Other Mommy Puts Jessica Chastain in a Double Role as a Mother and the Thing Wearing Her Face, in Theaters October 9

Rob Savage's adaptation of Josh Malerman's novel Incidents Around the House is Universal's Halloween-season horror release, produced by James Wan with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.

Universal's horror release for the Halloween season arrives on October 9. Other Mommy stars Jessica Chastain in two roles: Ursula, the mother of an eight-year-old girl, and the entity that takes on Ursula's appearance. Rob Savage, who made Host and The Boogeyman, directs from a screenplay by Nathan Elston, a former Succession writer. The film is based on Josh Malerman's 2024 novel Incidents Around the House; Malerman also wrote Bird Box. It runs 93 minutes.

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The premise is simple and built around a child's point of view. Bela, played by Arabella Olivia Clark, lives in a house strained by her parents' failing marriage. Each night a presence she calls Other Mommy comes out of her closet and asks the same question: "Can I go inside your heart?" Bela keeps saying no, and the entity grows more aggressive, until the whole family is in danger. Jay Duplass plays Bela's father, Russ, and Karen Allen plays her grandmother, with Dichen Lachman and Arian Moayed in supporting roles.

The names behind it are the reason the film has attention before a single review. James Wan produces, and the film is made under the Blumhouse and Atomic Monster banner, the merged horror company whose two halves are responsible for The Conjuring, Insidious and M3GAN. Savage and Malerman are executive producers. It was shot in Dublin between May 12 and July 9, 2025.

Universal originally dated the film for May 8, 2026, then moved it to October 9. JoBlo describes the move as positioning it for the Halloween season, the stretch of the calendar when horror films traditionally find their largest audience. The first trailer played in theaters with Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey before it was released online, which put it in front of one of the biggest audiences of the summer.

The Motion Picture Association rated it R for "some bloody violence, and language." That wording is worth reading closely if you are deciding whether it is for you. It suggests a film that leans on dread and a limited number of violent moments rather than sustained gore, which would fit Savage's earlier work: Host was a ghost story told entirely through a video call, and The Boogeyman, adapted from Stephen King, was rated PG-13.

It opens against The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to The Social Network, and the Western remake Angel and the Badman, with Verity entering its second weekend. No reviews have been published yet, so there are no critic scores to report. Scores and a FilmRated Score will be added once reviews are out.

Original coverage: Other Mommy opens October 9, 2026