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Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

gridoon2018 This little rural thriller is considered an unsung minor classic in some circles, but I had some problems with it - three, to be more specific: a) either my hearing is going bad, or the sound recording was poor, or some of the actors did not enunciate well enough, but I could not understand much of the dialogue (and my DVD has no subtitles, either) - like, at least half of it, b) nothing happens for nearly an hour, c) Uta Hagen gives a supremely irritating performance, with her overdone fake Russian accent and the overuse of expressions such as "Come, child". Apart from all that, director Robert Mulligan is successful at establishing a mood, there is a startling plot twist in the middle, and if you take the film as an allegory about the difficulty of a child to cope with loss, it is effective. But it should have been half as long. **1/2 out of 4.

Tom Dooley Made back in 1972 this remastering by Eureka films does total justice to this film that never got the accolades it fully deserved. Set in the Connecticut summer of 1935 we meet twins Niles and Holland Perry. They live in an extended family but their mother seems to be dealing with some sort of mental breakdown. Their paternal grandmother has taught them a 'game' that she brought from her native Russia which seems to involve outer body experiences.Then a series of things start to happen around the farmstead and as the evidence starts to unfold it becomes clear to Niles that his twin is responsible - even though he really knows that Holland does not mean to be bad. What unfolds is a chilling game of life and death.This is one of those films that will get the hair on the back of your neck to rise – for all the right reasons. Played absolutely straight by a stellar cast this is just quietly horrific; but it is all done in good taste. It has aged really well and has extremely high production values with a story that will hold you right until the end. It is also so well done that you would have no problems watching it again – which is quite rare in such a genre of film making. If you have never come across this one before then you have a treat waiting for you – absolutely recommended.

NORDIC-2 After viewing Roman Polanski's film version of Ira Levin's 'Rosemary's Baby', actor Thomas Tryon (1926-1991) was inspired to write his own Gothic horror novels. His first effort, 'The Other' (Knopf, 1971), proved to be both very good and a major bestseller, quickly prompting Tryon to join forces with director Robert Mulligan ('To Kill a Mockingbird'; 'Summer of '42') to create a film version. Set in the summer of 1935 on a Connecticut farm (but actually shot in Murphys, California in the Sierra Nevada mountains, 150 miles east of San Francisco), 'The Other' focuses on Niles Perry (Chris Udavarnoky), a 12-year-old boy coming of age in a family rocked by tragedy: Niles' identical twin brother, Holland (Martin Udavarnoky), has recently died from a mysterious illness, as has his father in a freak accident, and the boy's grief-crazed mother, Alexandra (Diana Muldaur), is struggling to maintain the last vestiges of her sanity. The late, mischievous Holland Perry is dead to everyone except Niles, who sees and converses with his brother and firmly believes that Holland has come back from the grave to keep him company. Either an evil spirit or a figment of Niles's twisted imagination, Holland—abetted by the Perry's strange, ethereal grandmother Ada (Uta Hagen)—prompts Niles to arrange "accidents" that kill or paralyze family members. Or is it all entirely Niles' doing? The perfectly balanced ambiguity at the heart of the story, which equally supports a supernatural or psychological explanation, is not original with Tryon; Henry James introduced the trope in his great horror novella, 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898, also made into a hauntingly effective film version entitled 'The Innocents', 1961). Beautifully photographed by Robert L. Surtees ('The Graduate'; 'The Last Picture Show'), 'The Other' starts slowly but inexorably builds to a powerful climax and must be ranked one of the most underrated horror films ever made. VHS (1989) and DVD (2006).

meddlecore The Other is an interesting film that puts an intriguing twist on the good-evil twin concept. It tells the story of a pair of young twins- Nyles and Holland- who have been brought up under the tutelage of a Russian woman- Ada- who has initiated them with the abilities of remote viewing and psychic possession. In the film, the boys are only ever together when they are alone- never when others are present. This leads you to believe that "The Other" one- Holland- is actually dead. But his ghost still seems to remain, at times remotely possessing, and seemingly taking over the body of, his brother from beyond the living realm (and getting him into all sorts of trouble in the process). Ada and their mother do seem to be privy to this, but remain powerless to intervene, because "their" (the boys') powers have become so adept.While the two boys remain best friends, it's clear that Holland is evil and constantly manipulating the more pious and innocent Nyles. Things particularly revolve around a "cursed" ring that had once belonged to- and is supposed to be buried with- their father.It's clear that Holland is willing to go to all lengths to prevent others from trying to get in between he and his brother- even going as far as to kill their cousin (when he finds out Nyles has the ring), and attack their mother (when she confronts Nyles about the ring and severed finger that he carries around "for" his dead brother).Eventually we discover that Holland is very much dead; having fallen into a well on one of his past birthdays. But, because of the abilities they were endowed with, he has been able to retain his abilities, and remain connected with his brother, even in death.Ada tries to convince Nyles that Holland is dead, and that he can't blame Holland for all the terrible things that have been going on. This, of course, angers Holland, who then steals their newborn brother. Ultimately leading to the film's conclusion.The end is sort of ambiguous, allowing you to accept that Nyles was being manipulated by the spirit of his dead brother, or opt for a reading where both boy's are dichotomous elements of Nyle's psyche- with Nyles acting out in jealousy (toward his incoming baby sister). However, the final shot does seem to imply that Holland was, in fact, acting through Nyles to perpetuate torment on the family, prior to taking over total control of his good brother's (former) physical form- after the death of Ada.This film is both disturbing and atmospheric. It keeps you immersed throughout, by remaining just ambiguous enough to allow you to read it in either of the aforementioned ways, while tending to direct you towards the former reading (if you were paying close enough attention to the details). There's no forced happy ending, either. Rather, it ends on a foreboding note that perfectly accentuates the tone present in the build-up of the film. It's the type of film that will leave you uneasy and unsure- as you ponder on whether everything was carried out by Nyles, or whether he was being controlled from beyond the grave. It is certainly one of the more complex films from the ghost-related horror genre, and as such, requires both attention and interpretation. It's definitely a solid horror which should be seen by fans of psychological horror. Highly recommended.9 out of 10.