The Others

When SCREAM came out it ushered in a slew of "smart" Slasher films that, well, weren't all that smart. In fact, most of these new Slasher films were much worse than their much-maligned cousins from the 80's. More plot holes and terrible actors pulled from the most popular teen shows from US television. Plus the fact that these new films were lacking both the gore and attitude of the films from the 80's made for these new films to really suck.

The Horror world needed a smart Horror film to save it. We were given THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, but all that film would be able to do would create a slew of copycats, and yet many would argue that TBWP was nothing more than a copycat to begin with.

But then from out of nowhere another film burst onto the screen that would give the world a twist ending with a brilliant new star, teamed with a long time proven actor. That film was THE SIXTH SENSE. Again though, arguments arose. You can't please all the people all the time, but SIXTH proved that thinking Horror had a life still.

I enjoyed both BLAIR and SIXTH, but I felt that something was missing from both of these films. They were missing an atmosphere that was long missing from Horror. My favorite form of Horror is the old classics. I like the films that want to scare the hell out of you, not the films that want to disgust you. When I go to bed at night, I want to be afraid of just the dark, not what killer is hiding in that dark. Both BLAIR and SIXTH came close to working real well in those areas, but BLAIR spent more time with a being lost in the woods (though the ending was very powerful), and SIXTH ended up with a surprise, but proved to being more of a love story than anything else.

Then I started seeing commercials last year for THE OTHERS, and honestly, they made me want to avoid the film. But then people started to talk, and then I decided I had to see it.

THE OTHERS made it's US debut on DVD in the month of May in a fancy two disc set, but is it all worth it? Is the film good enough for a two-disc set, and if so, is the two-disc set worthy of the movie? Read on...

The story centers on a lady and her two children living in a giant mansion on the isle of Jersey whilst war rages in the rest of the world. Which war, well, we are never really shared that information but I would have to guess that it is The Great War, World War I. Why? Well, you'll see in the end. But that is all a moot point.

The mother Grace (Nicole Kidman) receives three new housekeepers that seem to have a little too much knowledge of the house almost right away. Yet Grace is a high strung lady who has many odd rules relating to the two children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley).

As the film progresses we watch Grace slowly lose her mind and the three housekeepers seem to turn into three people with some conspiracies and hidden agendas. Plus we find that the two children are much more in tune with the world and surrounding things going on in the house that their mother can't quite get ahold of.

There are twists and turns and the movie ends in a way that even if you see coming, it will still take your breath away with its urgency and quick editing that throws you into the "secrets" of the film that few films have tried to pull off and even fewer have been as successful. The big "reveal" is such a brilliantly executed blast to the senses that it will also work upon repeated viewings, unlike THE SIXTH SENSE where the big reveal is so low key that what works for you is just the fine acting by the cast.

THE OTHERS and THE SIXTH SENSE will be cursed to being compared to one another for a bit of time for pretty much the obvious reasons that they are both ghost stories and that they both have surprises within the ending. Though at the same time, they both also share with each other brilliant acting jobs by the children. Alakina Mann is so brilliant as the older and misunderstood child Anne, that when she and Nicole are on screen together, the film just burns. And when she is with James Bentley, her little brother in the film, you could swear that these two are really brother and sister. Adding to the children in the film, and the powerhouse performance by Nicole Kidman, are the three mysterious housekeepers. Miss Bertha Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), Mr. Edmund Tuttle (Eric Sykes), and Lydia (Elain Cassidy). These characters bring mystery into the film, and just when you think that you can't trust them, they wander in again and feel like the stability that is needed in the house.

The special effects are pretty much non-existent, until you see the extra feature that spotlights the FX and you realize just how many FX there are, but they are pretty exclusive to the fog!

The film just oozes with atmosphere in a way that no film has done so in years. The film also carries with it more creepy scenes than you can imagine or than you can find in almost any other film released in the last 20 years!

The films presentation on the DVD release is brilliant. The colors in the film are a little understated to begin with, so don't go looking for reds and oranges that jump off the screen and blind you! The film relies pretty much on blacks and shades of gray for the colors. The film may have actually worked a little better as a purely black and white film, but in this day and age, this is as close as the audience will let you get to pulling that off. But the grain and pixelation and digital artifacts are just not here, and with a film with this much fog, that is a high compliment.

The soundtrack is a pretty quiet one most of the time, though the film does start with a scream from Grace (after a quietly spoken introduction), the rest of the time it is bumps and creaks. Yet when the soundtrack needs to kick it up, it does so in a clear and strong way.

Disc two is where the supplements all hang out. And this is where I get a little upset. The extra features are quite lacking, though the ones that do exist are nice.

First we have "A Look Inside THE OTHERS" which is a 20 minute (+/-) documentary on the film. Yeah, it is basically the whole "so and so if the best (actor, director, publicist, caterer, grip, etc) I have ever worked with" type of thing. You get to see some behind the scenes stuff, but those are shown on another part anyway. We do get to see Tom Cruise praising Kidman, which is funny with all that was going on with them. But you know, "she is the best actress I have ever had the opportunity to cheat on" Tom would say.

Next is "Visual Effects Piece". This is a rather funny little piece. There are almost NO effects in this film. But then you get to see that no, there is A LOT of FX, but is all fog! So we get to see about 5-10 scenes with fog added in, and no dialogue! Whew, that is exciting!

Next is "Xeroderma Pigmentosum (funny, my spell check doesn't have either of those words!!!): What is it?" Well, this is a piece in the disease that the children have in the film. In short, it is an allergy to sunlight. This piece is the best part of the second disc and pretty much makes up for the lack of extras. It centers on a family that is trying to deal with the disease and what they have done with it and how they have made a difference in the world. The thing that amazes me is how accurate the film shows the disease and the rituals that are done by the families!

Next up are the still gallery bits and theatrical trailers. Yea.

I know it seems that there are a decent number of extras here, but when you get a two disc set, you expect more than what can fit onto one disc! Check out the recent release of FROM HELL to see how to do a double disc set correctly! Yes, this is a one sentence review of that disc, it is brilliant also.

THE OTHERS is a haunted house film with a twist, and I could never recommend the film strongly enough! Though the DVD disappointed me a bit, I still would recommend it to everybody I know of who enjoys being a little scared. The film itself might be the best of the past 20 years in my opinion, and the disc gives us a brilliant presentation of the film. The price is very affordable as I paid under $20 USD for my copy! So even if it could use more "goodies", this is a DVD that should be in the collection of any self respecting Horror fan or fan of movies!

Review by Carl Isonhart