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What's the Story, Mornin' Glory?
The Others
(2001)
The year is 1945. Three servants arrive at a home in the Channel Islands. The home is owned by Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) and she lives with her two children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Stewart (James Bentley). Both the children have a disease that makes them violently allergic to the sun. If any sunlight touches them they will break out in blisters and suffocate. Grace’s husband is in France fighting in the war, although Grace was told that her husband may be dead she waits for his return anyway. Grace put an ad in the paper for servants after one day all of hers disappeared into the night, but the mailman never came to pick it up and the three servants who she hired actually appeared by chance. They used to work for the people who lived there before and always missed the home, so Grace lets them stay. Grace runs a strict household with militant bible studies, no radio, no electricity, and no noise. Her daughter Anne often speaks of ghost being in the house and both Anne and Stewart are afraid to be alone. Anne also claims to talk to a boy named Victor who opens doors and the curtains, letting the dreaded sunlight into the home.
Grace doesn’t believe Anne's stories until one day she hears running in the room above her, the chandelier begins to shake and she hears voices. Anne says that it’s a family, a father, mother, grandmother, and a son. The grandmother always asks her to come talk to her. The couple and their son say that the house is theirs and they want it back. Grace searches the house, but finds nothing. She begins to see things that aren’t there and mistakes her daughter for an old woman, nearly stangling her. Grace trusts no one, especially her new housekeeper and her family. Has Grace gone mad or are things not really what they seem?
You Learn Something New Everyday...
 You can lock ghosts out of a house.
You should always take a moment to hig it out when running away from ghosts.
Zing!
"Graves don't have ghosts, only skeletons!" -Anne to her brother when they find graves in their yard.
Survey SAYS...
I was honestly expecting a crappy movie with a crappy "surprise" ending, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. There were some real creepy moments, which I didn’t believe that an actress like Nicole Kidman could pull off. She’s a good actress and all, but she mainly plays in movies where her beauty is the main attraction, not the story (Stepford Wives anyone? And don’t try The Hours because she got an award for playing ugly). Of course they did throw in a few cheap scares, but this is a high budget Hollywood flick that was advertised as a horror movie, so it was expected. However, this definitely was not a horror movie, but more of a psychological mystery movie. I wouldn’t quite call it a psychological thriller because it wasn’t really thrilling, but I don’t really know what constitutes it being labeled a psychological thriller. Perhaps I should check that out.
Anyway, that fact that I’ve seen as many horror movies as I have and I’ve pretty much seen any plot twist that could be thrown in such a movie and the fact that my friend mentioned that there was a "surprise" ending, I found the "surprise" ending, not so surprising. Since my friend did mention there was a surprise ending the first thing I started doing when the movie started was start guessing what the ending was. I guessed it my first guess, but the neat thing about this movie was that it kept making me wonder if that was how it really ended. I wasn’t really sure until the last scene. The Others also has a strong replay value. It’s not the type of movie where once you see the surprising ending it’s not fun to watch more than once. Movies like Kiss the Girls aren’t fun to watch more than once because the whole movie rests on you trying to figure out who the killer is. Once you find out, the movie isn’t quite as involving as the first time you watched it. The Others can be just as enjoyable the second time, even if you know the secret ending.
One thing I liked about The Others is the fact that there was an actual reason for 90% of the film to take place in the dark and there was even a creepy scene that took place in full on daylight (yes, my friends, it is possible). There were a few things that didn’t get explained by the ending, like how Grace could lock and take the key to the piano, but it still able to open up. Were the ghosts the old owners of the house? Why can’t the people and ghosts co-exist? Why do they feel the need to run them out? Did the old lady dress up in the communion outfit? How long after they died did the people move in? Also, if the children were allergic to the sun as violently as they were why didn’t they change the sleeping patterns so that they woke up at sundown and fell asleep at sunrise? Wouldn’t that make things easier and they wouldn’t have to worry about the curtains and locking the doors all the time?
Really, none of these things had to be explained, but I have to find faults with any movie. These weren’t distracting problems and perhaps if they were explained it would have made the ending drag some. Anyway, kudos to you, Mrs. Kidman, for making an enjoyable movie. I was definitely surprised, I must say. So, if you like...pictures of dead people, grave cover-ups, mouthy children, ghosts, creepy old blind people, sun allergies, and bible questioning, then this is the flick for you. As for us...we give The Others
That Wasn't so Bad Was It?
I was left Feeling: Impressed
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