Cook review: You’re better off finding horror entertainment other than ‘Other Mommy’ - OurQuadCities

There's a moment in Other Mommy that lingers with you: Jessica Chastain, who plays the film's sinister demonic entity, stares blankly at Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), the 7-year-old girl whose trust she's trying to win. Her eyes are wide, painfully pulled back and held with an unsettling restraint, while a large, unnatural smile curls across her mouth. The Other Mommy stares at Bela for a prolonged beat, her big eyes and plastered grin stuck in place as she politely asks Bela, "Can I go into your heart? " Chastain's new film, which arrived in theaters on Friday, isn't the first to instill fear with a devious grin (see Smile and Smile 2) — it's merely the most recent. Why can such a simple facial expression send chills down viewers' spines? Microexpression expert Annie Särnblad says smiles can quickly turn creepy when they appear disconnected from emotion. "It's almost like finding delight or joy in horror," Särnblad told Yahoo. "Our nervous system senses that something is off and that this is some kind of mask. "  Decoding the face What makes Chastain's facial expression as Other Mommy terrifying is the contrasting cues it sends.

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