily register that way to Bela. It raises the tension, making for a more intense journey overall.
While Bela is still at the center of Other Mommy, it’s impossible to capture the same vantage point on-screen. Therefore, the film zooms out, even as it keeps her as the lead. Since we see the entity from our own point of view, and see Ursula (Chastain) and Russ’s (Jay Duplass) reactions, it also loses some of the book’s dramatic irony.
The Movie Plays Up the Drama Between Ursula and Russ
With Bela being the POV character in Incidents Around the House, the book doesn’t get to explore the drama between Ursula and Russ as thoroughly as Other Mommy. The pair still have marital problems in the source material, stemming from the same things. Ursula has an affair in both versions, and she’s also a distant mother, prompting Other Mommy to fill the gap.
The movie’s treatment of Ursula and Russ’s marital woes differs, since audiences can see it outside Bela’s perspective. Ramping up the drama is also more exciting cinematically. That’s probably why Other Mommy uses the tensions between the two characters to drive the plot forward and spark the final confrontation. It’s more front and center on-screen, which works with the film’s ending.
Other Mommy Is More Grotesque in the Book
Much of the terror in Other Mommy comes from the monster’s grotesque appearance. Even when the entity takes the form of Ursula or Bela’s babysitter, its expressions give away that something’s not right. Chastain’s unsettling smile that doesn’t match her lifeless, teary eyes is a prime example. She shifts into other disturbing shapes as well, but they don’t fully match how she’s described in the book.
In the source material, there are more noticeable tells that Other Mommy is a supernatural entity. She’s described as having avian features, and she’s also said to have an odor. The latter wouldn’t translate well to film, but the former isn’t captured either. The movie does show the way her face unexpectedly shifts and loses its human appearance. Even then, it’s a fairly brief nod rather than a regular occurrence.
Frank’s Death Is Way More Brutal On-Screen
Ursula’s affair is with a family friend named Frank (Arian Moayed), who perishes in both Incidents Around the House and Other Mommy. The two titles approach his death differently, with the movie making it more gruesome. In the book, Frank isn’t killed on the page; when Bela and her parents go to his house seeking refuge, Ursula finds him dead. It’s not as overtly horrifying, but it still feeds Bela’s guilt, as she believes the entity does this to appease her.
Other Mommy goes further with Frank’s character, having the family spend the night at his home. They believe the entity won’t be able to reach them there, something they quickly realize they’re wrong about. When Bela wishes Frank away, the creature kills him. It happens with the other characters watching, and the film shows him being torn apart. It’s one way the movie adaptation adds new horror visuals. It also connects Frank’s death to Bela’s desires more directly, giving her further cause to despair.
‘Other Mommy’s Ball Pit Scene Adds Visual Flair
Among the most memorable images from Other Mommy is Chastain’s entity emerging from the backseat of a car full of balls from a ball pit. This is a new addition to the film, and it happens after Bela and her parents flee to an establishment similar to Chuck E. Cheese. When Bela goes into the play area, she’s confronted by Other Mommy. After falling into the ball pit, she’s transported to the ocean, then to the backseat of the family’s car. It’s an odd situation that doesn’t get much explanation from the film, though it does add visual flair.
This seems to be based on the playground sequence from Incidents Around the House, which sees Bela falling after an unexpected encounter with Other Mommy. It’s not as bizarre or exciting as what happens in the movie, and that’s probably the reason it was changed for the screen.
Grandma Ruth’s Role Is Different in Both Versions of the Story
Frank isn’t the only character from Incidents Around the House whose arc is executed differently in Other Mommy. That’s also true of Grandma Ruth (Karen Allen). In the adaptation, Bela and her parents seek out Ursula’s mother, who has a history of using spiritualists to communicate with the dead. They ask for help setting up a seance, only to discover the people Ruth recruits are frauds. In Malerman’s book, Ruth is less directly involved with that particular storyline. Her fate is also totally different.
Other Mommy leaves Ruth alive after the massacre that takes place at her home, and her advice contributes to Bela overcoming the entity’s manipulation. The book sees the being killing Grandma Ruth, then using her form to trick Ursula and Russ. It’s a darker turn, but that’s also true of Incidents Around the House‘s ending.
The Ending of Josh Malerman’s Book Is More Tragic
The biggest change Other Mommy makes to Incidents Around the House is its conclusion. The film ends on a more optimistic note, even if it leaves viewers to wonder whether Other Mommy is really gone. Ursula and Russ both reveal their secrets to Bela, who then confronts Other Mommy and overcomes her influence. Because of their honesty and Bela’s growth, the entity disappears, leaving the trio to repair their lives together.
The book plays out much differently, giving Bela and her family tragic fates. After being tricked by Other Mommy’s turn as Ruth, both Ursula and Russ perish at the hands of the entity. Bela then allows Other Mommy to go into her heart, making her ending a far cry from the movie’s triumphant showdown. It’s fitting for a horror story, but some moviegoers will undoubtedly prefer the more uplifting send-off.
- Release Date
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October 9, 2026
- Runtime
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93 Minutes
- Director
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Rob Savage
Cast
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Arabella Olivia Clark
Bela
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Hayley Spelman
Other Mommy
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Carrie Dimaculangan
Callie
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
