Sunday, October 28, 2012

Screaming Sunday - The Others

By s. Sunday, October 28, 2012 , , , ,
Sati's movie rating - 93/100  
Plot:  A woman named Grace (Nicole Kidman) retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They live alone there with oppressive, strange and religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.
The heroes: Profoundly sad and lonely Grace, determined to keep her children safe.
The antagonists: Unseen intruders who open and close the doors, hide the curtains and seem to be wandering around the house.
What makes it so great? The movie is an old school horror taking place in the haunted house, with strange and creepy noises being heard whenever someone is going upstairs, wind howling outside and the misty forest surrounding the mansion. The film features powerful work from Nicole Kidman which for me is her second best performance, right after To Die For. Kidman looks like one of Hitchcock's frightened blondes here, but she is nothing but defenseless.
Best scene: The scene in the attic, where Grace is frantically taking down the curtains.
Oh-oh something's not right line: -You told your brother there was someone else in the room. - There was!
Morbid Trivia: In reality, people did photograph their deceased loved ones during the late 19th century. Most were photographed lying down, as if in a deep sleep; others would be propped up in chairs, posed with favorite objects (children with favorite playthings; adults with books or newspapers), or standing up, with the help of special frames or supports.
Scare factor: - 3/5 evil pumpkins - the film is very atmospheric and has a few of very effective jump scares. It's also splendidly shot and it features wonderful score that makes you think something will happen and then nothing does - it builds up the suspense at times fooling you into thinking the major scares are coming, while its in the silence that some of the most frightening scenes occur.
Gore factor:- 1/5 bloody Leatherfaces - there's no gore here, but the subject matter and especially the movie's twist and the back story it unveils are quite disturbing.
Is there a twist? Yes.
Hint: Watch in total silence, late at night.
Unsuitable for: People living in old house, or close to the graveyard.
Repercussions: Inability to look at old photographs.

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35 comments:

  1. I love this film! If I would have the chance to name my favorite horror type of movie, it would be probably this. I still remember the twist.. I still remember the you know who coming down the road.. it was the moment when we started to doubt and it was just brilliant. The most interesting horror twist!

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    1. I love the twist in the movie it was so brilliant and very saddening, when you think of the way they will have to stay there, forever, the way they are at the moment.

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  2. The Others brought back the idea that -there's nothing scarier than a haunted house-...particularly a gigantic old-school castle/mansion like that one!! I forgot how beautiful the cinematography was in this film, which definitely added to the creep factor. Great review, Sati! I haven't seen this film in soooo long.

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    1. Thank you! I agree, the cinematography was amazing and very beautiful. It's probably one of the last good haunted house horror movies.

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  3. One of the memorable images I have of this film is when in a dark room and we see a face in the background... and then the lights when on only to reveal...

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  4. I adore this film. It has one of my most favourite twists ever. I never saw it coming from a mile. It also looks great and Kidman really is wonderful.

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    1. I agree, she is so amazing in this movie and the twist was very surprising!

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  5. Love this movie. I don't think that it is too scary or anything but that twist at the end !! makes it worth. Love it.

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    1. Yeah it's not Alien-scary but it's very effective. Glad you are a fellow fan of the film!

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  6. I'm so glad you posted about this movie. I am not a big horror fan, but I really like this one. Very Gothic and atmospheric, with a great twist.

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    1. Glad to read it! It's such a beautiful film, almost more of a drama with few good scares in the horror setting.

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  7. I really liked this film. I was completely blind to the big reveal!

    I don't normally like Kidman, but I enjoyed her in this

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    1. She looked almost exactly like Grace Kelly in this one, such a shame they didn't make the biopic they are doing now then.

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  8. Great post Sati, such an atmospheric movie.

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    1. Thank you! Yeah, the atmosphere is top-notch in that one, I wish more movies were like this one.

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  9. Great review! I enjoyed this a lot, even though I had guessed the ending early on.

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    1. Thanks! Kudos to you, I'm terrible at guessing twists :)

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  10. Which horror movies are suitable for people who live close to a graveyard? :) My advice to those poor f--kers is to never watch a horror movie ever. Straight comedy. All day. Every day.

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    1. I'd say Space horror :) It's usually so weird that it's just about as far from earthly stuff and graveyards as movies can get ^^

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  11. Excellent post! Enjoyed the film, but not as much as you did. Kidman was terrific though, and the atmosphere is wonderfully creepy.

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    1. Thank you! I always felt this should have been Kidman's Oscar win.

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    2. It would've been a worthy win, but I prefer her work in Moulin Rouge.

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    3. I like her in MR! too, but I'm just not that big of musical fan :) The only times when it didn't bother me so much that I could really like the performance was with Zeta Jones in Chicago and with most of the actors in Sweeney Todd.

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    4. Doh! Forgot that you weren't a big fan of musicals. Your Kidman pick that year makes perfect sense then. :)

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    5. Yeah, it's probably my least favorite movie genre :)

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  12. Great review. I love this film. I love the twist and the overall eerie feeling it has.

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    1. Thank you! Glad you like it too, one of my fav horror films.

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  13. Oh this is a great post, good work! Love the trivia (I never knew that?!) and the hints for watching. I love The Others, and it is best observed it a silent, dark room. Indeed.

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    1. Thank you! Glad you liked it too, it would probably be in my top 20 favorite horror films.

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  14. Very Cool review. This is one Ghost movie unlike The Sixth Sense that does manage to have rewatchability factors even if you know the ending. I agree with you the silence is very creepy. Oh and the last shot of the movie just gives me chills.

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    1. The lost shot is pretty creepy indeed! I agree that this is way more rewatchable than Sixth Sense.

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  15. Good review. I liked this movie, but I figured out the twist a little ways into the film. It didn't really hurt my enjoyment of it, though, since I was then watching for the ways the film would continue to hint at it.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, it's such a great film even if you can guess a twist, it's still entertaining to watch, unlike many movies where the twist is mosty the biggest attraction.

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