Other Mommy… well, it’s ‘Mummy’ in the UK, but anyway…
Still, you soon learn that amongst the small main cast, whenever you see Jessica Chastain (Mothers’ Instinct) and she’s looking like she’s high on illicit drugs, she’s actually the… altogether now… Other Mommy.
And so for this movie’s brief, 93-minute running time, it was one of the few I felt could last an extra 10 minutes or so, giving us two such scenes instead of one, before the film starts going full Tonto.
Before that point, you expect that she’ll only ever appear in the en-suite of the bedroom occupied by their daughter, but it doesn’t take long before she’ll turn up any place she damn well pleases.
As such, it’s no surprise that even when they head over to Uncle Frank’s (Arian Moayed) big, posh house, or that owned by Grandma Ruth (Karen Allen – and I didn’t spot it was her until the credits rolled), calamity will ensue wherever they go.
And despite being listed third in the cast, Arabella Olivia Clark is onscreen more than any other person, she trumps Jessica Chastain, and does a great job with good acting, compared to the average kid being in a film who is usually a bit on the annoying side.
& the studio’s confirmation that it’s presented in a 1.85:1 container
I’m so glad I saw this on one of the few 1.85:1 films at my local Odeon, because director Rob Savage (The Host) can only be described as a total fuckwit for choosing a 2.20:1 aspect ratio for this. The reason is, as is shown from the example picture that someone took in the USA, it’s distributed within a ‘flat’ 1.85:1 container. Hence, when it’s shown on a 2.39:1 ‘scope’ screen, the 2.20:1 image is still presented within that central 1.85:1 section, and is horrendously windowboxed.
And the film looks shit as a result. In fact, from this Reddit post, there’s been many complaints at cinemas in the US. The same ratio and ‘flat’ container was also used for this year’s Mercy (non-IMAX) and They Will Kill You. I can give MANY similar examples used previously, but the answer is for distributors to make BOTH ‘flat’ and ‘scope’ prints, so such a film would be end up being treated as if it’s a 2.39:1 film, but the image would show slight black bars at the sides. Undertone and The Life Of Chuck did this with their respective aspect ratios.
Overall, along the way, there’s poltergeist-types getting involved to try and resolve the situation, but Other Mommy is a decent, brisk 90-ish mins, with lots of bang for your buck and plenty of neat, inventive moments. Don’t expect this film to make any sense, but do expect to be entertained.
Just a shame about that fucking aspect ratio, though. I’d love to know what the thinking was behind that. I will endeavour to find out.
NOTE: There are is a post-credit scene, as per the video below.
Other Mommy is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 93 minutes
Release date: October 9th 2026
Studio: Universal Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7/10
Director: Rob Savage
Producer: James Wan
Screenplay: Nathan Elston
Novel: Josh Malerman (Incidents Around the House)
Music: Patrick Jonsson
Cast:
Bela: Arabella Olivia Clark
Ursula: Jessica Chastain
Russ: Jay Duplass
Grandma Ruth: Karen Allen
Uncle Frank: Arian Moayed
Lois Anthony: Dichen Lachman
Kelvin: Sean Kaufman
Brian: Adam Silver
Ruiss: Alec Secareanu
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.