Rob Savage’s ‘Incidents Around the House’ Adaptation Titled ‘Other Mommy’, Lead Star Revealed

Director Rob Savage (The Boogeyman, Host) is bringing Bird Box author Josh Malerman’s unsettling novel Incidents Around the House to the big screen—and now the chilling tale has an official title and lead star.

The film, now titled Other Mommy, will star eight-year-old Arabella Olivia Clark (The Housemaid) in the lead role of Bela, Deadline confirms. Produced by Universal and Atomic Monster, the supernatural horror story centers on Bela, a young girl caught in the emotional fallout of her parents’ crumbling marriage. But when a sinister entity emerges from her closet—whispering the eerie question, “Can I go inside your heart?”—her world begins to spiral into terrifying new depths.

As Bela refuses the invitation, the being she dubs “Other Mommy” becomes more aggressive, forcing her to fight not just for herself, but for the safety of her entire family. Told from Bela’s perspective, Other Mommy flips the haunted house formula on its head, blending childhood trauma with supernatural dread.

Clark leads a cast that includes Jessica Chastain (IT: Chapter Two, Crimson Peak), Jay Duplass (The Creep Tapes), and Dichen Lachman (Severance, Jurassic World: Dominion).

Succession writer Nathan Elston penned the script, adapting Malerman’s novel for the screen. The project is being produced by Atomic Monster and Blumhouse in association with Malerman’s own Spin a Black Yarn. James Wan is producing, with Alayna Glasthal overseeing for Atomic Monster. Executive producers include Rob Savage, Josh Malerman, Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Macdara Kelleher, and Ryan Lewis.

Published by Del Rey in summer 2024, Incidents Around the House was a Bram Stoker Award nominee and Locus Award finalist. Horror author Grady Hendrix called it “the monster that lives inside your closet.”

With Other Mommy, that monster is about to come out.