‘Other Mommy’ trailer is loaded with creepy J-horror vibes that'll make your skin crawl

Last week, I told you that Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy trailer was playing exclusively in front of The Odyssey and that I thought we were looking at one of the biggest horror movies of the year.

Now it’s finally here.

Universal has officially released the first trailer for Rob Savage‘s supernatural horror film, and after watching it again, I’m doubling down: this thing looks incredible.

Based on Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House, Other Mommy follows Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home strained by marital problems, who comes face-to-face with a sinister entity emerging from her closet. The presence, which she calls “Other Mommy,” becomes an increasingly terrifying threat to both Bela and her family.

The film stars Jessica Chastain (It Chapter Two), Jay Duplass (Transparent), Arabella Olivia Clark (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere) and Dichen Lachman (Severance), with James Wan producing alongside Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.

The trailer opens innocently enough with Bela sneaking ice cream for lunch before her mom, played by Chastain, catches her. Their playful conversation quickly turns unsettling as “Mommy” begins asking increasingly bizarre questions, including whether Bela remembers where she came from. From there, the footage descends into a nightmare of doppelgängers, distorted body language, and one absolutely monstrous scare that got my entire theater when I first saw it.

What impressed me most is that this doesn’t look like another “the kid is the only one who knows” horror movie. The entire family seems to recognize something is terribly wrong, immediately raising the stakes.

The trailer also wears its J-horror influences proudly. I couldn’t stop thinking about Ju-on: The Grudge and Uzumaki as the tension builds, but Rob Savage gives it a slick, modern edge that feels distinctly his own. If Host made you a believer, Other Mommy looks like it could be his best film yet.

Watch the trailer below and tell me I’m wrong.

Oh, and check out the first official poster that has allllll the Smile energy.

Other Mommy opens exclusively in theaters on October 9.

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