‘Other Mommy’ Isn’t a ‘Coraline’ Remake, So What Novel Is Jessica Chastain’s New Horror Film Really Based On?
‘Other Mommy‘ is based on the novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, and the film is directed by Rob Savage from a script by Nathan Elston. If the title sounds familiar to horror fans, that is because it instantly sets off alarm bells for anyone who remembers a certain button eyed villain. The truth behind the story is a lot more unsettling than a simple copycat.
The supernatural chiller has been the talk of the internet ever since a jump scare turned up in a trailer that played before ‘The Odyssey’. Jessica Chastain stars in the film, and the story centers on a presence that grows more threatening to a family. Here is everything you need to know about where ‘Other Mommy’ comes from and why it is already getting under people’s skin.
‘Other Mommy’ Is Based on a Novel by Josh Malerman
The film adapts a book that was published in 2024. That novel arrived after the author’s big success with ‘Bird Box’, so horror readers were already paying close attention. Now the story is making the jump from the page to the big screen.
Malerman is not just a name in the credits either. He is listed among the executive producers of the film. That suggests the people behind the movie wanted the original author close to the project.
The script comes from a writer with serious prestige credentials. Nathan Elston is a WGA Award winner who wrote for ‘Succession’. Pairing a prestige drama writer with a haunted house premise is an intriguing choice.
Rob Savage, who previously made ‘Host’ and ‘The Boogeyman’, directs the film. His track record with modern scares makes him a natural fit for this material. Fans of his earlier work have good reason to be curious.
The ‘Incidents Around the House’ Story Behind the Film
The plot follows a young girl at the center of a haunting. Eight year old Bela is already dealing with a strained home life because of her parents’ troubled marriage when a sinister presence begins emerging from her closet every night. That detail alone is enough to make parents everywhere check under the bed.
The entity has one simple demand. It repeatedly asks Bela whether it can go inside her heart, and when she refuses, it grows increasingly aggressive and puts her whole family in danger. The slow burn of that repeated question is what gives the premise its dread.
The household is a crowded one. The family includes Mommy, Daddo and Grandma Ruth, and the strange incidents also expose cracks in the parents’ marriage. In other words, the monster is not the only thing threatening this home.
Casting adds another twist. Chastain plays two roles, Ursula and the title entity herself, while Jay Duplass plays Russ, Bela’s father and Ursula’s husband. Karen Allen appears as Grandma Ruth, which gives the family a recognizable and beloved face.
Why ‘Other Mommy’ Keeps Getting ‘Coraline’ Comparisons
It is easy to see why viewers made the leap. Both stories feature creepy mothers who are very much other, and you would be forgiven for linking Savage’s film with Henry Selick’s adaptation of ‘Coraline’. The overlap in naming alone sent fans straight to the comparison.
Still, the connection is only surface level. One outlet pointed out that the film is not inspired by ‘Coraline’ and is instead based on another book. The same piece noted that the name and spiderlike nature of the entity are hard to miss, and that it preys on a young child.
The tone, however, could not be further apart. ‘Coraline’ is a film for kids, while ‘Other Mommy’ most certainly is not. The MPA rated it R for some bloody violence and language, which leaves little doubt about the audience.
‘Other Mommy’ Release Date, Cast and Early Buzz
The wait is nearly over for horror fans. The film arrives in theaters on October 9, and Universal originally planned a May release before moving it into the Halloween season. No official reason was announced for the delay, though the new date feels perfectly timed.
The supporting players add plenty of depth. The cast also includes Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, Karen Allen, Sean Kaufman and Adam Silver. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse produce the film, with James Wan serving as a producer.
The marketing has already done its job. The first trailer debuted ahead of select screenings of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’, and early viewers called the preview pure nightmare fuel.
USA Today even reported that the trailer left moviegoers losing sleep. With Chastain playing both the loving mother and the thing wearing her face, did the ‘Other Mommy’ trailer make you flinch in your theater seat, and do you think that double role will make the movie scarier than Malerman’s book?
