Rating: Summary: The type of movie only stupid people would dislike Review: This movie is excellent, it doesn't rely on unbelievable special effects such as movies like "The Haunting". The acting is very believable for the setting and captivating. The movie is a little slow but it has thrills bigger than any major unbelievable special effect could bring.
Rating: Summary: In the classic Hitchcok tradition, THRLY CHILLING!!! Review: This film is a love letter to the 1940's horror/fantasy/mystery films. A very lushly yet darkly filmed movie, creates a wonderfully chilled mood thruout. A wonderful film, the kind you have to immidiately watch again! In fact I'll never tire of thsi one, I watch it every so often. This is Afred Hitchcock worthy!
Rating: Summary: SUPERB EXECUTION, EVEN IF KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN Review: Great setup, some really intense acting by the Kidman character + her kids that really creeps up on you, and above all, exhileratingly chilling use of audio visual accoutrements to create that really haunting feel. Problem is, you have likely seen The Sixth Sense, and remember it, which makes the denouement of The Others so painlessly guessable that it's a bit of a gyp. You catch on fairly early that someone is not what they seem, but then you spend an hour restraining yourself from hitting the fast-forward to find out the answer. Great rental watch, and a pretty fiesty treat to learn how to use sound to make the audience's hair stand, but just not as much of a thriller it could have been if it was released pre-6th sense.
Rating: Summary: Nicole on Cruise control to stardom Review: Nicole Kidman has proven that she was the one with the real talent in her made-for-Hollywood farce of a marriage. Here she runs the gamut and artfully chews up the scenery and delivers an air of intrigue and shock in one of the few true horror films of the last decade or so. Sure, the plot owes a tip of the hat to a certain Bruce Willis film, but it's done well and Kidman keeps the chills percolating from start to finish. Lock the doors and turn out the lights to watch this one.
Rating: Summary: Environmental fear Review: Grace (Nicole Kidman) lives with her two children in a big house. Something has happened a few days ago and all the service is gone. Now, Grace has to deal with the house alone, plus a particular condition of her children, which make it even harder to live there alone. They suffer an ailment, which causes them blisters when they are exposed to light. Three people come to her door, and seem to come because of Grace's add requesting assitance. But, when Grace realizes that the mailman never came for the add, she starts suspecting that something is wrong. Besides, her daughter keeps telling these creepy stories and playing heavy pranks on her little brother... but as the movie moves forward, it is clearer that they might not be just pranks and creepy stories. Alejandro AmenĂ¡bar achieves a great movie through a clever use of environmental elements. The fog, the art of the house, the furniture; but the most fundamental part of the fear comes from Nicole Kidman's perfect performance as a stressfull mother, whose beliefs come to ground as the world of the living gets mixed up with the dead's. This is a rich movie, with one of the most complex set of subtexts I've seen: metaphisical existence, war, love, motherhood, ailment, etc.
Rating: Summary: "The intruders are leaving. But others will come" Review: The Others is a riveting and darkly menacing thriller, yet, during the course of the film, not a drop of blood is shed and no one dies. It is a reflection on the talent of director Alejandro Amenabar that small things, like a door slamming shut in one's face or a ghostly hand upon one's cheek are far more frightening than any amount of special effects that films in this genre are increasingly becoming reliant upon. A sense of claustrophobia is introduced from the outset by the thick fog surrounding the house in which most of the action takes place, and also by the permanently closed curtains and doors that prevent sunlight from brightening the rooms. In this house the light must always be contained, because the two young children (who live there with their mother) are photosensitive, and exposure to daylight will make them very ill. But it would seem that the family and their three somewhat mysterious servants are not the only inhabitants of the darkened house. Footsteps are heard, doors are opened, curtains are removed, but search as they may, nobody can find the perpetrators of these actions. And it would seem that whatever these beings are, they bear an ever-increasing amount of malevolent ill will towards the family. The film's conclusion is unexpected, even for those viewers who have managed to second-guess an earlier plot twist prior to its revelation. The surprise factor is at least partly due to the outstanding performances by the cast; special mention must be made of Alakina Mann, who is a young actress with a very bright future. This film is an example of outstanding cinematic production, and to maximise its impact, it is best watched in a darkened room.
Rating: Summary: This is what a movie is supposed to be!!!! Review: This movie is a breath of fresh air to horror/thriller movies. The only one as good in recent years has been The Sixth Sense. The story is about Grace (an amazing performance by Nicole Kidman) who hires three servants to help take care of her huge mansion and two children who live in darkness because they are diagnosed as photosensitive (they can not be in any strong light). Grace's husband has been gone for quite a while, presumed dead in the war. So, at first, she is glad to have the extra help around, although her character always stays on the cold side. But after a few days of the servants living in her house, strange things begin to happen and Grace finds herself fighting for the safety of her children and to keep her sanity! The twist ending to this movie couldn't be more perfect for the movie. It's the kind of ending, in the tradition of The Sixth Sense and Fight Club, when you slap your forehead and shout, "I should have known!" The acting on all accounts is brilliant - even the children are amazing actors. This is a must see movie! And a must-own for any DVD collector!! The DVD special features are: A look inside the others - a documentary A Visual effects piece "Xeroderma Pigmentosum": What is it? The story of a family dealing with the disease (The disease the children have in the movie) An intimate look at the director A still gallery of pictures from the movie Theatrical trailer Spanish subtitles French language tracking dolby digital 5.1 surround sound Widescreen (1:85:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions The movie runs approx. 104 minutes long
Rating: Summary: Next to "the hours", Nicole's best performance. Review: Nicole's perforamnce as the crazy mother of two children afraid of the dark is amazing. What makes this movie great is that it improves the mediocore "Sixth Sense." Sure, the plot may be similar but I found 'The Others" to be scarier during the whole movie. "The Sixth Sense" i thought was more of a thriller and less of a scary movie. If you like the "Sixth Sense" but want better actors then check out "The Others." The cinametography is amazing and it's just overrall creepier. I still like "The Sixth Sense" but "The Others" will appeal more to those who like Nicole Kidman.
Rating: Summary: Garbage Review: Here's a movie that looked scary because of its trailers, but sucked major Ass! I remember one trailer saying that "The Others has an ending you won't believe," The actual quote should have been, "The Others has an ending you won't believe . . . They'd use again." That's right Nicole Kidman and co. are the Ghosts, a totally unexpected plot twist, in 1998, before the sixth sense dominated the box office. Save your money and buy something else.
Rating: Summary: Truer Than You Think Review: I come to this ghost story from two perspectives; on one hand I am a movie lover, and a spooky movie lover in particular, and, from that perspective I have to say that this is a real nifty piece of work. It is so refreshing to see something so free of guts, gore, and barbarism. There are no "Hellraisers" here, no Freddy Krueger, no Jason Vorhees, and no Michael Myers. No FX sequences included simply to shock and revulse and "push the envelope of edginess" (buzzwords schlock producers use to rationalize their sick "tastes" as being "artistic vision". Go figure). This movie has characters, relationships, situations,and a STORY to tell. And it does a stylishly grand job of doing so. There is tension, puzzlement, mystery, and unease throughout it...and it all works. And the solution to the mystery of the "otherness" of "The Others" is a stunner. A plot device that truly turns the viewers' perception of who is who and what is what on its head. Marvelous movie. Well mounted. Well acted. Well told. ...and a bit more than that. A very ACCURATE sort of movie. The screenwriters here have really done their "homework", so to speak. I said earlier that I came at this film from two perspectives, only one of them being as a film fan. The other perspective is as an off-and-on ghost hunter (yes, tri-field meters, laser thermographic guns, etc.,etc.). And from that perspective I must note that this movie runs VERY close to the truth re: my own observations on the "thought processes" of "ghosts": which is, that VERY few of the "real things" believe FOR A MINUTE that they ARE ghosts, or that they are even DEAD. And they regard YOU as a real nut case if you try to convince them OTHERWISE. They DON'T want to HEAR it. So, without trying to spill too much of the storyline of this movie to those who have never seen it, I will only say this; there is a lot more paranormal VALIDITY here than there is pure hokum dreamed up in the off-kilter mind of a paid screenwriter. Watch "The Others". Enjoy "The Others". There's a great deal more substance here than anything you'll find on Elm Street. In your nightmares or otherwise.
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