My Thoughts on Other
The moment Other opens with someone’s face being torn off,you know you are for something intense with that kind of brutal, unflinching start.
The first few minutes are actually shot like found footage, with a first person point of view and commentary from an unseen narrator, but as the movie progresses, it eventually finds its center, focusing on a single, imposing location - Alice’s childhood home.
Alice has returned home following her mother’s death - a home that she has a traumatic history with - and Kurylenko as Alice carries the film on her shoulders, as for large stretches, she is the only person on screen.
And once Alice enters the house, the horror begins, as there’s a presence moving just out of sight, causing minor disturbances, and this unseen entity is referred to as the “other,” and is mostly glimpsed through shadows, strange sounds, or quick, fleeting movements.
And at times, it almost feels playful, like it’s teasing her...
Other is a film that blends psychological tension with physical horror, and there are faceless bodies scattered throughout the house, with some certain sequences involving hands and fingers that are quite gruesome and more convincing than some of the recent body horror I’ve seen.
Still, the real horror for me wasn’t the creature itself, it was Alice’s mother, as the way her trauma and controlling behavior shaped Alice’s life is terrifying in a way that supernatural elements can’t match, as it makes you think about how much fear can be inherited, and how abuse leaves a mark that isn’t easily shaken.
Alice’s backstory is revealed in pieces, often through glitchy VHS tapes, and I did like how these moments were brief and never overexplained, and at times you will found yourself laughing while also feeling a little sad at the same time.
By the middle of the film, it does become a bit repetitive though - objects move, characters react, arguments flare up, and then a minor scare happens again - and it all feels a bit formulaic and predictable at times.
But watching Alice alone, navigating the house, dealing with memories, and confronting the “other,” is when the film was at its ,strongest when she’s completely alone, forced to rely on her instincts and confront her trauma head on.
It's a film that is not just about the scares, it’s about the human element beneath them, as you find yourself rooting for Alice worrying about her, and even laughing at some of her absurd moments, and it is a film about fear in many forms.
David Moreau, who directed last years banger MadS, does a decent enough job of keeping you guessing about the “other” until the right moment, even if it is a tad predictable, and it could have leaned harder into the horror or fully committed to some of its stranger moments, but its emotionally resonant in ways I didn’t expect when the face first appeared on screen at the start.
Other may not be the sharpest or most original horror-thriller film this year, but it’s quite unnerving, and is anchored by a lead performance that refuses to let the movie falter.