By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.9
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Starring: Alakina Mann | Christopher Eccleston | Elaine Cassidy | Fionnula Flanagan | James Bentley | Nicole Kidman
Original language title: Los Otros
Country: france, spain, united_states
Year: 2001
Running time: 101
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/reference
Howard says: “I LOVE a good ghost story and have been looking forward to seeing this for a few weeks. Thankfully, none of my friends who had seen it gave it away.
“I thought the entire cast was terrific especially the kids. Didn’t the girl who played Anne look like a very young Drew Barrymore? Or was it just me?
“I’ve had a couple of people tell me they thought it was too long. I disagree. I loved the length and could have watched it for a little longer actually had it maintain my interest the way the final cut did. I, too, had several theories about what was going on. My first was that the children were vampires because of their condition. THAT was a nice red herring because it completely threw me off to what was really going on.
“My favorite part was connecting the true identity of the servants (Fionnula Flanagan was wonderful as Mrs. Mills) back to the conversation about the ‘goodies’ and the ‘baddies’ and Anne asking, ‘How do you know who the goodies and the baddies are?’ Great foreshadowing. I love the pace, too. Give me a slow, mood piece any day over the wham, bam of today’s highly kinetic Hollywood tripe. This ranks right up there with SHREK, MEMENTO, THE DISH, and MOULIN ROUGE in my book.” 4 cats.
Michael says: “Alejandro Amenábar made a splash with his mind-boggling, Spanish-language film from 1997, ABRE LOS OJOS (OPEN YOUR EYES). That film caught the attention of a certain Tom Cruise, who purchased the rights to the American re-make (coming out later this year, directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Cruise and Cruz… no comment). Cruise’s production company also tapped Amenábar to write and direct a vehicle for his then-wife, Nicole Kidman. The result is the spooky, effective haunted house flick, THE OTHERS.
“Between this film and SESSION 9, I have fully satisfied by craving for ‘horror’ films. This is my type of scary flick… not too gory, with just the right amount of suspense. (Okay, SESSION 9 was a little gory, but it didn’t bother me for some reason…) THE OTHERS is truly a classic haunted house film, with quite a twist. Kidman is terrific as Grace, a frazzled woman living in a huge mansion on an island off the coast of England with her two children. Her husband went off to fight in World War II over a year ago and there has been no word. Her children are allergic to light, keeping Grace a prisoner of a perpetually darkened home. Enter three mysterious people who come to serve as the gardener, nanny and housekeeper for the harried Grace. If that weren’t disturbing enough, there are those pesky ‘intruders’ that only Grace’s daughter seems to be able to see…
“This is classic haunted house stuff, and it’s a LOT of fun. Spooky sounds, possessions, dark secrets a neat reversal of the usual fear of the dark convention… the fear of light. Again, I thought Kidman did a terrific job, and the actors playing her children were truly effective. Fionnula Flanagan (WAKING NED DEVINE, SOME MOTHER’S SON) is wonderful as the mysterious nanny, and I was pleased to see Elaine Cassidy (FELICIA’S JOURNEY) again as the mute housekeeper. Don’t be fooled by the wide release into the chain theatres, THE OTHERS is a classy and fun movie that will give you goosebumps. 4 cats”
Bob says: “THE OTHERS is creepy in a way that just isn’t done much anymore: the tension comes out of situations, dialogue and ideas rather than attempts at shocking the audience (well, most of the time). This is the sort of writing that was used on the Twilight Zone.
“I didn’t actually time it, but I think that apart from the opening credits, there was no extra-diagetic music (in fact, no music of any kind) at all for the first half hour of the film. That’s partly explained by the fact that Kidmans character is, for the most part, in control of her surroundings at the beginning of the film, thus keeping light and sound (and truth) out, but I think it’s also notable as something that sets this film apart from its contemporaries of the genre all of the atmosphere is built by the drama itself without the need for musical cues, and when they finally do start kicking in, I think that gives them greater power.
“On top of that, I like the fact that everything was left almost completely open to interpretation until the very end. I spent the whole film building up a pretty good, although completely wrong, theory of what was actually going on, and when the truth was finally revealed, I may have felt like a complete dolt, but I was very pleased with the way the Id been played.”
Kevin says: “Nicole Kidman is perfection; James Bentley and Alakina Mann who play her children as excellent as well. Very tightly written and directed by Amenábar. The end really smacks you hard; it’s gut-wrenching. And, visually speaking the movie is beautiful. This is my favorite film of the year so far.”
Scot says: “I loved the liberal sprinkling of silly-sounding dialogue throughout the film. Rather than dragging the film into camp, I think it really points up the main characters’ innocence. It also lets some steam out of the suspense now and then so Amenábar can build it up again.
“Who can’t help but giggle during a good old fashioned ghost story?”
Tim says: I really enjoyed this movie, and while I certainly thought the photo album was really creepy, it was accompanied by what I thought was a rather goofy line: ‘Oh, and there are group photos!!’ Maybe it was intended to be funny, I don’t know. Regardless, very cool movie. 4 cats
Nathaniel says: “This new ghost story begins with a close up of Nicole Kidman screaming her lungs out. It’s a strange but eventually rich way to begin a film that immediately gets quiet. THE OTHERS tells the story of Grace, an uptight and unhinged mother of two whose husband disappeared during World War II. Her children (terrific child actors both) are suffering from a mysterious allergy and can’t tolerate the sunlight. Grace can’t tolerate the noise. It gives her intense headaches. Everyone in the house, including three suspicious new servants, is trapped by individual ailments and by the blinding omnipresent fog surrounding the manor. It’s very quiet and very dark, and that much more for unnerving for the rest of the film.The set-up for these perfectly cinematic conceits is some of the most assured expositional filmmaking I’ve seen in a long time. Ten minutes in and the solid groundwork for a clever haunted house thriller is out of the way.”
For Nathaniel’s complete review: “http://www.members.tripod.com/filmbitch/Reviews/others”
Laura says: “I really liked Alejandro Amenabar’s last film, OPEN YOUR EYES, which is being remade now by Cameron Crowe as VANILLA SKY.
“His first English-language film, THE OTHERS is a nice, old fashioned, well made ghost story although it’s twist is a bit too reminiscent of another film from the past couple of years… The kids are terrific in it.” 3 1/2 cats
For Laura’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/theothers.htm”