Metro Manila, Philippines — Producer James Wan is bringing a new shape-shifting horror villain to the big screen in Other Mommy, which opens in Philippine cinemas on Oct. 7.
Based on Josh Malerman’s best-selling novel Incidents Around the House, the film follows a young girl who develops a relationship with a sinister entity capable of looking and sounding like her mother.
Bela, played by Arabella Olivia Clark, initially befriends the presence inside her home without fully understanding what it wants from her.
Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain plays both Bela’s mother and the entity known as “Other Mommy.”
Wan said the creature’s attempts to exploit a child’s love and innocence drew him to the story.
“I was interested in the concept of an entity that mimics someone and uses that ability to get into a child’s heart, get into her mindset, and take over,” Wan said.
The producer behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises said horror was entering a new era as younger filmmakers developed stories reflecting modern fears and anxieties.
“We’re at a very exciting inflection point in the horror genre, but also in cinema in general,” Wan said.
He pointed to the success of films such as Obsession and Backrooms as examples of horror stories connecting with a new generation.
“Horror is such a great commentary on societal fears and societal anxieties that we can do a lot of fun things that most other genres cannot,” Wan added.
A new horror monster
Other Mommy is directed by Rob Savage, known for Host and The Boogeyman.
Savage said he wanted the film to retain the novel’s darkness, contradictions and emotional complexity.
“I did not want to make a softened or sanitized version of this story,” he said.
Savage also sought to turn Other Mommy into a recognizable horror villain in the tradition of Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers.
He said the entity’s abilities and appearance would gradually unfold through Bela’s perspective.
“Whenever she appears, or whenever her presence is felt, you learn something new about what she can do, how she can manipulate Bela, and how she can manipulate the audience,” Savage said.
“The goal was to make sure viewers never felt they had seen the entirety of her,” he added.
The entity initially appears excessively sweet and comforting but becomes more monstrous as it loses control.
“The sweetness of Other Mommy is almost too sweet, but underneath it, you feel something coiled and furious,” Savage said.
Other Mommy also stars Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed and Karen Allen.
The film is produced by Wan for Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
