Kahani (Premise)
Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) 8 saal ki bachchi hai, jiske ghar me maa-baap ke rishte me tanav chal raha hai. Ek raat uske closet se ek sinister entity nikalti hai — jo dikhti bilkul uski apni maa jaisi hai. Bela use “Other Mommy” bulati hai. Shuru me ye presence ajeeb sa lagav dikhati hai, baar-baar ek hi sawal poochti hai: kya wo Bela ke dil ke andar aa sakti hai? Lekin Bela ke inkaar ke baad entity ke roop badalte hain — wo zyada aggressive, zyada khatarnak hoti jaati hai, aur poore parivaar ki suraksha daav par lag jaati hai. Jessica Chastain dual role me hain: ek taraf pyaar karne wali maa Ursula, doosri taraf uska chehra pehne ek demonic doppelganger.
Film Josh Malerman ke 2024 ke bestselling novel “Incidents Around the House” par based hai — wahi Malerman jinhone “Bird Box” likhi thi, jisse Netflix par badi hit film bani thi. Novel ko horror readers ne kaafi saraha tha, isi liye adaptation ki expectations zyada thi. Producer ke taur par James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) ka naam judna bhi ummeedon ko hawa de gaya. Tagline rakhi gayi “Your Mommy Won’t Save You” — sunne me catchy, lekin film is vaade ko poora nahi kar paati.
Performances
Is film ka agar koi ek bachav hai to wo Jessica Chastain hain. Oscar-winner hone ke baavjood unhone is B-grade setup me poori imaandaari se kaam kiya — maa ki fikr aur entity ki khatarnak adaakari dono me farak saaf dikhta hai. Rotten Tomatoes ke critics consensus ne bhi unki performance ko “valiant turn” kaha, jo buri film me akeli roshni hai. Child actor Arabella Olivia Clark apni umr ke hisaab se solid hain — dar aur uljhan dono bhav unke chehre par aate hain. Jay Duplass (pita Russ) aur Dichen Lachman (exorcist Lois) apne limited scope me theek hain, lekin script unhe zyada karne ka mauka nahi deti. Karen Allen (dadi Ruth) ek experienced maujoodgi laati hain. Masla acting ka nahi, material ka hai.
Direction Aur Technical Side
Rob Savage ne pandemic-lockdown hit “Host” se horror me naam kamaya tha, aur producer ke taur par James Wan (Saw, Insidious) ka naam juda hai — expectations isi liye zyada thi. Lekin critics ke mutabik Savage ne saari energy visual onslaught aur jump scares banane me laga di, kahani ki dekhbhaal chhoot gayi. Nathan Elston ki screenplay Josh Malerman ke acclaimed novel par based hai, lekin adaptation me novel ki psychological gehraai translate nahi hui. Film 93 minute ki hai — ye uska plus hai, kheenchtaan nahi hai — lekin kai reviewers ka kehna hai ke trailer ne hi saare “golden moments” dikha diye the, to theatre me dar bacha hi nahi. Motherhood aur parenthood par kuch kehne ki koshish hai, lekin In Review Online jaise critics ke mutabik film is vishay par “kuch intelligent nahi kehti”. Technical craft theek hai, lekin scares ka asar feeka padta hai.
Critics Aur Audience Kya Keh Rahe Hain
Ye 2026 ki sabse buri tarah se review hui mainstream filmon me se ek hai. Rotten Tomatoes par 81 critics me se sirf 16% positive (average 4.5/10), Metacritic par 39/100 (“generally unfavorable”), aur CinemaScore D+ — matlab theatre se nikli audience ne bhi ise nakar diya. PostTrak par sirf 47% positive, aur sirf 33% ne ise recommend karne ki baat kahi. NYT ne ise “sometimes-creepy, sometimes-hilarious schlockfest” kaha, aur In Review Online ne to ise “regurgitative, retrograde, and cruel — and, worst of all, entirely forgettable” tak keh diya. Ek aam shikayat ye rahi ke trailer ne film ke saare best moments pehle hi dikha diye the — Brazil ke ek Metacritic user review ne bhi yehi dard bayaan kiya.
Aur phir bhi — box office par film #1 rahi: 3,365 theatres se $27.5M domestic opening (Friday $12.6M, Saturday $8.95M, Sunday $5.95M), $17.6M international, kul $45.1M worldwide. $19M budget ke hisaab se ye pehle weekend me hi profitable ho gayi, aur ye Chastain ki “It: Chapter Two” (2019) ke baad sabse badi opening hai. SlashFilm ne sahi likha: horror is decade ka sabse critic-proof genre hai. Universal ne critics ko film Thursday night tak dikhayi hi nahi — jo studio ke apne confidence par sawal uthata hai. Lekin D+ CinemaScore wali filmon ka itihaas kehta hai ke second weekend me giravat tez hogi; The Playlist ne pehle hi likh diya ke sequel ki ummeed mat rakhna.
Kiske Liye Hai Ye Film
Seedhi baat: ye film sirf unke liye hai jo horror me “so-bad-it’s-fun” wali category enjoy karte hain, ya Jessica Chastain ke die-hard fans hain. Agar aap daraawni, sochne par majboor karne wali horror (jaise Host ya The Boogeyman, dono Savage ki pehli filmein) ki ummeed me ja rahe hain, to nirasha hogi. Bachchon ke saath bilkul mat jaiye — R-rated content hai. Aur agar aap weekend par ek hi film dekh sakte hain, to isi Friday ki doosri releases par nazar daaliye — Other Mommy theatre ka ticket aur 93 minute dono ka risk hai, jo sirf curiosity par lene layak hai.
