Tags
2000's, Alakina Mann, Alejandro Amenábar, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes, Fionnula Flanagan, Horror, James Bentley, Nicole Kidman, Psychological Horror, The Others, Thriller
Film Title
The Others
Director
Alejandro Amenábar
Starring
- Nicole Kidman as Grace
- Fionnula Flanagan as Mrs Bertha Mills
- Alakina Mann as Anne
- James Bentley as Nicholas
- Eric Sykes as Mr Tuttle
- Elaine Cassidy as Lydia
- Christopher Eccleston as Charles
A highly atmospheric psychological horror-thriller that gains its shocks from the slow building pace and expertly handled visuals, The Others is a haunting movie that is both intelligently and stylishly done. Be warned, you won’t be sitting comfortably after watching this or sleeping soundly either.
The setting is 1945 and the War has just finished. Grace lives in a gloomy isolated house on the isle of Jersey with her two children Anne and Nicholas. Her children are photosensitive and can’t be exposed to sunlight, which leaves the old mansion in a Gothic darkness most of the time with the curtains drawn and only a gaslight or candle to find one’s way. The devoutly Catholic Grace is highly strung and prone to nerves, waiting for her husband to return. She exercises a strict sense of motherhood on her young children and infuses them with strict values and morals of religion. Then, three servants arrive at the house to work, as the previous ones have disappeared. Mrs Bertha Mills is the new housekeeper and nanny, Mr Tuttle is the gardener and the mute Lydia is the maid around the old house. Around this time, strange and very odd events begin to occur within the house. The petulant Anne claims to have seen people in the house that no one else has seen. Grace hears whispers while looking around a junk room. She finds a Book of the Dead, that houses mourning portraits of the deceased. Grace initially dismisses her daughter’s claims of someone in the house, but as the events become more frequent and unusual, Grace is forced to acknowledge that there may be things in the house that she can’t explain away and maybe not of this world. The enigmatic Mrs Mills drops hints about what may be going on, but only young Anne listens to her. Now in a desperate fight to remain sane and protect her children, Grace must confront her fears that her house may be haunted and that there is something not at peace.
As writer and director, Alejandro Amenábar directs with confidence and deft skill, exposing elements of fear through use of sound and facial expressions as opposed to gore. Masterfully creepy contrasts between light and dark conjure up a Gothic atmosphere of encroaching dread and slow burning terror. When the film ventures outside of the mansion the sheer sock of seeing natural light is very unexpected and unnerving, as we’ve been plunged into this almost constant state of near darkness. Rather than having constant shocks, The Others gains momentum and chills through the build up and reveal. This makes the film very refreshing as it could have fell into cheap scares and gore, but instead focuses on character and the nature of fear in an adroit manner. The Others is a classic example of what we don’t see can be more frightening than what we do see. Showing he’s a jack of all trades, Alejandro Amenábar composes the score, that lends its haunting tones and grim sense of foreboding very well to this chiller. And that clever twist at the end will indeed leave your jaw dropping and your heart stopped. If you thought you had figured the film out, just wait for the final third to turn that on its head.
Nicole Kidman turns in a powerful performance as Grace. Embodying the shifts in emotion from smothering maternal love, stoicism, dismissal and ultimate terror, Kidman doesn’t miss a beat and her work is outstanding and gets to the heart of a really complex character finding her sanity being tested by strange and unnatural events. In fact, much of the horror in the picture and the palpable fear is generated through Kidman’s piercing blue eyes as Grace finds her sets of beliefs questioned as terror engulfs her. Fionnula Flanagan excels as the kindly but enigmatic housekeeper, who knows more than she is letting on. Alakina Mann and James Bentley as the terrified and isolated children are excellent in displaying fear and panic. Eric Sykes and Elaine Cassidy inhabit their parts as the other two servants very well, while Christopher Eccleston, despite only being seen briefly, is well cast as Grace’s long-lost husband.
Chilling, ambient and psychologically terrifying, The Others is an excellent addition to the psychological horror genre due to its style, confident direction and high calibre acting.
theipc said:
Solid movie – great post!
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vinnieh said:
Why thank you Eric, indeed a very solid movie. Creepy too.
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Rick said:
This is a great movie.
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vinnieh said:
Well said, a really great film of chilling quality.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Atmospheric is right! I LOVE this movie! And no cute fluffy kittens or puppies were harmed!
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vinnieh said:
I get chills every time I see this film, the visuals are just haunting.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I wound up buying it because I love to rewatch it. The whole thing is beautifully done.
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vinnieh said:
Stylish is a major understatement.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🙂 🙂
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Parlor of Horror said:
great review of an excellent film!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks man, it’s so refreshing to say old-fashioned style scares instead of cheap blood and gore.
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Parlor of Horror said:
There was that time period for about 5 years where there were some intelligent horror films aimed toward a more adult audience – 1999 – 2005. It started with the success of The Sixth Sense.
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vinnieh said:
I wished it had continued, maybe in the future it will resurface again.
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Parlor of Horror said:
horror movies have slipped back into remakes and teenage jump scare style flicks. There’s some good ones but none as well made as The Sixth Sense, The Others, Stir of Echoes, etc.
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vinnieh said:
You definitely make a valid point.
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vinnieh said:
I must sign off for the night, hope to talk soon.
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mikeyb @ screenkicker said:
I love this film. It’s a great old haunted house movie. And really scary too!
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vinnieh said:
I can remember having nightmares for weeks when i first saw it.
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mikeyb @ screenkicker said:
Have you seen The Orphanage. Same kind of vibe but even scarier!
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vinnieh said:
Yeah, that is such a good film.
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thepunktheory said:
Great post! The Others is an amazing film, I can recall any other movie that created such an atmosphere.
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vinnieh said:
Atmosphere is the definite order of the day.
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SLIP/THROUGH - Dan said:
Vinnie… Wow. Loved this review! Your intellectual deconstruction is fascinating here. I like that you touch on cinematography, atmosphere, music, story, and acting. This is a FULL review. I really appreciate your in depth analysis.
Plus, I love this movie too 😉 I couldn’t say it better than you did here. I feel like filmmakers have been influenced by this movie ever since, trying to duplicate its success. The Others just had bad timing, if it came out today I’d like to think it’d break records like The Conjuring did (which is lucky to be half as good).
Have you seen this director’s earlier film, Open Your Eyes with Penelope Cruz? It’s fantastic! Thanks again for stellar review.
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vinnieh said:
Thank you so much for your compliments, I do my best to make my reviews entertaining.
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Cindy Bruchman said:
Excellent write up, Vinnie. I loved this film. Nothing’s better than the fun plot twist at the end. The Gothic mood of it all is perfect as well as Nicole’s performance.
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vinnieh said:
Hi Cindy, glad to hear from you. It is one killer twist that I didn’t see coming at all.
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Cindy Bruchman said:
It reminded me of Sixth Sense.
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vinnieh said:
I can see why you would think that Cindy.
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beetleypete said:
I loved it too, but ‘got’ the ending fairly early on, which I won’t reveal in a comment. Much better than I ever expected. And Eric Sykes. Who would have thought of him? But it worked.
Cheers mate, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks Pete, you are so reliable with your positive feedback.
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Tom said:
The Others I feel is highly underrated, your review confirms my enthusiasm over it. I thought Nicole Kidman was something else. Wonderful review
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Ashley Lily Scarlett said:
I feel the exact opposite!
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vinnieh said:
Kidman was superb, wasn’t she? She encompassed such deep emotions.
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Khalid Rafi said:
This is a great horror movie. Nice review, Vinnie!
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vinnieh said:
A psychological horror at its best.
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Ashley Lily Scarlett said:
That’s a great review, Vinnie. I found this movie irritating. No wait. I found Nicole Kidman irritaing. As I often do.
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vinnieh said:
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it.
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Ashley Lily Scarlett said:
To be honest I probably would have enjoyed it more if Nicole Kidman hadn’t been it.
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vinnieh said:
I liked her in it, but to each their own. We’re all entitled to our opinions and I respect that.
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Mel @ The Creative Fox Den said:
I love this movie! I like it more every time I watch it. Great post, Vinnie!
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vinnieh said:
I always pick up on new things when I watch it again, so many layers to it.
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The Vern said:
The way you talk about the cinematography and the acting makes The Others have better rewatchability then most others. I think most kids age 9 and up can handle this. Am I wrong?
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vinnieh said:
Cheers Vern, I remember watching it when I was around 11. I did find it frightening at the time and it’s still creepy now.
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table9mutant said:
Great, underrated film. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
You said exactly what I think of this film.
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vampireplacebo said:
This was a great film, but unfortunately it came out just after The Sixth Sense, and I figured it all out almost immediately. Still a great watch, though.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for commenting.
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alexraphael said:
I’m not usually a horror fan, but this sounds brilliant and very well worth a watch.
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vinnieh said:
Well worth a watch is exactly what this is.
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David said:
It had potential, and the acting was great, but it fell flat for me. Nice write up. Makes me want to see it again for a second chance.
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vinnieh said:
Give it a second chance mate.
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David said:
I’ve added it to the list. I’ll try again.
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vinnieh said:
Good to hear.
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shazza91321 said:
Ok, you convinced me I’m going to watch this one because you said it wasn’t full of gore.
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vinnieh said:
No gore is needed in a film likes this, only psychological terror from things we are unfamiliar with and what we can’t see.
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Mike said:
Great post and I wish there were more films like this, which focus on atmosphere and mood over jump scares and gore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nicole Kidman better.
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vinnieh said:
I too wish for more films in a similar vein. I don’t mind blood and gore sometimes, but I much prefer psychological horror.
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Mike said:
There are some good recent ones – The Woman in Black, The Awakening with the brilliant Rebecca Hall, both channelling the creepy likes of The Haunting and The Innocents, in fact this one reminded me a lot of the latter, with the children and quietly hysterical female leads. Maybe less is more though, and we are better off having fewer films of this type with their eerie treats.
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vinnieh said:
The Woman in Black was really good. You’re so right about these kind of movies channeling The Haunting and The Innocents, which are outstanding examples of psychological terror.
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emmakwall said:
A brilliant movie, such a classic and solid ghost story. Proof that you can make a film really scary with literally no gore or swearing or anything ‘untoward’.
Great review Vinster 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Me and you think a like in that respect. Atmosphere can be so much scarier than copious gore.
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emmakwall said:
Definitely!! I remember getting home form the cinema after seeing this and being really freaked out. I think it was only rated a 12 in the UK so didn’t expect to be terrified but it was reeeeeeeally spooky.
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vinnieh said:
I couldn’t sleep for a long time after seeing it. It really freaked me out.
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emmakwall said:
me too! Amen brother!
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vinnieh said:
Amen sister, bum shakes all round.
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Kim @ Tranquil Dreams said:
Awesome review! One of my favorite horrors 🙂
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vinnieh said:
One of mine too.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks so much for the shout out.
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poetry and chocolate and books said:
I watched this one a few days ago and still can’t get over Nichole Kidman’s performance. She won this movie. And the kids were great to.
The twist in the end was brilliant. Never saw it coming.
You wrote an exceptional review as always. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
It’s such a twisting movie that keeps you on your toes the entire time. Kidman was outstanding in the central role, she fitted it like a glove.
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poetry and chocolate and books said:
She is a superstar…truly. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
I can’t argue with that.
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Purpleanais said:
Great review, I LOVE this film!
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vinnieh said:
It makes for a very atmospheric and chilling watch. I still get spooked every time I see the film.
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Purpleanais said:
Same! Funnily enough, I saw it again a couple of weeks ago….might have been the 6th or 7th time I’ve seen it.
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vinnieh said:
I find something new to appreciate every time I see it. I am a big lover of psychological and haunting films.
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Purpleanais said:
Exactly! I am a big fan of atmospheric, haunting films of the kind. I like to be spooked, but I am not into the gory types of films (I used to be)
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vinnieh said:
Horror is my favourite genre, there are so many different types.
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