#18 - The Others

The Others (2001)
Written and Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar.

Plot: Set either at the very end of WW2 or just afterwards (I can’t remember which), about a weird, scary and possibly demented woman (Nicole Kidman) and her two young children (Alakina Mann & James Bentley), both of whom are allergic to sunlight, living alone in a spooky, isolated old house. And then weird shit starts to happen.

Review: This is a good, old fashioned, ultra creepy haunted house movie, relying on atmosphere and weirdness rather than, you know, FX (ahemTheHauntinghackcough). And it is very atmospheric and weird, with a nice colour scheme (I seem to remember everything being brown. Although maybe it’s coz I generally remember everything in sepia tone).

However, Nicole Kidman is pretty much the creepiest thing ever in this movie. I mean, the ‘ghosts’ ain’t got nothing on her. She’s very good but… holy shit. Funnily enough, I remember when I saw this one of the first things that popped into my mind was 'if they ever make a movie of His Dark Materials, she would kick ass as Mrs. Coulter'. She’s just so fucking scary. Still don't wanna watch the damn thing though.

The other really cool thing about this movie is that because it is a twist-ending movie, you kind of expect it to deteriorate in quality with each viewing, but it actually doesn’t (granted, it is infinitely more fun when you watch it with a friend who doesn’t know what’s going on coz then you get to laugh at their ‘what the fuck’ face), unlike, say any Shyamalan movie other than maybe The Sixth Sense (maybe).

Fuckin Shyamalan. Well anyway, yeah, the second time I saw this movie I was so involved with the creepy whacked out shit that was going on that I kind of forgot what was going to happen so I was still like ‘oh my God, really?’. Granted, I am of slightly sub-par intelligence, but still, it surprised me.

Anyway, this should probably be watched with The Orphanage, another good old-timey haunted house movie, not jam packed with special FX and not a total rip off of some Japanese movie. It kind of makes me wonder why the only people who can make a decent American-style ghost movie are Spanish. Although, it does make sense. The best American Westerns are Italian and the best American rock music is Japanese (see Zoobombs. I saw them at the Khyber in Halifax last year and they fucking rocked. My head exploded). Go figure.

Whoo.

Favourite Part: Christopher Eccleston! Man, I miss him as the Doctor. He was awesome. :(

Other versions: None.

Sequels: None.

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