The Others: A Ghost Story With An Unexpected Twist

Many films have been made about ghosts. You may even feel like they are all similar.  One that certainly stands out from the crowd is The Others (Alejandro Amenábar, 2001).

There is a certain nostalgia associated with this film. It is influenced by both classic thrillers and Horror Movies. Today, about 20 years after its release, we are going to look back and explore how it managed to connect so successfully with audiences and critics.

The Others tells a ghost story you’ve heard before, but from a different perspective. In addition, it plays with our perception of reality.

A word of warning before you continue reading: this article tells the story of a movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to stop reading here.

Good luck in production

Today, Alejandro Amenábar is one of the most famous filmmakers in the Spanish film world. However, 20 years ago, the director of the films  Tesis (1996) and Open Your Eyes (1997) was largely unknown, especially internationally.

The Others  marked a turning point in Amenábar’s career. It was also the most produced Spanish film of its time.

Still, it was not saved from criticism. It was often compared to the film  The Sixth Sense  (Shyamalan, 1999). In reality, the only similarity between the two films is the final twist.

The Others managed to evoke in the viewers feelings that had not been seen for a long time, even though the idea revolved around a rather familiar story. A key element in the story is a house where the living and the dead coexist, and where younger people are most likely to perceive a supernatural presence. However, The Others are told from the perspective of the dead, not the living, as usual.

No actor or numerous landscape changes are needed to tell this story. In fact, it could probably have been done on a very small budget. However, Amenábar was lucky on the trip as he did not have to save any expenses. For this reason, he could afford to give the film its atmospheric brushstrokes that shot at its fame.

Actor Tom Cruise showed tremendous interest in Amenábar’s filmmaking after seeing Seeing Open Your Eyes. His admiration for the Spanish-Chilean filmmaker led him to make a new version of the film  Open Your Eyes . Its name is  Vanilla Sky . Amenábar refused to direct it, but  Cruise eventually became one of the producers of The Others . The only conditions that Amenábar set were that the film had to be shot in Spain with his own production team. The end is history.

Lighting played an important role

A large budget is always beneficial in filmmaking . In reality, however, a good story is much more important. But because there are no outside narrators in the films, the story is largely conveyed through the images.

When we think of fantasy and horror movies, we think of certain elements. One of these is darkness. This is because everything scary usually happens at night. It is a time when you feel most vulnerable and unprotected and all your fears come to the surface. We usually combine darkness with fear of the unknown. It is part of our collective imagination.

The film uses chiaroscuro lighting well. This is the kind of artificial light from which we sense the mystery. Javier Aguirresarobe acted as photographer. The way he uses dark and light in the film helps to create a unique atmosphere. It keeps the viewer on their toes.

Often we sense light to mean safety and protection. In this film, however, the opposite is true. Due to the illness of the children of Grace, the house must remain dark. Darkness makes them feel safe. It is clear that this is completely different from normal. This is reflected in the last turn of the film, when you realize that the story doesn’t really tell about the living.

However, the light is still the bearer of the truth. It is no coincidence that Mrs. Mills is always seen near a lamp or carrying one. Because Mrs. Mills is the bearer of the truth herself. Ultimately, he shows Grace and the kids the real side of things, as hard as it is for them to swallow.

The film gives the house a sense of unreality. It also feels particularly claustrophobic and isolated, and the characters hardly even mention the outside world. Also, everything that is outside the boundaries of the house and the cemetery is completely foggy.

No wonder the film’s biggest revelations are related to light. For example, when someone removes curtains. Even if children are scared, their skin will not be damaged. When the end of the film comes, the family celebrates “healing”. In addition, the fog disappears.

The light in The Others is not natural light. It is memorable and surrounds us in an awful atmosphere. Without special effects, but with the help of camera movements and chiaroscuro, we find that something strange is happening in the house. That some intruder has destroyed the normal.

Keys to excitement

The Others make their intentions very clear right from the start-up credits. Even then, you know that what you are going to see is a macabre and a horrible story. The film begins with a scene of a woman screaming when she wakes up. Has he seen nightmares? Has anything happened in the past that we don’t know about yet?

Throughout the film, little Anne says on several occasions that “something happened”. This something clearly happened before Grace shouted. It’s a shout that may go unnoticed the first time you look. However, the director has added this scene right at the beginning of the film to warn the viewer that something terrible has just happened.

You feel the tension from the beginning. The film draws on earlier sources, such as  The Turn of the Screw . This is a mystery short story by Henry James from 1898. Also included is an echo of the master of excitement, Alfred Hitchcock. In fact, the manor resembles the manor in his film  Rebekka  (1949). In addition, Grace reminds us of Grace Kelly and the many frightened blondes that this British actress portrayed in her film career.

Grace also describes the sense of isolation we talked about earlier. He seems to want to live in a fantasy situation he designed himself to deny reality. Throughout the film, you learn that Grace suffers from migraines, loves silence, and hardly ever leaves the house. In fact, he is trapped in a lie he has invented for himself. He created that lie as a defense mechanism to avoid facing a creepy reality.

In addition, there is a religious element to Grace’s character. He is a firm believer and can answer all questions about the Bible. Grace herself does not question anything. The paradox, however, is that when he gets to know the truth, he is unable to justify his own existence.

Unlike Grace, Anne questions the Bible. He believes he knows everything about ghosts. Anne is one of those characters who gives the viewer a better idea of ​​what is really going on. He’s the only one who reminds me that “something happened”.

The film deals with the fear of facing reality and death, as well as how we have no answers to our own existence.  Despite the passage of years, the film still works perfectly. It doesn’t contain stereotypical characters or stunning special effects. Instead, it evokes excitement in the most classic and effective ways.