Tuesday, March 04, 2003

Here's another review... on The Others. I am warning you... if you have intentions of seeing this film, but haven't seen it yet, don't even read this entry, as the plot twist will be described here. Obviously, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Set some time after World War II, the movie depicts the life of Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her two children. They have three new servants, and things are going on in their house that they cannot explain. Grace's husband has not returned from the war. He was presumed to be dead.

Over the course of the movie, strange disturbances have been going on in the house. Grace, being a staunch Catholic, refused to believe that these ocurrences were otherworldly. He comes across a photo album called the Book of the Dead, wherein people who are dead are photographed as though they were asleep. Grace's daughter seems to be spinning stories of the supernatural, but even the servants are beginning to reveal that they believe the little girl.

Suddenly, Grace's husband returns. Despite that, things did not get any better. Grace, seeing a strange apparition, attacked her daughter, and something was so peculiar about that situation. As quickly as he has come, Grace's husband leaves again.

In the end, they discover that the servants WERE photographed in the Book of the Dead. Their gravestones were also in the garden of the mansion. What is chilling about this was as they locked out the servants, there were already intruders in the house. What happens after that is the BEST TWIST I have ever seen in a film (Yes. I saw the Sixth Sense prior to this, and I still wasn't prepared..): Grace and her children are already dead. The "intruders" they were experiencing were living, breathing people who were being scared witless by their actions. Grace then recalls the night she went mad over her husband's death, where she smothered her children with pillows, and then shot herself. She woke up the next day, thinking it was all a dream, and lived life as though it were normal.

The twist was a killer. I didn't see it coming, even with a precedent like The Sixth Sense. For me to suddenly realize that they were the ones who were haunting the house was a complete turnaround. It was simply amazing. I'm a fan of suspense movies, and by far, this was one of the best of the genre, right up there with The Sixth Sense, if not, even a tad better, especially had it come first.

You'd love this film if you haven't seen it yet- and you haven't read the review.

Marcelle's evaluation: A+

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