Other Mommy book vs movie: the novel’s ending is far darker (spoilers)

Spoiler warning: this article reveals the endings of both the film and the book.

Other Mommy is based on Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, and the book ends far darker. In the film, young Bela defeats Other Mommy by refusing to let it into her heart, and the family survives. In the book, the entity takes over Bela’s body, she’s trapped in the place it came from, and her family doesn’t make it. The film chose hope. The book chose horror.

For our review of the film, read Other Mommy: the horror movie critics hated and audiences watched.

What book is Other Mommy based on?

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, the author of Bird Box. The adaptation was developed under the book’s title before being renamed Other Mommy (JoBlo).

How does the Other Mommy movie end?

Bela keeps refusing the entity’s request to enter her heart, and that refusal is what beats it. She and both her parents survive. The final moments hint that she’ll never fully trust her mother, Ursula, again, since Jessica Chastain plays both the mother and the entity (CinemaBlend).

How does the book end?

Much worse. As reported by CinemaBlend and Creepy Catalog, the entity gets what it wants. It takes over Bela’s body, and Bela is left trapped in the purgatory it came from. Along the way, it kills her Grandma Ruth and her parents.

What else is different between the book and the film?

• Who tells the story: the book is narrated entirely by eight-year-old Bela, in the present tense. The film can’t fully stay inside her head.
• The monster: the book describes a misshapen, hairy thing with a huge mouth. The film gives it Chastain’s face, which makes it a story about a mother, not just a monster.
• New scares: the ball pit scene isn’t in the book. Screenwriter Nathan Elston added it when he adapted the novel (Express Tribune).

Should the film have used the book’s ending?

This is Pylcrow opinion. Yes, probably. Reviews have been hardest on the finale (Fangoria called the film “a promising idea with a wildly uneven execution”), and the softer ending is a big reason why. Horror about a child being hunted by something wearing her mother’s face makes a promise. The book keeps it. The film backs away.

There’s a fair counter-argument: an ending where a child is possessed and her parents die is very hard to sell to a wide audience. The film’s version is about a kid learning to say no, which is a message, not just a scare. It’s just not the scariest version of the story.

Why is a child narrator scarier on the page?

Because you only know what Bela knows. In the book, you can’t step outside her view to see the adults’ side, so every strange noise in the house is as big and confusing to you as it is to an eight-year-old. A camera always shows a bit more. That one difference explains a lot of why readers find the book more frightening.

Frequently asked questions about Other Mommy, book vs movie

Is Other Mommy based on a book?

Yes, Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House.

Does Bela survive in the Other Mommy book?

Not in a normal sense. The entity takes over her body and she’s trapped in another realm.

Do the parents die in Other Mommy?

In the film, no. In the book, yes.

Is the ball pit scene in the book?

No. It was written for the film.

What should you read next?

Read our Other Mommy review. For another adaptation with big changes from the book, see our Verity costume guide.

Sources: CinemaBlend, Creepy Catalog, Express Tribune, Fangoria.