2020 has been a horror year in almost every way. But the only good horror movie that year was Rob Savage’s. Master is a super-edgy (and super-scary) Zoom session film that has declared him one of Britain’s most exciting horror voices. After this, he began even more subversive activities with rapid follow-up. DVRand then adapted Stephen King in his Hollywood studio debut. Boogeyman. Now he’s back and teaming up with another great man – the legendary James Wan – for another big, bombastic fright fest: Another mommy.
Mail-Boogeymanand forced to take a break during the Hollywood strikes, Savage saw horror audiences “hungry for something new and subversive” on their screens. “I knew the next film had to be something louder and something more conventional. And then they sent me this book,” he says. Empire. This book Incidents around the housefrom Bird box by Josh Malerman, in which a young girl encounters her mother’s malignant doppelgänger: The Other Mom. “He’s trying to be something you’re familiar with, someone you’re comfortable with, someone you know, someone you look up to, to protect you,” says Wang, the producer. Be very scared.
Now that Another mommy The trailer has arrived, here’s what Savage and Van had to say Empire about this…
Home Sweet Home
We open in a pleasant home setting: baby Bela (Arabella Olivia Clarke) at home with her mother Ursula (Jessica Chastain). “Bela, seven, is the age when you start to see your parents less as perfect fairy tale characters and more as people, flaws and all,” Savage explains. “As soon as cracks begin to form in Bela’s perception of her parents, that’s where the Other Mommy sneaks in.” (Note: Savage, a true Brit, still pronounces it as “The Other Mummy.”) Prepare for some distinctive psychological fears to surface. “The emotional journey of the mother-daughter story parallels all the different ways Other Momma manipulates, gaslights and escalates Bella and the family throughout the film,” says Savage.
Off the Cha(sta)in
Jessica Chastain has always been a screen star. And horrors are no stranger to her either – see. Motheror IT: Chapter Two. With the dual role of Ursula and Other Mommy, we should be in for something special. “She’s horror royalty,” Savage says. “She comes from a horror background. She loves horror. She understands horror. So being able to play this villainous role, I think she’s going to become an iconic horror villain. She’s able to put so much care and emotion into her role as Ursula, Bela’s mother, and play off those two characters from each other.” Savage is always looking for new horror iconography that can become part of broader popular culture. “With the right actor and the right performance, this could be a Halloween costume,” he says. “It could be something that has a legacy.”
Keeping it real
The trailer allows us to sit in this domestic dynamic for a while as the tension—and the pasta—simmer. And that’s the key to what does Another mommy so scary, according to its director. “The whole thesis of this book is: What if this really happened to you and your family?” says Savage. “What would you actually do? What decisions would you make other than the movie decisions? Real life decisions. What are the consequences and how will it affect the family unit?” This realism is enhanced when played through the eyes of the young protagonist. “Much of the story is seen from the point of view of a young child,” notes Wang. “There’s something almost dreamlike about it. Rob was able to take something fantastical but do it in a way that felt grounded and real.”
Mother’s love
One particularly creepy line from “The Other Mommy” takes center stage here: “Can I come into your heart?” This line has implications for the dark intentions of the creature. “This is a movie that comes down to a decision that Bela has to make,” Savage teases, tiptoeing around spoilers. “The whole film shows this tension between the Other Mom and the mother. Her insidious goal is to try to drive a wedge between Bela and her family. The idea of who you let in – good or bad, family or enemy – is central to the film.” We will say: don’t let Another Mommy into your heart. FINE?
HOLY DAMMIT-
BOOM. We wince violently when we see Other Mommy hiding under the kitchen table, limbs tangled, body contorted. This moment deserves the approval of Wang, the master of jump scares. “Rob really got it,” he beams. “As a producer, I don’t have to do much. Most of what you have to do is choose the right person for the project, and Rob was definitely the right guy.” Despite all the psychological content, Savage promises a terrifying film. “Once it starts, it never stops,” he says. “It breaks all the usual horror beats and rhythms that are associated with the genre. It has some of the most frightening, jump-filled scenes I’ve ever filmed.”
Have a ball
You can’t end the trailer without another big Other Mommy push. Alert to the terrifying creature in the ball pit in the trunk of your car. I mean who doesn’t have Did you have a terrible experience playing ball in your youth? “I was shocked that no one had ever scared balls,” Savage says. “I’m sure now that I’ve said it out loud, someone will say, ‘Well, that 1984 movie…'” It’s an original moment for the film, which was written by Nate Alston, who adapted the novel. “This image, again, I thought could be really bold and really iconic—and also set the standard for a movie that doesn’t look like your average horror movie,” Savage notes. “It’s full of color. We see the world through the eyes of a child. It’s not the gray-green horror palette that audiences are used to.” IN Another mommynowhere is safe.
Another Mom will be in UK cinemas from 9 October.