This 'terrifying' trailer has 'The Odyssey' moviegoers losing sleep

Melina Khan, USA TODAYWed, July 22, 2026 at 12:39 PM UTC

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Some people seeing "The Odyssey" in theaters are being spooked by another movie entirely: "Other Mommy."

Viewers of Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated film based on the epic by Homer got a first look at "Other Mommy," an upcoming horror film starring Jessica Chastain.

In "Other Mommy," 8-year-old Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home who has an uncanny resemblance to her own mother.

Chastain stars in a dual role as Bela's mother and as "Other Mommy." Jay Duplass plays Daddo, Bela's father. It is set for release on Oct. 9.

The film, which is directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by "Succession" writer Nathan Elston, is based on Josh Malerman's novel "Incidents Around the House." James Wan, director of "The Conjuring" and "Insidious," is also a producer.

Universal released the trailer for "Other Mommy" on July 21, but not before moviegoers waiting to see "The Odyssey" – which had a record-breaking opening weekend at the box office – saw it first.

"'Other Mommy' was an insane way to almost choke on my popcorn before the Odyssey started," one person wrote on X.Scroll down to watch the trailer.

People call 'Other Mommy' trailer 'absolutely terrifying'

Viewers of "The Odyssey" quickly took to social media to share their thoughts on the "Other Mommy" trailer shown during theater previews.

"Alright so I just got out of watching 'The Odyssey' and my main takeaway from the movie is that there's a trailer beforehand called 'Other Mommy' with Jessica Chastain with the creepiest jump scare I've ever seen in my life," TikTok user Lucas Dolengowski said in a video that has been viewed more than 2.4 million times to date.

Barstool Sports personality Eric Hubbs wrote on X, "My biggest takeaway from The Odyssey isn’t anything about The Odyssey itself. It’s the horror movie trailer that they showed right before for ‘Other Mommy’ that won’t allow me to sleep for the foreseeable future."

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Another person wrote on X: "Just got back from seeing 'The Odyssey,' but I can’t even talk about it because…The trailer for that 'Other Mommy' horror movie was absolutely terrifying. I thought it was a commercial at first. Left me with a chill down my spine."

"The way people during my two screenings of THE ODYSSEY this weekend were screaming during this trailer for #OtherMommy…." someone else said.

Horror lovers are excited

Not everyone is spooked, though.

Some horror genre fans said they are looking forward to the film, especially after the hype around the trailer.

"Just finished the trailer for 'Other Mommy.' I will be at the theater front and center," TikTok user @malcolmdwaincarte said.

Another TikTok user wrote, "All of y'all talking about the 'Other Mommy' trailer. I wanna see it so bad but I have no interest in seeing Odyssey, as horror is my fave genre."

Someone else said the trailer was not as scary as people made it out to be.

"I forget sometimes that not everyone is a horror fan with a high horror tolerance," TikTok user @ellanagel said.

Watch 'Other Mommy' trailer

"Other Mommy" is set to be released in theaters on Oct. 9. Watch the trailer from Universal Pictures below:

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Other Mommy' trailer gives 'The Odyssey' watchers a jump scare

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”