Other Mommy
OTHER MOMMY needed other writers.
Derivative, nearly a remake of "Poltergeist" and even weaker than the lame 2015 remake that's already a travesty against the 1982 original, MOMMY brags that it has nearly 50 jump scares.
I counted about five.
Director Rob Savage tries to wrap every scene in spooky, distracting camera angles and dread, but it's just kind of exhausting waiting for something to happen.
I don't blame young actress Arabella Olivia Clark (The Housemaid) as Bela, the young daughter of house husband Russell (Jay Duplass) and Ursula (Jessica Chastain).
Ursula is always working very late hours and isn't home when Bela's imaginary friend "Other Mommy" turns out to be anything but a figment of her imagination.
I got a little excited about the opening sequence of the film.
The film doesn't waste anytime getting right to the entity.
This isn't a movie where you have to live through a half hour of ramp up until some serious haunting goes on.
In a wild sequence that flashes in and out of the screaming Main Titles, Other Mommy appears in very weird and literally twisted way to both Bella and Russell.
It surprised me in its intensity and visuals and I thought, okay, maybe this is going to be clever!
Sadly, it spirals downward badly after that.
Chastain is creepy as hell as Other Mommy, but her Ursula is such a shut off, bitter wife to Russell that I started to wonder which version of Momma would be better for Bela.
There are not many scenes that aren't directly lifted from other, much better films.
Ursula and Russell's 7th Wedding Anniversary, with a house full of cocktail sipping guests and an intrusion by Bela is ripped off from Regan's appearance at Chris MacNeil's party at that infamous Georgetown home.
Speaking of The Exorcist, my favorite part of seeing OTHER MOMMY was a first glimpse at the trailer for Mike Flanagan's new "The Exorcist: Martyrs" coming in March. Every frame of that trailer is packed with more mood, more scares and better storytelling than any ten minutes of MOMMY.
I thought the film was going to save itself with a great final half hour when the couple arrive at Ursula's mother's house. Her mom, Ruth, perfectly cast in Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) believes in mediums and the supernatural and has a gang that she calls in to get rid of the demon that is chasing Bela.
It's a great set up. Vans full of tech and scientists roll up to Ruth's cliffside manor, rigging every bit of the house with the latest audio and video equipment to capture any proof of the entity.
It's the same exact set up, down to the living room layout in "Poltergeist".
Do you remember the scene in that Spielberg/Tobe Hooper horror classic where Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight) and medium Tangina (Zelda Rubenstein) built a true sense of wonder around what was happening in the Freeling's suburban home?
It's the middle of the night. A long, quiet dialogue sequence set up the tension, then a huge, spectral figure in white light slowly came down the stairs as the family looked on in horror and one of Jerry Goldsmith's best music scores wrapped around you. It's an all-time classic that's just as good today as the first time I saw it opening night on the big screen 44 years ago.
Here, you have the same living room, a demon wanting to take over an innocent little girl and every bit of the latest technology and science to build a sense of suspense, chills and mystery. I started to think this sequence was going to fill the final half hour of the film and it was going to take me on a ride.
Nope.
Savage destroys everything and everyone in that room in about 8 minutes and the film strolls onto a final 25 minutes that gets dumber and more illogical as it goes.
What a waste!
Speaking of a waste, look at poor Dichen Lachman (Jurassic Park: Dominion) as the leader of the paranormal investigators, Lois Anthony. She has screen presence to spare from the moment she enters Ruth's house. She creates a fascinating character that's gone far too soon.
At only 93 minutes, which translates to less than 85 minutes minus the long end titles, you would think that Director Savage and his screenwriters would have time to explore some of these ideas. What the hell was the rush?
A subplot around a marital affair somewhat pays off you like homewreckers to get their comeuppance. Special effects are decent, but some of the CGI creature work is muddy and feels like outtakes from the "IT" films.
Meh.
After they leave Ruth's house, you can leave the theater and get a snack.
It's all dumb as doorknobs from that point forward.
OTHER MOMMY gets a C- and it can send Karen Allen 666 carnations for saving it from an F.
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