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A creepy supernatural psychological thriller set in
the 1930's "The Other" focuses on Niles and Holland Perry
9 year old twins that live on a Connecticut farm. A series
of mysterious deaths accompany Holland playing something
called "the game" that their late grandfather taught them
with Niles and chaos results in the family until their grandmother
forces the twins to face an unpleasant truth. ***
This heady mixture of supernatural chills and themes
popular as far back in film as "The Bad Seed" (although
with a most unusual twist in this film) make "The Other"
a memorable low-key classic of the thriller genre. It isn't
a horror film per se but is filled with lots of suspenseful
moments. A minor cult classic high on atmosphere with strong
performances particularly from stage legend Uta Hagan ("The
Boys from Brazil") as the grandmother, Diana Muldaur ("Star
Trek", "McCloud") as the mother and twins Chris & Martin
Udvarnoky (who sadly never made another movie to the best
of my knowledge) "The Other" is well worth investigating
particularly from those who may have caught its network
premiere in the mid-70s and frequent reruns. The film has
aged remarkably well due to the stylish and sensitive direction
of Robert Mulligan ("The Summer of '42", "To Kill a Mockingbird").
The film shares much of the careful use of atmospheric tension
and character study that make Mulligan's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
such a powerful classic. Featuring the late John Ritter
in one of his first major roles "The Other" remains a creepy
favorite of mine nearly 34 years later. I should warn you
however NOT to read the copy on the box or pay too much
attention to the cover as they contain MAJOR spoilers. It's
clear that whomever did the copywriting for Fox and the
cover design didn't pay attention to the tagline that was
popular when the film was advertised (borrowed from "Psycho"
more or less) "please don't reveal the secret of 'The Other'
and see it from the beginning". --
Image & Sound:
Although the transfer appears a bit soft at times (some
of that is intentional for example during some of the dreamy
flashback sequences) Fox has given "The Other" a very nice
transfer. There's minimal print damage and colors are surprisingly
bold with little fading and proper flesh tones. I didn't
notice any digital artifacts during the movie. The mono
sound comes across loud and clear and hasn't been equalized
to the degree of some older movies so some of the intentionally
quieter moments work just as well as the louder intense
sequences of the film. ---
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