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Released by: Twilight Time
Released on: October 8th, 2013.
Director: Robert Mulligan
Cast: Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Chris Udvarnoky
Year: 1972
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The Movie:
Directed by Robert Mulligan in 1972 and written by Tom Tyron based on his novel of the same name published a year earlier, The Other is set in the 1930s and tells the story of twin brothers Niles (Chris Udvarnoky) and Holland (Martin Udvarnoky) Perry who live in a Connecticut farmhouse with their mother, Alexandra (Diana Muldaur), and grandmother, Ada (Uta Hagen). Though Alexandra, a widow, cares for her sons, she's had a breakdown of sorts and spends most of her days locked away in her bedroom by herself. Ada, on the other hand, has taught the boys how to use some sort of telekinesis to poke around in the psyches of others, they simply refer to this past time they share with their grandmother as 'the game.'
From here, things start to get strange. One of the twins would appear to have mastered 'the game' and could very well be using it for sinister purposes. The truth about their father's death comes to light and a visit from Aunt Vee (Norma Connolly) ends in an unexpectedly dire conclusion. Obviously all is not as it seems with the boys, and then there's the whole matter of the baby and whatever it is that Niles carries around with him his little tin box…
The Other is quite clever in how it presents its storyline in such a way as to leave quite a bit open to interpretation. What we see happen may be supernatural, or as it is sometimes presented from a child's point of view, it may simply be exaggerated in the way that things presented from a child's point of view often tend to be. Niles, being the conduit for all that seems to happen in the film, may also have issues of his own that could very well be wreaking havoc on his fragile young mind. There are inferences in the film's cinematography that also posit that we could be seeing things through Holland's eyes, while the story (without heading too far into spoiler territory here) leaves Holland's current physical state of existence rather up in the air. So you could very well walk away from this one with multiple interpretations.
Production values are good here. The movie is very nicely shot and well edited making great use of some interesting locations and great colors. The score, courtesy of Jerry Goldsmith, really helps to ramp up the tension when called upon and the performances are pretty much fantastic across the board. Diana Muldaur and Uta Hagen both deliver fine work here and both Chris Udvarnoky and Martin Udvarnoky are solid as well. All of this makes for a movie worth seeing, a smart horror film ripe with a melancholy sense of menace, the kind where innocence is not what it seems and childhood memories far more perverse than they are bittersweet.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Other arrives on Blu-ray framed in its original aspect ratio of 1.85.1 and presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. This is an excellent transfer, naturally grainy in spots but for the most part pretty clean. Detail is of very good quality but some shots were definitely shot with a certain sort of softness in mind and that aesthetic carries over to the transfer as it should. Close ups look pretty good, skin tones are nice and natural and black levels are pretty decent. Colors are nice and natural looking and black levels are good and there are no notable issues with compression artifacts, edge enhancement or noise reduction to be spotted. All in all, a nice film-like offering that represents a very good recreation of the source material.
The only audio option for the movie is the original English language track in DTS-HD Mono track. Optional English subtitles are provided. The mix is fine, there's no obvious hiss or distortion and dialogue is generally pretty crisp. The score sounds good and there is good ambience and depth here. The score used for the feature has enough weight to it to enhance the more dramatic and tense scenes in the film but it never overpowers the performers.
Extras on the disc include a theatrical trailer and an isolated score. Liner notes from Julie Kirgo are included inside the Blu-ray case that offer up a history of the production and an appreciation for its quality. She also provides some background information on the cast and crew and offers some critical insight into what makes this one work.
The Final Word:
The Other may not be as well-known as other oddball slow burn seventies horror films but it definitely deserves to be. The performances are top notch all around and the production values quite strong. Throw in a great score and some genuinely bizarre atmosphere and this is one ripe for reevaluation by the masses. Twilight Time's Blu-ray debut for the film isn't stacked with extras (often the case with their releases) but it does offer up the movie in a beautiful looking edition that, coupled with the strength of the feature itself, makes for a very strong release indeed.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
