There are few actresses in the business doing it like Jessica Chastain. The Academy Award winner has been known to give powerhouse performances in prestige dramas, but she’s also a bit of a genre queen.
Chastain has starred in several horror movies throughout her career. From “Mama” to “It Chapter Two” to “Crimson Peak,” she loves to take a break from Oscar fare to scare audiences. Her latest horror film is titled “Other Mommy,” which is based on the novel “Incidents Around the House.”
Earlier in the year, the trailer for “Other Mommy” went viral thanks to Chastain’s creepy facial acting, and now she’s explaining how she achieved the terrifying look.
Chastain Explains ‘Other Mommy’ Smile
For her role in “Other Mommy,” Chastain has to wear two faces. There’s the real mother and then the Other Mommy. Both roles required very different acting approaches.
To help differentiate the Other Mommy from the real mother, Chastain developed a very creepy smile. She appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and showed off how she achieved a “tense” smile and a “painful” smile.
Chastain even had tears going down her face on a whim and immediately snapped back into talk show mode. She has already proven to be one of the best actresses working today, but she doesn’t even need to work herself up to get into character. Even if the movie isn’t of high quality, she still brings her A-game.
More Details on ‘Other Mommy’
“Other Mommy” is one of the few big horror movies releasing during the Halloween season. Thanks to the fact that it’s based on a popular book, there’s a lot of excitement around it. The terrifying first trailer also got fans excited about it.
The film is about a mysterious creature that can make itself look nearly identical to Chastain’s character Ursula. It does this to trick Ursula’s daughter Bela into trusting her. It’s a story that’s ripe for scares. Chastain explained why she thought the premise was effective.
“I think there’s something about the one safe harbor for a child should be their parents, and that’s the scariest thing,” Chastain told SYFY Wire. “We all can remember what it was like to be a child, and then to not know what we can trust, and what is the truth and what’s authentic, and where is the safe place to be.”
Horror fans eager for a fast-paced film will be happy to know that “Other Mommy” is back with jump scares, according to director Rob Savage.
“Oh, like 50,” Savage told Entertainment Weekly. “It depends on what you refer to as a jump scare.”
Now, some horror fans may roll their eyes at that. A lot of fans have soured on cheap jump scares over the years, but Savage believes they are still really effective when done right.
“Jump scares get (expletive) on a lot,” Savage added. “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.”
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Jessica Chastain Shows How She Achieved ‘Painful’ Transformation For ‘Other Mommy’