The Others - 9/20/11

[HonestJohn]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Like Showgirls.

[OneWayFilms]

I suppose defining HORROR is more dificult than I originally thought. In MY mind, horror = slasher and films like THE OTHERS, THE SIXTH SENSE, etc were more suspense-thrillers.

But the more I think about it, I realize blood and gore can't be the defining differance. Many classic horror films DONT have any blood or gore in them and they ARE horror films. Heck, even TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE had VERY little blood in it, hardly a drop, and yet it's one of the all-time greatest.

So, on THAT account, I will withdraw my statment about what defines a horror film.....BUT .......

I still find it hard to define THE OTHERS as HORROR. To me, it's just a chilling suspense thriller, and one of the best at that.

But if you are comfortable calling it a horror film, that's fine too. There is no right or wrong answer to this, it's simply a matter of opinion.

[Ite]

The Others is definately a horror movie.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by lemonski

What about Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf Man...four films from the early 1930's that defined the horror film - none of them contain one speck of blood and gore.

No, but they were monsters, creatures!

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Ite

The Others is definately a horror movie.

The synopsis on the back cover of the blu-ray, blatantly describes The Others as a stylish, suspense thriller, not horror. If you have the blu-ray, or DVD, you can read it for yourself.

[horizonline]

The movie was written with hopes that it would not be compared to late 80's, early 90's horror movies. Movies from the 1930's are not relevant to it being excluded from the genre.

[OrchidClub]

When I tried watching this movie as a young kid, I hated it because it was "slow" and turned it off after twenty minutes. Now, having seen many more movies since that time and coming to appreciate low-key horror movies, I can see that this movie is a modern masterpiece. Perhaps not on par with the best of the classics, but certainly better than most of the dreck that was coming out at the time. I'll have to pick up this Blu-ray sooner or later, especially considering the low price tag.

[JaseT]

Stopped by BB *AGAIN* and they still can't find the three copies they show as "on hand."

[KrugStillo]

Ok, I've been a huge horror fan for years and will agree that the term horror is a bit tough to define. In the past I have defined it as such. Any film that has monsters, ghosts, demons, kids or adults getting killed off by a maniac one by one or reasonable amounts of gore in relation to the previous catagories is in my book horror. Sometimes horror and science fiction can be tricky to spread apart but I've just done this if it has aliens in it it's sci-fi. Now technically Alien kills that theory but you are gonna find that there are plenty of acceptions to the rule. This is why I stopped organizing my movies by genre. As far as The Others goes I would say generally it's horror and a very classic haunted house style horror. However for those that don't like to admit they like horror movies they created a category called suspense/thriller. All true horror fans will get my sarcasm on that one. For example, sorry but The Silence of the Lambs is a horror film folks no matter how hard you try to tell yourself otherwise. Even the filmmakers think so.

[lkmg]

Originally Posted by JaseT

Stopped by BB *AGAIN* and they still can't find the three copies they show as "on hand."

Try another BB instead?

[JaseT]

Originally Posted by lkmg

Try another BB instead?

The four hour drive wouldn't be worth it

ETA: That's four hours ONE way!

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by KrugStillo

However for those that don't like to admit they like horror movies they created a category called suspense/thriller. All true horror fans will get my sarcasm on that one. For example, sorry but The Silence of the Lambs is a horror film folks no matter how hard you try to tell yourself otherwise. Even the filmmakers think so.

This is truly a false statement! Why would anybody be ashamed, or embarrass to admit they like horror movies? I like horror movies, and every other genre of films except westerns, and musicals. Most of my blu-ray, and DVD collection consist of horror, and suspense/thriller, action/adventure, and sci-fi /thriller.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by JaseT

The four hour drive wouldn't be worth it

Exactly because, you'll be spending a lot more for gas (round trip) than what you'll be paying for the Blu-ray, which is only $10.00.

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by horizonline

The movie was written with hopes that it would not be compared to late 80's, early 90's horror movies. Movies from the 1930's are not relevant to it being excluded from the genre.

Actually, it is quite relevant. The cinematic history of the horror genre in its entirety is made up in history of more atmospheric or ghost driven stories as opposed to the slasher films that became prevalent since the late 70s. The fact that The Others is considered by many to not be a horror film is essentially a statement that a slow burning scary story isnt a horror film at all, which is a flat out offense to the genre and where it began... When the genre was in its prime and not diluted with the 'easy' scares caused by blood and gore. If The Others set out with a mission to be different than the horror slasher fest that has been the last 30 some odd years or so, then the old school style of horror was VERY relevant, as it was what they aimed to achieve.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by JaseT

Stopped by BB *AGAIN* and they still can't find the three copies they show as "on hand."

I found the last copy at my Best Buy.

[KenHurd]

I would definitely say that The Others is a horror film, but it is also a suspense/thriller. Horror is a main genre of film, like Action, Comedy, Drama, etc., where you have a specific setting, plot, content, subject matter, etc., that is instantly recognizable. Suspense/thriller would be more of a sub-genre because it is something that can be found in all types of genres. There are action/thrillers, comedy/thrillers, even dramatic/thrillers. The same would apply for film-noirs, romance, disaster films, etc., because they can be found in various genres. The goal of a horror film is to invoke fear and The Others is definitely a scary movie.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by mzupeman

If The Others set out with a mission to be different than the horror slasher fest that has been the last 30 some odd years or so, then the old school style of horror was VERY relevant, as it was what they aimed to achieve.

Yes! 30 years ago or more, The Others would have been easily classified as horror, but not today.

[KrugStillo]

Originally Posted by slimdude

This is truly a false statement! Why would anybody be ashamed, or embarrass to admit they like horror movies? I like horror movies, and every other genre of films except westerns, and musicals. Most of my blu-ray, and DVD collection consist of horror, and suspense/thriller, action/adventure, and sci-fi /thriller.

Glad to hear that you've got genre love however there are many that look down on certain genres, especially horror. I've known plenty of people that are too full of themselves to admit they like horror but if you call something suspense/thriller they're all over it. Admittedly there are films that really do fit the suspense/thriller label but in general they're horror films. Blood Simple is a horror film but critics and the snottier film buffs would argue that it's a suspense/thriller. Not sure if you remember the hoopla over whether Silence of the Lambs was a horror film or not. This was because it won Oscars so critics and such wouldn't admit that it was a horror film when the filmmakers themselves said flat out that to them it was a horror film. Hell, it had a cameo from Roger Corman in it, the exploitation king. It was more about the Academy because typically horror films aren't deemed important enough to win Oscars. If you do a bit of research on horror you will see that it has been treated as the bastard stepchild of the film industry for years. Obviously this is just an observation and not meant as a personal attack on anyone but it is most definitely not a false statement.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by KenHurd

I would definitely say that The Others is a horror film, but it is also a suspense/thriller. Horror is a main genre of film, like Action, Comedy, Drama, etc., where you have a specific setting, plot, content, subject matter, etc., that is instantly recognizable. Suspense/thriller would be more of a sub-genre because it is something that can be found in all types of genres. There are action/thrillers, comedy/thrillers, even dramatic/thrillers. The same would apply for film-noirs, romance, disaster films, etc., because they can be found in various genres. The goal of a horror film is to invoke fear and The Others is definitely a scary movie.

OK! Then why did the studio, and filmmakers market The Other specifically as suspense/thriller (which clearly states in the movie's synopsis,) instead of horror?

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by slimdude

OK! Then why did the studio, and filmmakers market The Other specifically as suspense/thriller (which clearly states in the movie's synopsis,) instead of horror?

because the studio made a typo in the synposis. i called the CEO this morning to confirm.