The Other (1972)

Like most 12-year-olds, Niles and Holland like to get into mischief. The only problem is when Holland gets into mischief, people have a funny way of "accidentally" dying. Niles knows that Holland is responsible for all the gruesome accidents happening in the neighborhood - the pitchfork hidden in the hay, the severed finger in the box, the baby in the wine barrel. He knows but dare not tell anyone, not even his beloved grandmother Ada (Uta Hagen), that Holland is the evil twin¿or is he?

creepy older movie...

Not your typical Hollywood ending. You will think you have figured out the secret early on, but you will never guess what is coming at the end. There is implied magic, definite mental illness, murder, but the best is the ending that was to me a little unnerving.
(It was fun to see John Ritter, he looks so young! Even if only for a small bit.) August 29, 2008

Stays with you long after...

Disturbing, chilling and stays with you long LONG after the credits roll: If you have sufficient capacity for character empathy and sympathy as well as understand and appreciate the finer points of traditional/classic gothic story telling with its penchant for mood and atmosphere; subtlety and understatement, then this movie for you is a must-see. Trust me, if the events of this story ever actually transpired in ANYONE'S life they'd be scared s***less--regardless of any one-star reviews to the contrary. The only thing more chilling is the novel by Thomas Tryon that the screenplay was based upon. August 20, 2008

Great movie, Fox blew it!!

The movie gets 4 stars --great film! The DVD gets 1 star --stupid idiots at Fox actually give away a crucial plot twist on the back of the DVD case! How brain-dead can people be? Oh, BTW, there are even some folks who posted reviews here on Amazon that give away the plot twist. So wait for this to show up on TCM (they show it once a year) or, if you buy the DVD, DON'T READ THE BACK COVER!!!! Especially if you've never seen the movie or read the book. July 19, 2008

scary movie

this is a very good movie. keeps you guessing all the way to the end. great movie.a must have.. about a very disturbed little boy. June 7, 2008

Horror unlike any other

It is 1935, and it is rural Connecticut. The Perry family has lived on their farm since before the United States was a country. Overall, they have done well, but 1935 will not be a good year for them, and it has nothing to do with the Depression. Starting with the birthdays of the twins, in March, accidents begin occurring. Oh, and I said birthdays intentionally, as Niles and Holland Perry are identical twins, but have different birthdays, and even different zodiac signs, having been born on different sides of Midnight. Are the accidents really accidents? The first one we find out about, occurred before the story started, and resulted in the death of Mr. Perry, father to the nine-year-old twins. None of the "accidents" are small ones, and it becomes unclear whether anyone is safe.

Niles and Holland Perry might be identical twins, but they are quite different. Niles has always been the quieter, more polite, more well-behaved, more cheerful one, while Holland is the shadowy, secretive one, who is bolder and more willing to take risks. Niles thinks that Holland might be behind the "accidents" but many things are not as they seem.

Another dimension to this film is "the game", wherein Niles' grandmother, Ada, who is from Russia, teaches Niles to become so good at imagining what it would be like to be something, or someone, else, that he feels that he has become that other thing or other person. One great example, portrayed in the film, is when Niles studies a crow or raven, and ends up experiencing flight, with great cinematography mimicking what the bird would see while flying. This "game" might have been inspired by, and certainly resembles, the idea of "to grok" something introduced by Robert Heinlein in his novel, Stranger in a Strange LandStranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" was published in 1961, while Thomas Tryon's debut novel, The Other, was published in 1971. In "The Other", this game might be the key to many secrets.

Who will survive to the end of the movie? Many will not. Will the secrets all be uncovered? The movie, in this original version, and the novel, keep things vague, at the end. When the film was televised, years after its making, a voice-over was added, at the very end, that makes it clear that the secrets will be uncovered. That voice-over, fortunately, is not in this DVD version, leaving the horror intact.

This 1972 film, released first in Sweden, was supposed to star Ingrid Bergman as Ada, and Mark Lester in the double-role of Niles and Holland Perry. However, Ms. Bergman was unavailable, Uta Hagen was cast as Ada, and Ms. Hagen brought the twins, Chris and Martin Udvarnoky, to portray Niles and Holland Perry. Uta Hagen might not be Ingrid Bergman, but she portrayed Ada very well. Who knows how Mark Lester would have done with the role of the twins? Given his acting experience, at that time, he probably would have handled the job quite well. The Udvarnoky twins were okay, and using twins precluded the need for split-screens and other special effects, but they did not fit my image of the Perry twins, from reading the novel. Chris Udvarnoky, as Niles, did not come off as innocent-seeming as he should have, and the twins, who were supposed to be superficially similar in attitude, but very different beneath that, came off as too similar in all-around. That dampened some of the plot-twists.

Other actors/actresses in the film include: Diana Muldaur as the depressed, anxious, phobic, fragile Alexandra Perry, mother of the twins; Lou Frizzell as Uncle George; and a young John Ritter as Rider, the husband of Niles' and Holland's older cousin. Victor French is Angelini, the handyman, who might be evil or might just be a scapegoat, and Clarence Crow is Russell, the similar-age cousin of Niles and Holland.

The film was shot in California instead of Connecticut, as they needed the story to take place in the summer, but the Perry farm came out true to the image I had derived from the novel.

So, what did I think of this film adaptation of Thomas Tryon's "The Other"? Given that I think "The Other", with all its hidden secrets and quiet building of suspense and horror, is my all-time favorite horror novel, my expectations for the film were high, especially as Mr. Tryon wrote the screenplay. I was initially disappointed, as I was less than thrilled with the casting of the twins, but the wonderfully quiet building of terror, that permeated the novel, was translated to the movie. I guess that, when the original material is as good as the book is, and the movie remains faithful to that original material, the quality will eventually shine through. I am not a big fan of horror films, as many come out as looking a tad farcical, even when that was not intended, but The Other did not come out farcical, and the story, in its greatness, won out.

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 and up, although not for those prone to nightmares. January 28, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...