Other is a brand new horror movie directed by a true master of creepy vibes, David Moreau. This is his directorial follow-up to MadS, but don’t expect the same frantic pace. Other is a slow, thoughtful, and truly chilling exploration of personal trauma. Are you ready to face the monsters of your past?
The Plot
Other begins with a young woman named Alice (Olga Kurylenko), as she is drawn back to her childhood home by the sudden death of her estranged mother. While exploring the long vacant rooms of her childhood home, seemingly frozen in time, she must also confront the dark corners of her past. Isolated in a house filled with bad memories, she starts to suspect she’s not alone.
The Hook
While watching the film, there will inevitably be a moment when you realize that director David Moreau has done something very different with Other. In a film about isolation and self-exploration, he chose to only ever fully show the face of the principal character, Alice. All other faces (except for one) are either covered, out of focus, or fragmented.
In an upcoming interview I did with Fourth Take, I asked him about this aspect of Other. David said, “I think it was when I saw Panic Room. I thought it was so great that we actually could stay in this panic room with this mother and a child. We’re just seeing the video of the ones who trained to get in… I always find myself more connected to the genre movies where I actually don’t see too much. And where I can give the audience the possibility to use their own imagination, you know?”
Good Creepy Vibes
Other blurs the line between haunted house and monster movie. David Moreau doesn’t rely heavily on jump scares to elicit fear. Instead, he creates an atmosphere of constant unease using clever cinematography, lighting, and especially sound design.
When asked about the sound design for Other, David told me, “One of my favorite parts of making a movie is to work with the sound, especially in this genre. It can be so interesting and gives such a strain to a simple visual when you actually hear something that you don’t see.”
The Problems
I enjoyed most aspects of Other, but the film did have one issue that stood out to me. While the film does a very good job of hiding the faces of all but a few characters, the audio dubbing of those characters doesn’t always sit right with what we’re seeing. Whether it is a performance that doesn’t quite match or a voice that doesn’t seem to be in the same room as the actors, I did find it distracting.
Who Should Watch Other?
Other is a horror movie that slowly envelopes you in dread. It begins with a mystery that gets more unsettling as you uncover the truth. It may hit some of the same notes as other horror movies, but the execution and stylistic choices make up for any familiarity you might feel. If that sounds like a good way to spend an hour and a half.