‘Other Mommy’ director reveals how many jump scares to expect in Jessica Chastain’s horror and it’s a lot
Rob Savage's highly anticipated film ‘Other Mommy’ is set to premiere on October 9, 2026. The movie is about an eight-year-old girl named Bela and an entity that emerges from her bedroom closet, taking the shape of her mother. Ahead of its release, fans are eager to know how many jump scares the film contains. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Savage said, "Oh, like 50. It depends on what you refer to as a jump scare. Jump scares get s--- on a lot. And I think crafting a really great jump scare can sometimes happen without the kind of quiet...quiet...loud sting that everyone associates with jump scares. It plays the hits of every aspect of horror."
He added, "It’s full of dread, it’s full of set pieces, but it’s all steeped in this deep paranoia where you’re wondering if what you’re seeing is reality, if who you’re seeing is Ursula or Other Mommy, if you can trust any of the grown-up characters." Viewers got a taste of what to expect from the film last month when Universal revealed the first trailer at screenings of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’ The clip opens in a kitchen, as a mother talks to her young daughter. The entity asks Bela if it can go into her heart, and the same line appears in the official synopsis. The MPA rated ‘Other Mommy’ R for some bloody violence and language. Universal initially scheduled the film for May 8, 2026, but moved it to October 9, closer to Halloween.
Jessica Chastain (‘Zero Dark Thirty’) stars as both Ursula and ‘Other Mommy,’ in what marks her return to horror after ‘Mama’ in 2013 and ‘It Chapter Two’ in 2019, both directed by Andy Muschietti. The film also stars Jay Duplass (‘Transparent’) as Russ, Bela’s father and Ursula’s husband. As per the synopsis, the couple is already in an unhappy marriage before the entity’s arrival. Arabella Olivia Clark (‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’) plays Bela, with the cast also including Dichen Lachman (‘Severance’), Arian Moayed (‘Succession’), and Karen Allen (‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’). ‘Succession’ writer Nathan Elston has adapted the screenplay from Josh Malerman’s novel ‘Incidents Around the House,’ which also inspired ‘Bird Box.’ Universal is releasing the film exclusively in theaters and has not yet announced a streaming date yet.
