Fans of the horror genre haven’t been treated with a multitude of ‘serious’ films. This is partly because a lot of people don’t mind to see some dumb teenagers getting hacked to death by a guy in the mask. Studios like it because not only is it cheap but can also rake in some big box office bucks.
However with the Scream franchise ending on a more than mediocre note and the beating the genre got from Scary Movie (and the subsequent own suicide of its sequel) the genre has been kick started back to creating more serious, chilling and scary films with give the audience some credit. Starting, most notably, in 1999 with The Blair Witch Project a film that raked in big cash on a shoestring budget. In the same year came The Sixth Sense. These two films showed that you can have scares with minimal blood, violence and breasts.
The Others can be likened to the aforementioned movies in style. Yet it also harks back to the old fashioned stories of haunted houses, ghosts and creepy goings on. All happening in a slow build up which ultimately leads to a climatic ending.
Its 1945, New Jersey, and Grace (Nicole Kidman) is looking after her two children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bently) who happen to be photosensitive, that is they are allergic to strong light especially sunlight. They live in a secluded part of NJ in a massive house surrounded by woodland. One foggy day (and all days are foggy round there) three people turn up at the door. A kindly old woman, Bertha Mills (Fionnula Flangan) a dithery old bloke, Edmon Tuttle (Eric Sykes) and the young mute Lydia (Elaine Cassidy). Grace employs them as her servants as the other ones had suddenly left all of a sudden.
Things start going all goosepimply when Anne says that she sees ghostly apparitions of a family. Especially a young boy called Victor and an old woman. Grace, a mother who believes in a strict Christian upbringing, will have none of it and believes Anne is just making it up to scare her brother. However she has to question it herself
when she too hears noises. Soon we see Grace’s trim foundations crumbling and insanity reaching her as she slowly comes to terms to the fact that there is something evil in the house.
However The Others is not as simple as just a run of the mill ghost story. There are a multitude of explanations that this film subtly hints at. Could it be that the children themselves are behind all of this because of they way they are brought up and because of their condition. Could it be that Grace is so insane and losing such a grip of reality that she is imagining it herself? Could the three strangers that turned up have anything to do with the goings on in house? These things all come at you and you’ll be trying to guess what its all leading up to. At the same time the film is building up the suspense.
There is not one drop of blood during the entire film. It very often leaves the audience to imagine the terror and, as long as they have one brain cell, it’ll work. However there are other directional effects that really make the film a wee bit chilly.
Luckily the film is at an advantage with how sick the kids are. If they are allergic to the sunlight then it is a perfect chance to close all the curtains and rid the screen of most of the light apart from a few oil lamps and log fires. So when noises start up and Grace slowly walks to where it is just carrying her lamp and the light radiating on her worried face then it’ll be a bigger shock for anything coming up. Also the rule of ‘all doors must be locked if another one is opened’ adds to the chill factor. How, for example, does a piano play when the room is locked? Again the excuse for doing this is to prevent light but it’s really just to make things spookier. Nevertheless it is still quite effective (if it is overlooked to the end of the film). The setting of the film sets the dark undertone. Fog surrounding the large house and surrounded by woodland is pretty much the best place to set a creepy house story. Luckily it doesn’t go overboard with thunder and lightning and a big cliff that it resides on.
Nicole Kidman has shot right up to one of the most notable actresses in the industry this year. Since leaving Tom Cruise she has gone from strength to strength. Her performance in the other blockbuster smash Moulin Rouge was eye opening and compelling to say the least and her she shines all through the movie as the strict and trim mother of the two children. At the time of shooting her marriage to Cruise had broken down this could have caused difficulty with the fact that Cruise himself co-produced the film and Kidman was also uncertain whether she could manage the part. Watching the film proves that she can and if there were any problems in production they don’t show in the film.
Kidman’s protagonist role is played superbly. At first she appears quite cold and wooden in terms of letting any emotion show on her face. This is because of the way her character has coped during the years her husband has been away, thus having to be strong. Yet under the harsh exterior lays a caring, motherly side to her that Kidman controls masterfully. She isn’t a mother in a conventional sense, all sweet and smiling, but the chemistry between her and the children is still believable. This is important in a number of ways. One is to build up the fact that she does indeed care about her children like any mother would and will go to extreme lengths. Yet also to contrast her character as we learn more about her and dark secrets that are said during the film. This, again, can help the film in leading the audience to a supposed conclusion to the events.
Kidman masterfully portrays Grave breaking down, slowly, during the film. Although Grace is aware of the world around her changing and for the worse she does not go manic, screaming all over the place and jumping high at every sound. There is only one part during the film that Grace can be seen as ‘losing it’ and even the climax is well controlled. It is not surprising that Kidman is hotly tipped for an Oscar nomination.
The two other main roles are played by the children. A risky move if ever there was one. Children are notorious for either making films great to watch or making them cringe worthy. Hayley Joel Osmant (well I had to say him) lit up the Sixth Sense and was a real asset, acting on par of adult quality. However more often than not it really doesn’t work at all, this can be seen in The Grinch where Taylor Momsen (Cindy Loo Who) grated with her annoying whining voice. Amenabar took a gamble with putting two children of such a young age into a very serious role.
Luckily it paid off. While sometimes the acting does fall into the category of ‘Say the line and show *this* emotion’, the acting from Mann and Bentley. Mann has the hard part of acting like a right cow but also make the audience feel sympathetic towards her. It works. At times you want to slap her and at others you know she is just a small child going through a traumatic experience. While Mann plays the domineering, hard faced older sister, Bently plays the quiet, and easily frightened younger brother. Luckily he’s a great find and doesn’t end up doing a load of snivelling fits.
Fionnula Flangan has the other main part of the film, getting more screen time than the other servants. Again, like all characters in the film, there are two sides to her. While she acts kind and caring there is a nagging feeling that she’s up to something. Flangan compliments an excellent cast fitting the role perfectly.
The Others is Alejandro Amenabar’s first English language film. And considering he and the rest of the technical crew were Spanish the film has turned out to be a great work of art. Getting back to the old horror roots everything is kept simple and effective. There is no mad dashing around rooms all the time, there are no big SFX that try and set the mood, its all very natural, very authentic and very scary.
The pacing is slow but there is always an underlying sense of unease in every scene, which is good for a horror film because that’s what it’s setting out to do. The pace picks up midpoint when Grace starts to break down and strage things happen in the dark. However the pace is broken somewhat by the arrival of Grace’s husband. Although we hear of him in the film (he’s gone off to war) we presume him dead yet he turns up. While this serves the purpose of reliving Grace it is a little annoying to see the pace broke up at a crucial point, especially when it adds relatively little to the film. Also there is the slight plot hole of not knowing what happened to the servants and why they left. It may not seem like much but when you see the ending your left with that question unanswered and you really want to know.
The Others is a great paradox of what conventional films are nowadays. It takes steps back in technique yet it has the sense of freshness that is lacking in films, especially, horrors today. It has the power to scare and to humour you at the same time. You want to keep watching for the outcome. You want to keep second-guessing yourself to try and find out who or what is behind it all. If you like scary movies then this is a must if not then go in anyway and try out something old and new at the same time.
THE OTHERS IS
An old-fashioned horror story Creepy Mysterious
THE OTHERS IS NOT
A bad old-fashioned horror story A run of the mill horror Full of blood and gore
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A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton'sThe Innocentsand Robert ... more
Wise'sThe Haunting, Alejandro Amenábar'sThe Othersfavours atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton'sThe Innocentsand Robert ... more
Wise'sThe Haunting, Alejandro Amenábar'sThe Othersfavours atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off th...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Screen sensation and Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut) ... more
delivers an utterly unforgettable performance in this scary and stylish suspense thriller. While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Kidman) and her two yo...
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in a secluded island mansion awaiting the return of her husband from the war. Her children have a mysterious disease that won't allow them to be near sunlight so s...
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Advantages: A thriller that relies on the audience's imagination rather than special effects Disadvantages: What was the point of Christopher Ecclestone's role, and the film could have been a few minutes shorter...
ickkate 23.05.2003 ·
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Review of The Others (DVD)
![The Others (2 Disc Collectors Edition) [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78530551.jpg "The Others (2 Disc Collectors Edition) [DVD] [2001]")
Dec 6th, 2001
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