From the director of pandemic film Host and The Boogeyman (which were both good) and Dashcam (which wasn't), we get one of the worst films I have seen this year and currently the worst horror film of the year. Other Mommy looked like it was going to be classic Blumhouse film. The trailer made the film look like it might be worth watching. The film follows Bella (played by Arabella Olivia Clark) who has a sort of imaginary friend who she calls Other Mommy. When the film starts, Bella already knows Other Mommy and so there is no real introduction given into what is going on. There is no real explanation why Bella of all people can see this entity.
We meet Frank who is called Uncle Frank in the way that people who aren't related to people who have kids but are close enough to be called Aunt or Uncle but for some reason Bella doesn't like Frank so she asks Other Mommy to get rid of him. To be fair Arabella Olivia Clark is the best thing about the film. I find myself sympathising with her. Jessica Chastain was a bit bland as Mommy but when she was Other Mommy I found her to be effectively creepy.
My main issue with the film is that I just found it a bit bland. The main family just don't seem to be clicking in a narrative sense. Karen Allen comes in for a 10 minute stint and does very little so I was a bit annoyed that they wasted her. Dichen Lachman pops up for her stint and is also wasted. The whole seance in Grandma's house felt rushed and didn't feel like it was built up to in an effective way.
I did find myself laughing at one point although I don't think it was intentional. When they go back to the house and seem to be acting like things are normal and they walk to the dining table and it is completely full of knives and other deadly weapons. I don't think it was intended because there weren't any other humorous moments. The tone is another problem with this film. It doesn't want to go quite too serious like Obsession or Backrooms but doesn't want to go completely schlock like the Conjuring films or Insidious and they somehow manage to just be nothing at all which is quite a skill.
There are good moments such as when Frank got killed but to be honest the good moments are few and far between. The 'twist' that Daddo (Jay Duplass) wasn't Bella's biological father wasn't quite the twist that they thought it was because it was obvious from quite an early stage. Also it didn't seem to quite make sense why it would be a good time when Other Mommy was trying to kill them to pour there heart out as it didn't work and was never going to work.
The ending felt like sequel bait. The mere hint that Other Mommy may be gone felt like they couldn't end the film on a good note for some reason. This will probably make its money back so there will undoubtedly be a sequel but if it's going to be anything like this film then they shouldn't bother because it was a massive disappointment. My expectations were low and they still weren't meant. I think that Blumhouse really needs to up their game because when stuff like Obsession, Backrooms and Weapons exist, then you can't get away with putting out this type of rubbish. This film made Whistle look like a masterpiece. Whistle wasn't great but at least it attempted to have an atmosphere and try to be scary.