’Other Mommy’ Isn't Inspired By ‘Coraline’ - But It Is Based On Another Book

Before The Odyssey (2026) started playing in theaters, viewers were treated to a trailer that scared them to death. Other Mommy (2026) stars Jessica Chastain as a caring mother and a mother figure that's something else entirely.

From the moment her role as the Other Mommy shows her in a contorted position, smiling at a table, the audience was terrified and fascinated with our JustWatch writer, Gissane Sophia, being one of the scare's many victims. The movie’s plot also raised questions about whether this film shares DNA with a beloved fantasy film, Coraline (2009). But the truth makes the movie even scarier than fans would've expected.

What Is ‘Other Mommy’ Inspired By?

For many, the Other Mommy trailer is people's first exposure to a story that is inspired by a book titled Incidents Around the House by Bird Box author Josh Malerman. The story is told by a young girl who is constantly talking to an entity that eventually takes the form of her mother.

As the entity grows closer to the young girl, she begins to leave her room and cause trouble for her and her family. But both the book and the trailer hide the dark truth of the Other Mommy's true intentions. The trailer itself gives us at least two good jump scares and does an amazing job of showing just enough to get people interested. Even showing it before The Odyssey was a bold choice that worked out.

It's easy to see why Coraline would inspire the film, but instead, it plays on similar ideas of the dark sides of parents that children don't always see and how, in some cases, this can be life-threatening. That said, the fantasy aspects calling back to the Laika Studios film are hard to miss.

‘Other Mommy’s ‘Coraline’ Comparisons Enhance the Film

To get excited for what's coming in Other Mommy, you have to explore the comparisons to Coraline that have had audiences thinking they are connected in some way. The first and most obvious being the evil maternal figures. In Coraline, the Other Mother is really a spider-like being who traps young children in a "perfect world" that is really a trap to lure them in and eat them.

The intentions of the Other Mommy aren't like the Other Mother, but the name and spider-like nature are hard to miss. There's also the fact that the Other Mommy preys on young children, specifically the one in the film. But these comparisons actually help Other Mommy in a big way because otherwise, this film could've been forgotten.

For starters, many of the children who grew up watching Coraline are now adults seeing the trailer for Other Mommy, and those people who always wanted a live-action Coraline now have the next best thing. The familiarity and curiosity are enough to reel in that demographic, as well as fans of the book. But it's the difference between them that will help the films stand together as equals.

‘Other Mommy’ Takes on a Much Darker Metaphor

The direct inspirations for Incidents Around the House aren't known. Still, the concept of a darker version of a parent terrorizing their child feels very much like a commentary on mental illness. Unfortunately, all families have problems, and some are much worse than others; in the case of mental illness, this could cause a parent to change without a moment's notice.

In the case of Other Mommy, this idea takes on a very real form with Jessica Chastain playing both mothers. As the young girl's real mom, it's clear that she's not chasing the image of perfection and is a normal person, while the Other Mommy evokes a sense of what the entity thinks a mother should be. But when things go south, that facade drops.

It creates serious suspicion and tension that mirrors the struggles many have gone through with parents who could change their demeanor at any moment and even be dangerous to themselves and others. Other Mommy will be a terrifying film and will surely divest itself from the Coraline comparisons early on, but the one thing that will stick are the deeper metaphors. The film may have a creepy monster, but the meaning behind it will always be much scarier.