“The Others” Deserves its Scary Moments.
Written: Oct 25 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Honest horror. Few ‘cheap’ thrills.
Cons: It is slow, and drawn out.
The Bottom Line: Definitely worth seeing, even if you normally don’t like horror films. Most of the comparisons to “The Sixth Sense” are deserved.
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| grimjack2's Full Review: |
A simple fact that any true movie fan knows is that there just aren’t that many great movies that are horror films. I strongly doubt that there has been a dozen horror films that are considered ‘works of art’ by film lovers. Most people who would disagree with this are the kind of people who simply love all horror films. These are the types of people who enjoy the rush of a scary moment the same way they enjoy riding a roller coaster.
Not me.
Most horror films (so many that I could almost say ‘All horror films’), get their cheap scares by having things jump out at us. Watch “Event Horizon” sometime to see what I mean. The film loves to throw things at us from the sides in order to jolt us. The camera turns a corner and there is something scary that makes us jump. Even when they work, these are cheap shots, and I usually feel cheated when they are used on me.
Another horrible trick that horror films of the last twenty years like to play on us is the ‘get us to laugh first’ trick, possibly invented by Steven Spielberg in “Jaws”. The best way to describe this is to think of all the dead teenager films from the mid 80’s. Remember the scene where the scary music picks up as the character slowly looks behind the curtains, and just as the music climaxes, the cat jumps out. The character laughs, we laugh, and then suddenly the real killer steps from off camera and we all go ‘aaaah’ as the character is killed. This is another cheap trick since first off, the killer usually steps from off camera where we can’t see it, but the person scared by the cat certainly would have. Secondly, this really is just another cheap shot at getting us to jump.
“The Others” does something like this maybe once, but by that point it had earned the right to do it.
This tale could be described as a haunted house story. Nicole Kidman plays a woman whose husband is off fighting World War 2, and it is possible that he has been killed. Her two children are horribly allergic to sunlight, and must live in perpetual darkness. Because of this Kidman insists that every door must be locked at all times. There is never an unlocked door anywhere in the house. She is so serious about this, that when she hears a child crying and she is rushing to their aid, we watch her stop at each door and lock it behind her before opening up the one in front of her.
In the beginning of the film, we see three people looking for work as the caretaker, and two maids. The original servants have all vanished in the middle of the night, leaving Kidman’s family all alone. As the story progresses, we see more and more examples that something supernatural is afoot. Kidman’s daughter says she can see and talk to other people living in the house. Her son cannot. Kidman believes the daughter is lying, but slowly becomes convinced that something out of the ordinary is happening in her home.
All of the performances are top notch. Kidman only needs to use a limited range in the film, but she does so very well. The new maid is played by Fionnula Flanagan who doesn’t perform as often as she used to, but is still a wonderful actress. The other maid is played as a mute by Elaine Cassidy, whom gave a great performance when she starred in “Felicia’s Journey” a few years ago.
A small role is done by Christopher Eccleston, who I have been waiting to do another incredible performance since I first became aware of him in “Shallow Grave” almost seven years ago. I’m still waiting for him to get the starring roles that he deserves. He has one of the most motionless performances I've ever seen. Even characters who interact with him never move. We first see him in what is the densest fog I think I have ever seen on film. When her husband appears out of it, the movie takes a strange turn. His scene is one of the turning points in the film, where we the audience begins to understand what is really happening.
The two children are played by some of the best child acting I have seen in years. The girl especially. There is a line where the boy asks the girl "What happened to mom?". The girl replies back, "I already told you. She went Mad". The line is funny, but no one in the theater laughed because by this point we were all too wrapped up by the tension and suspense of the film.
The strongest criticisms I hear about the film are about its pacing. This is a fair comment to make, for the movie is certainly slow paced. Yet, this is also one of the film’s strongest points! It takes it time to build the tension properly. It sets us up. The movie isn’t just predictable, it lets us know what is coming next, and still manages to shock us. Most of the movie is spent building up atmosphere. It was slow, but it worked for me. I’m glad that it took its time, for it would have lost credibility with me if it rushed through all of the scenes, and jumped into the terror.
And as predictable as the film was becoming, the ending still had a sensational shocking conclusion. I really liked the final ending. Not the 'surprise' portion of the ending, but the concept itself. Of how two worlds can cross over, and what they will see. I really like that part that takes place outside of the house.
This is neither a cheap or exploitational horror film.
Note: that on my own movie review web site I only gave the movie 3˝ stars.
Recommended:
Yes
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grimjack2
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Location: San Rafael, CA, Marin County
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Film is my favorite art form. I live a life of constant amelioration.
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