#205: The Other
Evil twin terror takes a while to get going but it’s worth it
This review was originally posted to Twitter on January 5th, 2020.
Initial release: May 26, 1972
Director: Robert Mulligan
He doesn’t mean to be bad. He just is. He can’t help it — he’s just one of a long line of stories of evil twins, this one in particular, Robert Mulligan’s The Other, being an early 70s slow burn (featuring John Ritter in a minor role) with a disturbing twist.
It’s summer time in Depression-era Connecticut, and Niles and Holland Perry are identical twins who are spending their off time running around on the family farm, a big, happy home full of extended family. Even in the Depression, they have all they could want. It’s not all sunflowers, though. Their father died recently, leaving their mother an agoraphobic wreck; There was an incident with a well a while back that hangs over them. And Holland lately has turned into a real asshole — to the point that Niles is getting scared of him.
Based on a book by actor-turned-author Tom Tryon, The Other takes a while to build up. We get hints that there’s something off about these boys, especially Holland. The film focuses on Niles, and his relationship with his grandmother, who teaches him the power of telepathy. This supernatural element, which they call “the great game,” is, like other things in this film, left up to interpretation — is it real, or is she just encouraging him to use his imagination? And what exactly is Holland’s true nature? The big twist is revealed halfway through the film; but don’t think that the rest is epilogue, oh no. Once the blinders are cast off, dark, unpleasant truths get pulled out one by one, like rats out of a magician’s hat.
In terms of production this is very much an early 70s film. Camera work is generally solid with the occasional near-dutch angle or dreamlike blurriness to give things an unrealistic flavor; the soundtrack is simple but effective. The film evokes the trappings of gothic fiction: a young, innocent (and blond) protagonist is menaced in a huge, isolated house and grounds. It’s a very American gothic: a setting familiar to any American, nostalgic yet mysterious, even sinister. Even open fields have shadows.
Normally I hate the “it gets better after a while” defense. I’m not going to sit through 700 episodes and two spinoff movies waiting for something to not suck. But The Other, while never a bad film, takes about a half hour to really get rolling, and the wait is worth it. We can predict the finale’s kickoff very quickly; the twist puts you on edge, knowing that anything could happen at this point. The film drops hints throughout, but when the clues come together at the last moment, your heart sinks, knowing what happened before the characters do. It’s a brilliant payoff, a grotesquery only the most lurid of penny dreadful shockers could get away with once upon a time, and it’s all capped off by a disturbing, ambiguous ending. If you like disturbing slow burns in only the best early 1970s fashion, this film’s for you.
