Jessica Chastain is returning to the horror genre in the first trailer for Other Mommy, and it's already terrifying cinema audiences.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Ursula, a mother whose sinister doppelgänger begins tormenting her eight-year-old daughter, Bela, played by Arabella Olivia Clark.
Released by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, the trailer introduces the mysterious figure known as Other Mommy, who emerges from Bela's closet and gradually becomes an increasingly dangerous presence.
In one particularly eerie moment, the creature asks the young girl: "Can I go inside your heart?"
As the trailer progresses, Bela struggles to tell whether she is speaking to her real mother or the terrifying impostor.
The preview has been shown exclusively before screenings of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and audiences have taken to social media to share just how frightening they found it.
One viewer wrote: "I was waiting for 'The Odyssey' to start and then Jessica Chastain’s head and contorted body popped out from under a table and I jump a foot in the air."
Another admitted: "I like to think I’m desensitized to most jump scares. That fu–kin table scene totally got me."
I like to think I’m desensitized to most jump scares. That fuckin table scene totally got me 😅😅😬
— Mr. Christopher (@XmarkstheHart) July 21, 2026
Others joked that the trailer was almost too frightening for a morning cinema visit, with one person writing: "What in the name of hell was that Other Mommy trailer right before The Odyssey played."
Another added: "There’s literally no reason for us to be jumpscared Jessica Chastain at 10am, like half of my theater got spooked."
According to the official synopsis, the film follows:
Jessica Chastain. DFree, Shutterstock
"Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity that comes out of her closet. The presence, who she calls ‘Other Mommy,’ becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family."
Other Mommy is based on the New York Times bestselling novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. It is directed by Rob Savage, whose previous horror credits include Host and The Boogeyman, with a screenplay by Nathan Elston.
The cast also includes Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed and Karen Allen.
The film marks Chastain's first horror role since It: Chapter Two in 2019. She has previously appeared in acclaimed genre films including Take Shelter, Mama and Crimson Peak.
Other Mommy is set to arrive in cinemas on 9 October.
