finally, a horror movie with a story.

Rating: 10/10 (29 August 2001)

i used to love elaborate horror movies when i was little; films with really deep, cerebral perspectives on what the word "scary" could mean. if anyone remembers such movies as "lord of the phantasm" and first two "hellraiser" films, you'll know what i mean. i'm sick to death of these stupid teen films ("scream", "i know what you did last summer", "the faculty") which are just cranked out one after another with absolutely no substance or story, as to satisfy the legions of lackwitted HI I HAVE ADD! dimwits. "the others" is a work of art.
*****spoiler*****
it's hard to say what i liked best about this movie; everything was great. the imagery was familliar, but not at all "comfortable", and the time period was morbid enough without help. the effect of the book of the dead, on me at least, manifested in a deep "agh crap!" feeling in my stomach. i've had an aversion to photographs of people anyway, but just the thoughts of living in such a place during that time and then finding an artifact created deliberately to devise an afterlife... *shudder*.
i once lived in a house where many of the same phenomena occurred... and the people who say this movie is slow and boring seem as if they just can't "get it", perhaps due to a lack of similar experience. the subtle changes in atmosphere in the house, the sounds, the frantic search for the curtains; all these built up to an ambience that must have spooked, if not terrified, some of the more intellectual audiences. towards the end, when we learn that the living have been haunting the dead, i was forced to wonder if nature could actually be as such... i was definitely creeped out and very awake for hours after.
unfortunately for me, my experience was dampened by a crowd of rude yard-apes in the back row who insisted on shouting, walking around, and loudly cackling throughout the whole movie. i had to fight the urge to turn around and flood the dark with loud obscenities several times, and once complained to a security guard who had to come in and sit near the teenagers to keep things down. i almost never attend movies in theatres, expressly because of rude children and the laws against throwing them over the sides of the seating area. i'd recommend seeing this movie at a late show during the week, primarily a monday, tuesday, or wednesday. you definitely don't want distractions and disturbances for this one.
as a footnote, i was reading other reviews, and i couldn't help but notice how so many people (predominately male, from the looks of it) initially said this movie was boring and slow... is anyone else reminded of max headroom? you can't condense a good story into ninety minutes of brainless chases, screaming, shooting, stabbing, or the like. i once saw "terminatory 2" on tv, condensed to just an hour. it was absolutely horrid. good storytelling takes time and good characters take time to develop. it's good to see i'm not the only person fed up with gangly teenaged actresses running around with their arms flailing and braless tops flying everywhere in productions that amount to little better than tommy hilfiger ads.