Other Mommy Director Confirms New Jessica Chastain Horror Movie Might Set a Jump Scare Record

Horror movies are known and renowned for their ability to make us feel fear, and often get ranked by how often (and how well) they can do it. It's become an annual routine for one new horror film release to get labeled 'scariest in years' during its marketing and promotional run. This year, that badge of honor is going to a highly anticipated new film, which stars Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain in one of her wildest roles yet. Videos by ComicBook.com Other Mommy is the new psychological horror film from Rob Savage (The Boogeyman), based on Josh Malerman's 2024 horror novel, Incidents Around the House. The premise of the film is that a young girl named Bela (Arabello Olivia Clark) finds that an evil entity is impersonating her mother and terrorizing her family. The first trailer for Other Mommy went viral for how it delivered a major jump-scare moment, and if new rumors are true, the full film could have a record number of scares in store for viewers. Other Mommy Director Teases Why His Film Is the Scariest of The Year Play video Rob Savage sat down to talk with EW about Other Mommy and was confident in letting viewers know that the freaky scene from the trailer (Chastain's 'Other Mommy pretzel-folded under a kitchen table) was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the scares. When asked specifically how many jump scares there are in the film, Savage answered, 'Oh, like 50. It depends on what you refer to as a jump scare. Jump scares get s— on a lot. And I think crafting a really great jump scare can sometimes happen without the kind of quiet…quiet…loud sting that everyone associates with jump scares. It plays the hits of every aspect of horror. It's full of dread, it's full of set pieces, but it's all steeped in this deep paranoia where you're wondering if what you're seeing is reality, if who you're seeing is Ursula or Other Mommy, if you can trust any of the grown-up characters.' 'Paranoia' is the key word here: That trailer for Other Mommy put a shiver down my spine because it flips the concept of a mother being equated with safety, love, and protection in a way that is so primal. It's not hard to imagine the film will be a constant guessing game as to which version of the mother, Ursula (Chastain), we are seeing onscreen. The trailer also made it seem like Other Mommy can pull off some Pennywise-style moments of bending normal reality into some kind of dark surrealist nightmare. The combination of horror tropes could really result in a rapid-fire barrage of scares. Other Mommy Could Actually Win 'Scariest Movie' (If the Numbers Are Correct) Universal – Blumhouse – Atomic Monster Assuming Rob Savage isn't just boasting for the sake of it, and that 50 jump scares claim is true, then Other Mommy really would be in contention for an actual horror movie record. The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia is widely credited as the horror film with the most jump scares, with a count of approximately 32. Of course, it's a pretty dubious list that also includes Extraterrestrial (30 jump scares), Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (29), and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (29). None of those films are even considered cult classics, making it questionable whether there is even an accurate way to count jump scares that actually work, as opposed to just counting the attempts. Other Mommy will be in theaters on October 9th.