The movie The others, by Alejandro Amenábar, It turns 20 years since its premiere and it is still a work of art of horror cinema. It is, for its ability to mix the best twists of the genre, with something more substantial and deep. But especially, it is also a journey through pain, mourning and fear, which moves away from traditional ways to create something harder to assimilate.
The film achieves that topics such as death, uncertainty and the transience of human existence are joined to a powerful speech about horror. Between the two, the Spanish director managed to create a deep look at the fearfulness that hides in the shadows.
But also about the suffering of loss and mourning. With a Nicole Kidman who managed to create a memorable character in her combination of fragility and strength, The others is an allegory about finitude. Tangentially based on the classic haunted house trope with a twisted secret, Amenábar aspired to something more emotional.
From the first scene, which shows the actress’s face in the foreground twisted by anguish, to its astonishing end. The movie it is a careful and well constructed tour about what fear can actually be and also, spiritual and mental wounds.
Everything, under a luxurious staging and a visual tribute to great classics in which context is everything. With all its gothic air, but especially, its attention to the quality of horror cinema to explore the human, The others it is a plot triumph.
The classic that arrived at the wrong time in the great world of cinema
It has been said that The Others would have been a greater success, had it not been preceded by The Sixth Senseby director M. Night Shyamalan. A unfortunate coincidence that detracted from its careful script.
Without Shyamalan’s immediate movie reference, his central twist would have caused a real surprise. And although its premiere was delayed so as not to coincide with that of the Hollywood success, it was evident that The others did not stand the comparison well. The trade press immediately compared both arguments and Shyamalan’s version was praised for its attention to detail.
At the other extreme, Amenábar was accused of using the plot twist, without enough skill to create real fear or pain. They spoke of his insistence in using the stage in favor of the characters and above all, his lack of subtlety when narrating. Nevertheless, The others he had a much deeper look at death and loss than Shyamalan’s work. And on this he bases his strength.
The Others and the secrets kept by closed doors
Amenábar managed to create a disturbing universe that stands on its own and a new vision of fear. For the occasion, built from the essential perception of humanized space. The house that is assimilated not only as part of the story that is told. It is also an essential piece of information of the dramatic framework of what is insinuated.
Perhaps because of that, despite everything, it is considered to The others like a little gem of the subgenre. Or at least, among lovers of horror films based more on subtlety than on frights by mere concessions of the script. As the careful production that it is, the film bases the greatest weight of the plot on a correct and intelligent development of the characters. Also, build a unique environment. The objective gaze – the camera that always watches, from a considerable distance that is shocking – creates a subtle sense of threat.
Also, it is a film full of emotion. The house has a leading role. Amenábar carefully shows the open and closed doors, narrow corridors, half-abandoned rooms. Light — a tenacious enemy — marks the boundary between reality and what is hidden in the shadows, with astonishing precision.
Further, the story delves into a series of opinions and reflections on death, the nature of life and what happens when we die. A terrifying unknown element that encompasses not only the imagination but the fears of the viewer.
The director manages to create an atmosphere that makes the film a long journey into darkness. He does so, with a precise pulse that allows the story to encompass all its themes with a patience that is missed in similar productions.
By the time the central secret is revealed – and Amenábar takes his time doing it – the scene of fear has already given way to pain. And he did it with a strange beauty that moves before terrorizing. Perhaps the greatest achievement of a film that is still capable of surprising after two decades.