'Other Mommy' Proves Horror Has A New Stephen King
Even if you're not a horror fan, the success of 2026's Obsession, Backrooms, and Hokum probably hasn't escaped you—or your algorithm. Just like 2025 saw Weapons and Sinners become pop culture phenomena. What do they all have in common? They're original horror movies, meaning they aren't remakes or sequels. Now, Other Mommy (2026) seems destined to follow in their footsteps.
Just the reactions from the trailer alone suggest Other Mommy is tapping into audiences' hunger for original horror with unique concepts. The good news is the book Other Mommy is based on, Incidents Around the House at Nighttime, is just one of author Josh Malerman's many books. And while we all love Stephen King, many of us want new horror authors to get a chance in the spotlight, rather than another needless remake of Carrie. (The 1976 movie is already perfect!)
'Other Mommy' Holds All Kinds Of Thematic Potential
Before Other Mommy, Malerman's novel Bird Box got the movie treatment by Netflix in 2018, and Bird Box Barcelona followed in 2023. The original film spawned no shortage of memes (Sandra Bullock with her blindfold was a fan favorite); however, it also was rather divisive. As someone who read all of Bird Box in a single day, the movie didn't hold a candle to Malerman's writing. Still, it highlighted Malerman's tension-heavy horror style and capacity to think outside the box.
While Other Mommy has been drawing comparisons to Coraline for obvious reasons, it's a wholly unique story that leans into much darker themes than Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel. Here, Malerman uses the doppelgänger to tell a layered story about trauma from a child's perspective. And I'm sure we can all relate to knowing different sides of the same person. Whether that's from addiction, mental health, or something else is up for debate in Malerman's book, which is what makes the potential of Other Mommy so intriguing.
After all, this is what made Obsession so popular. The movie forces you to think, to question, and to decide what each scene means. Other Mommy has the potential to do the same, especially if they stick close to Malerman's source material.
Josh Malerman Has A Bibliography Perfect For Adaptation
Again, Stephen King is undoubtedly the King of Horror, but when we start remaking his work just for the sake of dollars, people can get fatigued. Audiences, especially Gen Z, are pushing for original content, and Malerman already has quite the backlog to go through.
While not every one of his books might work for the big screen, some feel like sure hits. Unbury Carol, for instance, is a super weird, super unique story with horror-Western vibes, which movies like Bone Tomahawk (2015) have proved is an underrated genre mash-up we need more of. Likewise, Inspection is another Malerman story with movie or even miniseries potential. More akin to a dystopian thriller than straight horror, this book chronicles a chilling social experience where 26 girls and boys are raised in separate but identical facilities where they're groomed to become geniuses. However, the severe social isolation leads a boy and a girl to make contact and question everything.
The potential doesn't end there because there's also A House at the Bottom of a Lake, Black Mad Wheel, and Pearl, the latter of which is dripping in fun creature feature appeal for B-movie fans. So, if Other Mommy has you properly freaked out, consider checking out the book—and if that piques your interest, check out Malerman's other work. There are a lot of horror authors deserving of bigger success across TV and film, and Malerman is certainly one of them.
