The Others SPOILER-FILLED Review
by Tim Wick
Is everyone gone?
I sure hope so. If you are reading this and haven't seen the movie - go
away! I'm talking about major spoilers here. Got it?
Go away!
Sheesh! Fine - you deserve what you get....
Here's what someone is going to say to me in the next week (and the reason I
told people who hadn't seen the film to go away).
"It was such a rip off of The Sixth Sense"
And I was concerned that was exactly what this movie was when I reached the
turning point in the film. But the fact is this movie was most certainly in
preproduction by the time The Sixth Sense came out. I can only imagine
the
frustration with which the producers faced the final moments of that film.
But the fact is even if the final sting is similar, the way we get there is
vastly different.
I have never seen a haunted house movie where a room bathed in light was
more
frightening than one lit by only a candle. By the end of the film, it is
well lit rooms that are terrifying and darkness that feels safe. This
turnabout makes for a great chill on the back of your neck every time a
curtain is OPENED rather than closed.
I love Kidman in this movie and not just because the primitive male in me
loves to see her in tight knit dresses. No, she is genuinely creepy in this
movie. Not actually cruel or evil, her life has clearly driven her just
this
side of mad and so we wonder for some time if everything that is going on is
an offshoot of that madness.
Of course it is - but not in a way we could possibly expect.
When we reach that point - and if you are reading this I hope you know what
that point is - where we discover the consequences of her madness, we
understand why we were so creeped out by her from the beginning. This is
not
a Bruce Willis is a nice guy who just discovered he has a bullet hole in his
stomach moment. This is a mother just realizing she smothered her children
and then shot herself moment. Makes the dinner scene where she says "stop
breathing" take on a different meaning - doesn't it?
I have often stated that I hate horror films. Fact is that it's slasher
films and their ilk that I really don't like. I love creepy haunted house
films. As that genre goes, we have a great modern example of the sub-genre
here. It's primary weakness, as far as I can tell, is that it came out
after
The Sixth Sense and will always be compared to that movie.
Look, The Sixth Sense is better. Get over it.
This movie is still worthwhile. It certainly succeeds in reversing the way
we should feel about light and darkness and has some classic misdirection
throughout. Most notable is the book of the dead, which contains pictures
that could easily match the people the little girl draws for her mother.
From then on, I was convinced the mystery lay in who those people were.
Of course it didn't. I give writer/director Alejandro Amenebar full credit
for guiding me down the wrong path.
This film has more in common with The Uninvited than it does with The
Sixth Sense. On that playing field, it is as good as the best of the
genre.
I don't love it the way I love "The Sixth Sense," but my admiration has
grown the more I've thought about the movie.
Kidman has elevated herself this summer with her turns in Moulin Rouge and
now The Others. Neither film is expected to do wonderfully at the box
office, but both will certainly be turning a profit and Moulin Rouge did
perform better than expected. I can only hope that this summer will result
in some decent parts for Ms. Kidman.
I can also point out once again that Tom Cruise is an idiot for leaving her
(yeah, yeah, I know - she might be a pain in the butt in person - I don't
care).
There is another review of The Others.
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