HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: THE OTHER


It’s day seven of my HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE where I have to see a horror movie a day during the month of October and write a short review for each one.

It’s time for a classic feature. THE OTHER was made in 1972, and inspired many well known thrillers - Sixth Sense, The Uninvited and most recently GOOD NIGHT MOMMY to name a few. The story centers on the lives of two twin brothers, Holland and Niles. Niles is a sensitive and loving child, while Holland is a cold-blooded sociopath and a killer. As bodies in the village begin to pile up, the grandmother Ada starts to suspect that something is wrong with the boys…

THE OTHER has a very grim story line, high body count and while the violence is minimal it has some very disturbing moments. The film shot in bright colours, bringing a dream-like quality to every scene, making us question all the time what is real.

The movie’s twist must have been quite a shock in 1972. The movie posters even begged not to reveal what they called “the secret of THE OTHER”. Nowadays this twist was used and abused and hardly surprising, but the realistic and at times touching acting of the twin boys (the only ever role of Martin and Chris Udvarnoky) is worth it all.

THE OTHER is full of long shots and the angelic music of Jerry Goldsmith (he will later score THE OMEN) highlights the contrast – a thin line between darkness and light in the film, darkness slowly overtaking as the score dissolves itself towards the end.


THE OTHER may be too slow and too esoteric for modern viewer, but it is an immaculately shot and atmospheric piece of cinema that deserves all the attention it could get.

Score out of 5:
SCARE SCORE: 👻👻👻👻
GORE SCORE: 🗡
FUN SCORE: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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