Les Autres

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.

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

Can't say much without it spoiling the movie! Rating 9 because a lot of it moved a bit slowly but I guess that was all for a reason!

Movie was fantastic but the ending was even better!!

Definitely worth a watch! If you get bored by any chance, stick through it, trust me!!

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 heading is how u feel throughout the film. Instead of writing a long review, I'll say in simple words. This is a very good movie and I DID NOT see that climax coming. The best twist ever. Acting is excellent and cinematography is worth a mention.