The Others

Rarely does a scary film come around that isn't schlocky and obvious. 'The Others', directed by the great Alejandro Amenabar (Abre los Ojos) is a stylish, spooky and fun film to watch that doesn't cheapen itself like so many in the genre. It is 1947 on the island of Jersey in England, and Grace (Nicole Kidman) is the mother of two small children, Charles (Christopher Eccleston) and Anne (Alakina Mann) who are allergic to the sunlight, so they are not allowed to go outside. Moreover, any room they are in has to be locked with the curtains shut, a cumbersome task in their mansion with its 50 doors. Mysteriously, the mansion's staff left the week before, which precipitates the arrival of three new servants; a gardener and two housekeepers who are promptly hired. Further complicating matters is the fact that Anne keeps talking to an unseen child, and unexplained footsteps, opened curtains and doors opening and shutting are starting to wear thin on the already uber-fragile Grace, until the occurrences threaten their lives.

With 'The Others', Amenabar gives us a truly spooky and stylish thriller. The foggy atmosphere outside of the mansion, the dark rooms lit by candles within the house, both of these are just many of the beautiful stylistic areas of the film. Kidman is great as the incredibly brittle and mentally frayed Grace. While she puts on a cool, haughty façade, the circumstances she finds herself in are clearly eating away at her sanity. The actors who play her children are actually quite good themselves, particularly Alakina Mann, who holds her own in her confrontational scenes with Kidman and others. The screenplay, also written by Amenabar is quite intelligent, and if you haven't heard the 'twist' at the end, it is pretty ingenious. It is ingenious and well-written regardless, but the impact upon discovery is pretty decent.

'The Others' is not a phenomenal film by any means, but it is a refreshing change from the standard thriller/suspense fare, because it adds a truly intelligent and stylish bent to the genre. Other than children, (obviously) this film can be recommended to pretty much anyone, as long as they don't expect it to be the frenetic, jump-cut fest that is so prevalent nowadays. 'The Others' takes its time to get to its reveal, and it is worth every minute. 7/10

Shelly

The others ***/****

"The Others" is a suspenseful horror film unlike many these days. Most are concerned with blood and gore, teenage girls getting naked, body count, and not scary. "The Others" is atmospheric, spooky, bloodless, and carried by strong acting and fleshed out characters. Yet, it takes too long to make an impact and the final payoff is not as shocking as it should be.

The plot is simple and not especially innovative (your average ghost story), but it seems fresh thanks to strong acting and a well-crafted, eerie atmosphere that rivals that of a Tim Burton film. Nicole Kidman is Grace, a beautiful young married mother who must raise her two children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley) alone in their gigantic (actually, ridiculously large) mansion on a British isle, around the end of WWII. They are alone, for the husband and father has been at war and has not returned, and their housekeepers mysteriously vanished. Suddenly, a trio of friendly caretakers arrive one day. Mrs. Mills (Fionnula Flanagan) is the amiable old lady, Lydia (Elaine Cassidy) is a mute young girl, and Mr. Tuttle (Eric Sykes) is the not-so-social gardener. However, there is a strange, arcane facet to the trio; they have little background and had no way of knowing that Grace was offering positions at her manor. Aside from this, Grace must deal with her children, who have a deadly allergy to light, which means that the house must be dark all the time, allowing for a spooky dark, shadowy ambience. Anna and Nicholas, most importantly, have been visited - by a family of ghosts. Noises - crying, piano music, and running - have been heard. And curtains that stop light from entering the house are opening and closing by themselves. The film is based around Grace's efforts to solve the enigma.

I love the atmosphere of "The Others," set in a nostalgic and ominous 1940's estate. Snowy mist blankets the grass and crisp fall leaves. Murky waters of a lake border the chateau. Elegant furniture, polished marble and wood floors, neatly-woven blankets, tautly fabricated furnishings of wood and olive green cloth, coal black German sedans, lightly wrinkled sweaters and jackets are all seemingly authentic from the era. One spectacular and tense scene has Grace haplessly stumbling through an impenetrably thick ocean of milky fog that weaves through overhanging trees and a ground of crunchy bronze and russet leaves.

The action takes a while to get started up, which is a major negative. This is due to the director, Amenabar, spending time to develop an involving plot, 3-D characters, and the aforementioned décor. While Amenabar succeeds in those respects, we find ourselves wishing something would happen. Many people will easily become bored, feel tempted to sleep or leave, etc., but I, while not exactly enthralled by that point in the film, was still enjoying it.

When we finally are treated to doses of suspense and chills (not so much horror and terror), it is satisfying. You most likely will find yourself on the edge of your seat or huddled in a ball anxiously awaiting the potentially fatal results of Grace's investigation. This is not so much because you care about her character, but really because you expect a sudden scream and heart-stopping outburst of maniacal ghosts. Most scenes are chilling, including the door shutting in the piano room, the old lady in the white dress, and the final chaotic conclusion. However, I can not say that I was truly horrified and paranoid from this film, unlike "The Sixth Sense," where I was freaked out for months. I was still very entertained.

I must commend all the actors in the film, especially Nicole Kidman. The acting was down to earth and realistic, despite Nicole Kidman forced into saying some foolish lines ("Something.. Diabolical!). The two child actors, Mann and Bentley, were excellent in a fairly difficult role for children.

Another important downside to the film was the "shocking" conclusion. While I must admit that I found it brilliant, it lacked the powerful punch I wish it had. I don't know why this is, it just isn't. I am disappointed at how much potential the ending could have packed and how little it did.

Overall, I found "The Others" a highly entertaining thriller with magnetic milieus and plenty of startles.

The Others is a very remarkable film from more than just one viewpoint. In an era where you can only impress young horror fanatics with bucket-loads of blood and gross-out effects, Amenábar actually re-teaches his audience that fear is especially caused by suggestion and the absence of explicit images. The Others is the first intelligent horror film in years, completely relying on atmosphere and eerie set pieces. It's such a relief to finally see a subtle film that is also effective! I'm normally not much of Nicole Kidman fan but she's very convincing as the prudish, over-concerned mother who desperately tries to protect her children from the outside world (daylight in particular). She lives in a remote mansion and waits, along with her 2 children, for WWII to be over. With the arrival of 3 servants, strange events star to occur in the old house and the daughter spots 'intruders' everywhere. The screenplay - by Amenábar himself - is not totally unique (filmfreaks who're familiar with expressionism highlights from the 60's will quickly guess the hidden plot twist) but it's filled with ingenious findings and sublime dialogues. The Others reminds you of 'The Innocents' and there are far worse films to get compared with, if you ask me! What also is rather amazing about this production is that Amenábar seems so confident! This is his first giant Hollywood adventure with stars in the cast and American money and yet he has total control over everything. The acting is great, the plot actually scares you and the directing is solid. The Others is a total winner and easily one of the greatest genre-films of the last few decades.

The Others is yet another in a long list of great horror movies of the new millennium. I have always loved ghost stories, and this film has easily become my favorite ghost story ever. It's like one of the great old black and white ghost stories but better. It takes you on a slow, and uncomfortable ride.

The story is simple. Grace lives in a mansion with her two children, both allergic to sunlight. That little twist on the story was just great. It makes the film completely opposite than other ghost stories, with Grace not afraid of the dark, and making sure to keep the light out, to save her children. This provides us with a very creepy, and dark atmosphere. Plus the mansion is also a creepy place. Not to mention, that in the film everyone who enters the house, must close the previous door, before opening the next.

Nicole Kidman is perfectly cast in The Others. This may be one of her best performances ever (She was also great in this years Moulin Rouge). She was really very believable in the part. The two kids in this film were also fantastic. Alakina Mann as Anne was terrific. She played the bullying sister great. She and James Bently, who played Nicolas, really seemed like siblings. Awesome job by both. Fionnula Flanagan was also fantastic as Mrs. Mills. She really creeped me out, and I didn't know where she stood. Was she good or bad? I didn't know, but her acting was right on the ball.

Alejandro Anemabar directed The Others with such atmosphere. The dark lighting is creepy, and the cinematography is beautiful. This guy's has got a bright future. To accompany all the atmosphere we get a fabulous score by the director, Alejandro Amenabar. The music is creepy, and really adds to the feel of a 50's ghost story. It also sets the mood of the film, and makes the scary scenes, even scarier. The score is fabulous. Not only did Alejandro Amenabar direct, and score, but he wrote the great, and well-developed screenplay.

The Others is not without a great twist ending, that should shock everyone. I did not see it coming, and it's such an original concept to use in a ghost story. It worked well, and I was speechless after the film. Outstanding finale.

This film is yet another horror film that proves that big budget special effects suck! This film is scary, and it only had a $17m budget. The Others did great at the box office, and deserved every buck it earned. It's a creepy film, that has its very scary moments. This is a film that will not be forgotten. It'll be stuck in my mind for a long time. This really reminded me of an old 40's or 50's film. I highly recommend this film to every fan of ghost stories.

The Others: 10/10, A+

At a time when horror films constitute silly teenagers blindly wandering into danger and unnecessary gore, 'The Others' is like a breath of fresh air. It goes back to the roots of the horror genre, employing an eerie atmosphere and mysterious characters to conjure the chilly backbone of the film.

'The Others' is set in the Forties and revolves around staunchly Catholic Grace Stewart, who lives in an old mansion located on the island of Jersey with her highly photo-sensitive children ten-year-old Anne and six-year-old Nicholas. The house is almost permanently entrenched in darkness, in deference to the children's condition, and Grace's husband is lost in war, only enhancing the sense of gloom to the story. One morning, three servants mysteriously turn up at the door of the Stewart mansion, despite Grace having not yet advertised the posts, to replace the previous servants who had suddenly left their posts a week earlier. Anne then begins to maintain the house is haunted, her deduction supported by the fact locked doors left ajar, closed curtains suddenly being found opened and furniture moving when there's no-one in the room. Grace, deeply ingrained in her religious belief that ghosts don't exist, initially refuses to believe her daughter but soon she questions her faith as she can't deny there is something ominous about the house...

Nicole Kidman gives an excellent performance as the almost cold and aloof Grace, who does love her children dearly even if she doesn't always show it openly. Fionnula Flanagan, Eric Sykes and Elaine Cassidy, as the three servants, are suitably mysterious by showing they seem to know more than they let on, leaving viewers questioning their motives from the start. But it is the young child actors, Alakina Mann and James Bentley, who steal the show as Anne and Nicholas. Despite their age and inexperience, both children given first-class depictions of their characters, showing their isolation thanks to their medical conditions and their reliance on one another despite typical sibling discord at times. Mann, in particular, excels in portraying the stubborn nature of Anne and her precarious relationship with her mother. It is a shame this child never continued her acting career because she is a credit to young British acting.

'The Others' is a subtle horror films for those sick of cheap Hollywood horror flicks and are seeking interesting characters and an intelligent plot. While there are no special effects or buckets of blood in this film, in the tradition of 'The Exorcist' and 'The Devil's Backbone', it instead relies upon more old-fashion methods of frightening the audience, which are far more effective. The story is well-paced, leaving the audience guessing what is happening and what the characters' motives are right to the end.

This film has to be one of the best horror films I've ever seen and puts many films in the horror genre to shame. I highly recommend it to those who appreciate the value of suspense and a good fright.