The Others: What Remains After Death

Do you believe in ghosts? Well, I think I already shared here before that I do believe in them, yet not exactly the mainstream ideas of them as wandering spirits. I don’t think spirits can linger in the realm of the living after death for too long, but I do think some of their emotions and memories stay. Those memories and emotions attract energy; that’s why there are some people who can perceive the remnants of their beings. Anyway, there are a lot of beliefs and speculations about what truly a ghost is; that’s why for today I’m going to share about a movie that has ghosts in it. However, this movie wasn’t your usual movie about ghosts scaring people. It wouldn’t even appeal to me like that if not for its ending part, which kinda felt like that but technically wasn’t one as well. So without further ado, join me for a while as I share with you a peek of its story and my review of this 2001 psychological horror, The Others.

About the Movie

The Others is a psychological horror movie that was first released way back on August 10, 2001. This one-hour and forty-four-minute movie was directed and written by Alejandro Amenábar and it starred Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, and James Bentley. So this movie follows the story of a family living in a secluded family estate. The help they hired mysteriously vanished, so Grace—the mother—decided to find another set of helping hands again. However, strangely enough, a group of strangers knock on their door, and they tell Grace they are replying to her request for domestic help. Yet it wasn’t long before she discovered they lied, and also it wasn’t long before the strange events started to happen.

It started with subtle changes, but later on it became more apparent that there were other unseen and unwanted people with them. Her daughter seemed to see them, however, she insist that they aren’t ghosts. Terrified and angry, Grace sets on searching every corner of their house to find those people, but to no avail, she didn’t find them. Slowly, their once quiet quarters were festered with malevolence and uncertainty. Things become messier when Grace learns, much to her dismay, that the help she hired are more than they appear to be and that her own world is not what she thinks it is, for under those foggy trails lies the truth that even she would find hard to stomach.

This movie was probably the quietest horror movie I’ve ever watched; like, for most of the time I’m watching it, I’m anticipating something to come out for the scare. It made me pretty tense because the silence and the uncertainty of not seeing the thing that’s haunting them, the same as the characters do, terrifies me also. I didn’t expect that even mere silence can have this chilling effect on me. The way they build up the atmosphere was brilliant, like it’s there to make you think about what’s really happening in that house. Their whole set reeks of gothic horror—from the old and creepy house and the darkened rooms to the weird book of the dead—those things did really emanate vibes that would tell you it’s definitely a horror movie. Aside from its lack of noisy jump scares, it’s also noticeable that it didn’t have gore or any bloody scenes in it, which is definitely a deviation from the usual horror movies.

As for its story, the end totally blew me up. Honestly, I think the first hour of it was kinda slow for me, like everything was just being laid down and it was uncertain what’s really happening to them. This movie is totally not for those watchers who are looking for adrenaline-pumping horror, for it’s more like intense suspense. The tension was definitely there, and even though, like I said, it doesn’t have gore in it, still it was able to set me on the edge of my seat. The stillness of the story really was unsettling, and everything about it just felt foreboding. Yeah, it was quite slow, but its story was well-paced. I like those subtle foreshadowing because they definitely made sense later on. I thought they were just trivial details, but it turns out they’re part of a bigger picture.

And for the actors and actresses, I was blown away at how well they portray their characters. Since it doesn’t have any action scenes here, the focus was really on how adept they are in portraying their character’s emotions and sentiment are. I especially love how Nicole Kidman portrays her role as a strict and aloof Grace, who—despite her hard facade—was truly a loving mother. She may not be that showy about it, but she did love her children to death. Her performance in portraying that role was one of the reasons why I finished this movie because the way she just showed the terror and anger just hooked me. That scene with her and a gun in particular, I really did feel the desperation and anger in that moment. Further, the maids also did a fantastic job of being really mysterious and, at the same time, knowledgeable. Even in their first appearance, I know, they knew a lot of things about that house, and seeing the hints they dropped somehow led me to conclusions that somehow scratched the surface of what really happened at the end.

Almost all of the aspects of this movie were spooky except the banter of the two children. I find them funny and relatable because I have siblings, and we often do that. Alakina Mann and James Bentley did well in playing the classic sibling complex. Part of the moments I enjoyed were the ones they portrayed, and it’s amazing that despite that they were young at that time, they were able to act well in those moments with much innocence and also a tinge of naughtiness. So that’s it...I think I’ve shared enough for today and yeah, the whole thing was definitely an interesting diversion from the usual horror movies I’ve seen. There are no spooky special effects, bloody scenes, or usual horror stuff whatsoever—instead, it relied more on the silence and story for it to create a tense vibe that’s so gripping and compelling. That’s why if you wanted to try an unconventional horror movie with a nice plot and cinematography, then you ought to try The Others.

And before I end this review, I'll share with you its trailer, so—

Have you encountered this movie before? Or you still haven't tried watching it? Well, if you have something to share, then feel free to comment below. That would be all for now, everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading my review, and I hope to see you around~