This horror movie, directed with great subtlety by Robert Mulligan, is practically guaranteed to keep the audience off center. Mulligan plays merry hell with the audience, keeping the viewer in the dark even though the film, set in the summertime, is brightly lit.Summer 1935. Twelve-year-old twins Niles (Chris Udvarnoky) Perry and his brother Holland (Martin Udvarnoky), adorable little boys with a great deal of charm (Niles especially), are doing what little boys do in the summer: running here and there, drinking from the fountain in the yard, playing this game and that, and skirting up to the edge of mischief without actually going in. At least at first. There is another character in this triangle: the twins' grandmother Ada Vedrenya (Uta Hagen, the great acting teacher from HB Studio in one of her rare film roles).Hagen is a fascinating actress. Her film career was extremely short and usually consisted of dark roles such as the Russian grandmother here. Fans will also remember her in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. She was a prodigious talent on the New York stage; film seemed to be her way of paying the bills.Also in the family we have Alexandra Perry (Diana Muldaur), the boys' mother who is clearly haunted by something but we don't get to find out what it is until the last reel. The boys also have an adopted sister (Jenny Sullivan), who is in residence with her husband Rider (John Ritter in a VERY early film role), Aunt Vee (Norma Connolly), Uncle George (Lou Frizzell) and the twins' much- hated cousin Russell (Clarence Crow), a chubby boy who hates his cousins as much as they hate him.Trouble is, things HAPPEN to anyone the twins hate. The first one to get it is cousin Russell, skewered on a pitchfork jumping into a haymow.As the plot unravels, we discover that the peculiar events have something to do with Ada and "the game" she plays with the twins. This is the first film to deal with telekinesis: it didn't start with CARRIE but CARRIE was the apotheosis of the subject.But as in CARRIE, things get out of hand and Ada quickly loses control over what she had thought was a harmless game.The ending is a shocker with a 360 degree twist that I definitely did not see coming.Splendid acting, a great script from Tryon's novel, and the work of a director with sure hands and an eye for what scares us.That, ladies and gentlemen, is THE OTHER. Check it out!

I have always had a fascination with twins whether they are fraternal or identical. The movie "The Other" shows the relationship between identical twins, Niles and Holland Perry played effectively by Chris and Martin Udvarnoky. Holland is the troublemaker of the twin-ship who is the boss of his younger twin, Niles. The boys have no father because he died in the apple cellar. Their mother grieves over his death while Grandmother Ada who is Russian dotes on Niles. She has taught him the psychic ability to project himself into people and animals. This is the "great game" they play. This game turns more sinister when Niles insists Holland is the one playing the tricks. However, it's not true! Holland fell in the well and drowned on their March birthday and it's Niles who is doing all the evil things. The evil of Niles comes at the end when his sister and brother-in-law's infant vanishes and the baby girl is found drowned in a pickle barrel. Ada burns up the barn Niles is in but he lives and she dies in the blaze.

The acting all around was over-the-top, theatrical, and unconvincing. The boys, the Russian lady, the mother, the fat kid, and the rat lady come to mind. Where was the director to reign their performances in? These kids obviously couldn't carry the film, and yet they have so much dialogue. It was cringeworthy and annoying.I watched it with two other people. After 50 minutes, one of them asked if we could watch something else because of the acting and silly plot. We watched some more because I assured them it was an alleged classic and would surely get better. The second person, who has a high tolerance for Lifetime/Hallmark-type films, also said the acting was awful.I decided I would finish it the next day by myself, but I ended up fast-forwarding through most of the repetitive scenes. To be fair, I didn't see the twist coming, nor did I expect that dark of an ending. So it gets a couple extra points for that.I'm surprised at all of the rave reviews citing this as a masterpiece of subtlety (what) and one of the greatest horror films of all time (possibly from people that saw it at a very young age).

"The Other" succeeds in creating a creepy atmosphere. While it might not be a perfect film (a few of the characters behave in ways that are not too believable), it does satisfy overall.The film is set on a farm in rural Connecticut in the 1930s. Much of the first part of the film shows the relationship between two brothers--one good (Niles) and one bad (Holland). After a while, you see just how evil and unbalanced Holland is, as you realize that he's killed...more than once--which is pretty fantastic for an 11 year-old. However, when you discover that Holland actually died many months ago, you realize that Niles is, in fact, 100% bonkers. However, you'd THINK this realization would have occurred at the end of the film--but there actually is a lot more to go....and a lot more killing.With all the murders and action, this film will NOT bore you. My complaints, and they're minor, is that the family members who realized that Niles was a nut SHOULD have reacted much differently and a heck of a lot sooner. Knowing your son or grandson is a homicidal maniac, you'd THINK you'd tell others and NOT keep this to yourself! This just didn't ring true. So, I have to knock off a few points for this--though, on balance, the good far, far outweighs the bad.