Fans slam ‘rushed and lazy’ adaptation of beloved horror novel

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A brand new horror film starring Jessica Chastain has been met with swift backlash, mere hours after its release into UK cinemas. The actress stars in an adaptation of the book Incidents From Around the House, by Bird Box author Josh Malerman. Directed by Rob Savage (Host/Dashcam) its story follows a similar template – young Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) falls victim to a demonic entity living inside her home. Taking the form of Bela’s mommy (Jessica Chastain) the once beloved imaginary friend (Jessica Chastain’t) starts to become nasty when spurned, spurring the family to action. Retitled Other Mommy for the screen, it condenses the novel into 94 minutes of film… jettisoning all the subtlety and spook which made it such a compelling read. Needless to say, fans of the book haven’t taken it well. Jessica Chastain stars in Other Mommy (Picture: Universal Pictures) Arabella Olivia Clark plays little Bela (Picture: Universal Pictures) Taking to Reddit in the wake of the film’s release, fans shared their thoughts on the adaptation – with mccarrie999 describing it as ‘rushed and thrown together so lazily.’ ‘I wanted to love it but it was straight a**,’ commented MarijunaWeed419. Noting that they had enjoyed the first half, jazzberry76 said that the film drops off after the introduction of a certain character, with an ending described as a ‘travesty.’ ‘This movie was kind of a mess,’ said Malicious_raspberry, adding: ‘It starts pretty big and then has nowhere to go. The most effective scare is in the first fifteen minutes.’ Meanwhile, JailTheFrogs described it as ‘the worst movie of the year,’ while lagartixas called it ‘boring and repetitive.’ ‘They changed too much from the book. It felt really disjointed and rushed,’ agreed jrabion24. Other Mommy - a pale imitation of a great horror novel Review by Joel Harley As a great man once said: ‘Subtext is for cowards.’ It’s an issue Other Mommy doesn’t suffer from. As directed by Rob Savage, this is a dumbed-down, bastardised version of one of the most tightly constructed stories I’ve ever read. Granted, Malerman’s approach doesn’t lend itself to the sort of story Savage wants to tell – crudely blending fairytale with something out of The Conjuring and making a mess of both. Jessica Chastain is the film’s saving grace, even if she’s not in it enough, either as Other Mommy or Ursula Martin, the real one. It’s no wonder Ursula seems so profoundly unhappy, being married to man-child Russ (or ‘Daddo,’ as Bela calls him) and promoted to the real villain of the story. Chastain is effectively creepy as Other Mommy, although the film shoots its beans within the first 15 minutes (all of which you’ve seen in the trailer) and then has nowhere to go. Its one big scare spent, it rushes from one set piece to the next, barely letting the characters breathe. It’s an interesting touch to have the monster revealed so early on, but Savage and screenwriter Nathan Elston struggle to have their characters react in any natural way. This was fine in the book – written from Bela’s perspective, where the adults are more unknowable and elusive – but here there’s nowhere to hide. I’d have disliked Other Mommy even if I didn’t love the book. It’s a clumsy, unscary horror story which doesn’t trust its audience to understand the themes without spelling them out like you’re a child. The one thing it did bother to translate to the screen properly? The word ‘Daddo,’ over and over again. Oh, Mother. Since its release, Other Mommy has debuted to a damning 19% ‘rotten’ on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. This includes FandomWire, who called it a ‘one-trick pony,’ and Dread Central, describing it as a ‘generic funhouse.’ ‘Nothing is scary about Other Mommy,’ said Screen Rant, while Rue Morgue Magazine pointed out that even its creepiest scenes had ‘little to support them dramatically or thematically.’ Variety deemed it to be ‘among the most limp and ineffectual works to grace the screen this year, misfiring in every direction.’ It’s hardly faring much better from the Audience score either, with a 46% Popcornmeter rating on the website from over 500 reviews. Jay Duplass plays laid-back ‘Daddo’ Russ (Picture: Universal Pictures) Speaking on what first drew him to adapt the book, Savage told SciFi Now: ‘I knew I was going to do the movie from four pages in.’ ‘That first scene where Bella’s being put to bed and she says, “Good night, Mummy. Good night, Daddo. Good night, Other Mummy.” I immediately thought, ‘Okay, there’s obviously something here.’ Other Mummy is a great, hooky name and a great character. ‘For years, I’d been looking for a horror character who could potentially become the next iconic villain, following in the tradition of Freddy Krueger or Pennywise: a character with personality and humanity, as well as being absolutely terrifying.’ Other Mommy is out in UK cinemas now. Arrow MORE: Stephen King’s Carrie is incredible – but Amazon’s new series left me furious Arrow MORE: Amazon Prime’s new Carrie adaptation desecrates one of cinema’s best horrors Arrow MORE: ‘Masterpiece’ cult classic film that bombed in the 00s returns to cinemas Switched On Get plugged into the week’s must-watch shows, unmissable moments, and expert reviews with Metro TV Editor Sabrina Barr.