Hey folks, Harry here... Again, I can not say enough how much I want you to just go see this movie cold cold cold. I had an absolute blast with this one and I'm still tied up in it, nearly 24 hours later... See this film this weekend, you won't be pissed...
Harry,
I've been enjoying your site for a while now and have had opportunities to write about test screenings I've seen but haven't until now.
I just saw "The Others" this morning with Nicole Kidman in San Jose at Camera 3.
I will make this short with no spoilers.
I have not seen a thriller this well done in quite a while. You can easily see the influence of "The Shinning" and various Hitchcock films. Kidman did a damn fine job as well. Very believable. Alejandro Amenábar, the director, did a VERY nice job in keeping you guessing. I was sure I knew where it was going quite a few times along the way and was surprised how my presumptions proved wrong again and again. Several scenes that I thought would become plot holes made sense at the end. The ending worked in a big way. VERY SATISFYING MOVIE.
If this had come out before "The Sixth Sense" I think it could have had more success than I think it will. It should be successful though. You will definitely hear comparisons made of the two. I think this might be slightly better in my book.
Don't wait for the video. It deserves to be seen on the bid screen.
Artismo
Harry
First time writer, long-time reader. Just wanted to pass some brief thoughts regarding a film which has not received much "buzz" — The Others. I saw it last week at a screening in D.C. and was completely enthralled. The movie is blessed with a terrific script, gifted acting, and nice direction. Although some may feel that the movie is too derivative of a recently popular ghost story, I actually found it to be much better. I've been thinking about this movie for days now (always a good sign) — assessing whether the plot holds-up under rigorous inspection and introspection and thinking about certain wonderfully ambiguous elements of the plot. This movie demands support — the media is either ignoring it or the producers are not promoting it for a variety of reasons (if you know what I'm hinting at). In any event, The Others is engaging, scary, fun, and well-worth the time. I can't wait to see it again!
Gary C. from D.C.
And now for that lunger Massawyrm....
Hola all. Massawyrm here, just having returned from one of the greatest films of the summer, and surely the most satisfying thus far, The Others. And here's my take on it.
First let me sum it up in just three words: "Spooky as Hell". Allow me to elaborate. "Really Fucking Spooky as Hell." Quite literally, this film floored me, dragging me toward the edge of my seat where I perched, drinking up the rich imagery and moody setting, while my mind reeled, longing for the days when smoking was allowed in theatres so I could choke down half a pack of Camels to calm my nerves. I was engrossed from frame one, drawn into this creepy old house and it's surroundings, fearful of every turn through every dark hallway. I wanted to smoke so bad that my lungs hurt, my knee bounced up and down and I was forced to inhale through my fingers just to simulate the sensation.
You see, like many of the horror classics that truly remain some of the greatest ever, there isn't really too much going on here or anything innately complicated to be drawn into. Which leaves only setting and character development to focus on, both of which this film excels at presenting. It's simply a ghost story with a few clever twists. But it's a ghost story with an intensity unlike most of it's contemporaries. With a subtle, slow burn pace, this film offers up a few startles, but mostly dishes out pure, unfiltered creepiness.
And that's where this film gets you. Forget about digital effects. Forget about gore. Forget about scares coming from bodies dropping like flies. This film creeps you out through good old fashioned story telling, fantastic acting, and beautiful photography; terror through simplicity. The Others uses it's surroundings and its actors to scare you out of your wits. And at the same time, the movie presents various metaphysical concepts in an intriguing manner that leave you either discussing the film with those that accompanied you or playing the film in your head over and over again to fill in all the gaps.
This film is simply a magnificent piece of cinema which will definitely breath some life into a summer that hasn't, as of yet, sent us out of the theatre mesmerized. This one does.
The best way to describe this film, in comparison terms at least, is to say that it's equal parts The Chameleon, Fall of the House of Usher and The Sixth Sense. The plot is simply as follows: The year is 1945, a mother (Nicole Kidman) and her two children who suffer from a rare, light sensitivity disease, live in a large, old manor and await their Husband/father's return from the war. All of the servants have vanished suddenly without any explanation and things are starting to get weird in the house. The Others never leaves the grounds of the house, and the entirety of it's story comes from the various strange going-ons and the Reactions of the mother, her children and the three servants who have showed up and been hired as replacements for the missing servants.
Every performance is nothing short of fantastic. Every plot development and shot exudes creepiness from every fiber of its essence. Everything about this movie lends itself to the establishment of this as a horror classic. I strongly urge you to take someone you can hold onto this weekend and indulge yourself in something very, very special. The Others.
Until next time friends, smoke 'em if ya got 'em. After this, lord knows I will.
And now a spoiler warning...
So, I'm not Wes Craven, but I too have seen THE OTHERS and have some thoughts, if you care:
The movie is...good. To be honest, I have always been a bit of a wimp when it comes to horror movies. It wasn't until recently that I could even keep my eyes open through entire horror movies. So while I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I have to wonder how good a movie was if it barely made me scared?
Personally, plot wrap-ups bore me, and this one of those less-you-know movies. So quickly, it involves a woman (Nicole Kidman) trying to cope with the workload of running a house while saddled with: 1) servants who leave suddenly in the middle of the night, with no notice; 2)two young children with a terrible physical ailment; and 3) an absent husband, who left to fight in the war. Enough said. Any more would spoil the movie.
The movie is beautifully shot, and with the exception of one or two cheap shocks, is an intelligent horror movie. (It's sort of like what What Lies Beneath wanted to be...but with the bonus of no cheesy CGI here...) The cast is decidely unstarry (besides Kidman, we got Christopher Eccleston as the only other thing close to being a "big name draw"...). and that wise a wise choice. All we really need to focus on is Nicole Kidman's character, and Ms. Kidman rather impressively navigates a role that could have been disastrous in other hands. She does a wonderful job of convincing you she's not crazy. Or that she is. Or that she is not. Depends which part of the movie you're talking about...grin. I'd hate to think that Ms. Kidman is actually becoming a good actress, but between this and MOULIN ROUGE, she's having a great year so far...
The children are also quite good, and there is a surprising amount of humor in the interaction between the children themselves and with their mother. Oh, the things children will say...
Children, creepy happenings, August opening...sounds like THE SIXTH SENSE right? Well, this movie also has a twist ending. I think we're all a bit over twist endings, but once I got over the annoyance at it, I realized it was actually carried off with more class than the too-impressed-with-itself SIXTH SENSE. (Not to mention this ending is also more earned as an ending...not to delve into film school nonsense...)
All in all, a decent movie. Nothing great, and a nice example of what more Hollywood movies should be like. Less fart jokes, more creepy ghost movies.
