The Other (Eureka blu-ray). Robert Mulligan’s psychological thriller is a rather bloodless horror about a pair of twin boys, one of whom is – as Hollywood tradition dictates – evil.
It has a twist which is officially revealed at the one-hour mark (though if you haven’t spotted it within the first ten minutes you perhaps need medical help).
It’s one of those films where the most you can say about it is that it’s competent – though mere competency isn’t really enough to recommend any artistic endeavour. The movie does have its admirers, though. Tom Tryon, the author of the original novel, wasn’t one of them, describing it as having been ‘ruined’ in the cutting and directing.
On the plus side the photography is often painterly, and its sense of 1930s America is well realised. Uta Hagen gives the one good performance as the kids’ Russian grandmother whose meddling with the supernatural leads to the film’s tragic conclusion.
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