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This is a very very very very very very very very scary movie. Okay so maybe I exagerated on the verys, but this is a very scary movie. One of the previous reviewers said that it was scarier than The Exorcist and The Omen, well I have to disagree. That put my expectations high for this film, but I still wasn't dissappointed. I think Satan is probably the scariest thing in this universe. Actually the only thing scarier than the devil is the wrath of God and you CAN'T capture that on film. This is a rather unusual horror film that is kind of confusing, but entertaining and very disturbing. Even if by some weird circumstance you don't get scared, you still have to admit that it is a really good movie. It is very well made so even if the scares wear off on you, there is still a great story with GREAT characters and most of all THE BEST ACTING I'VE EVER SEEN! The boys are amazing.They portray their characters so well. This new generation will not appreciate this film. As a matter of fact, THEY'LL HATE IT!!! That's because todays youth like movies like The New Guy and Scary Movie, and stupid NOT SCARY MOVIES like Scream, I know what you Did Last Summer, Cherry Falls, and Prom Night. They don't like a complicated story, so if you are looking for something with buckets of blood, DON'T LOOK HERE! I don't mind gore, as long as it helps the movie (The Omen comes to mind) and gore really in most movies doesn't make the movie scary, it actually takes away from the atmosphere. Some slashers are very scary like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fog, The Boogeyman, and Friday the 13th part 1. But this generation can't appreciate this type of horror, but they will eventually. Believe it or not, I'm part of the youth of today, and I'm very hard to scare, so if it scared me, it'll terrify you. While it is not a scary as The Exorcist or The Omen, it has a much better story than both of those. Yes this movie is very scary, and joins the likes of The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, and The Evil Dead as one of the scariest movies ever!!! Remember that this a bit of a thinker, so if you don't like thinker this is definately not for you. I hope I have helped you with your choice of buying this movie. I liked it, but it isn't for everyone. I think it is scary so I suggest to anyone with good taste to see this movie alone in the dark. Have Fun!!!

if this movie was available on dvd, i would buy it today. this movie is one of the best creepy mind blowers i've ever seen. it is truely a lost gem. if you like "omen", "damien omen II" or even another overlooked gem "burnt offerings", you will love this one for sure.

Interesting suspense film along the lines of movies like "The Bad Seed", this effective little shocker that evolved from the early 1970s is surprisingly a good movie. I wasn't expecting much from it, and the cover of the DVD led me to believe it was something along the lines of "The Omen", but I was pleasantly surprised with how the film turned out. It's an effective little horror movie with plenty of twists and turns, a clever script, and some pretty good acting. Set in an unnamed American farming township in 1935, the story revolves around eleven-year-old Niles Perry and his identical twin brother Holland. Portrayed by can't-tell-'em-apart twins Chris and Martin Udvarnoky, Niles and Holland are part of an extended family whose matriarch is Ada (legendary German actress Uta Hagen). The boys' father is dead, and their mother (Diana Muldaur) spends most of her screen time traipsing dourly about the homestead.

From the get-go, Niles is obviously the well-behaved one of the two, as well as the 'follower' in their relationship. Holland resorts to various mischief, often landing his twin into trouble in his stead. There's some sort of family heirloom in a clandestine tobacco tin which Holland has apparently relinquished to Niles, who doesn't seem to want it. A traveling circus comes to the area, featuring a sleight-of-hand magician who inspires the boys. Ada is a wisened old Russian immigrant, and she shares a special bond with Niles which seems to be clairvoyant in nature. When the twins' mother is paralyzed in a tragic fall after confronting them about the mysterious heirloom, Ada realizes that she must set right a great evil which she had unknowingly set off some time before. And although Holland appears to be at the center of the misdeeds afoot here, Niles must confront his own participation in the events which have shaped the present scenario.

The murderous "accidents" telegraphed in "The Other" are few and bloodless. This is not a graphic film by any means. But it is certainly horrific, at least during the second act. Once again, you'll find yourself musing, "Wait....this is rated PG ?!?" I my respects to the late Victor French (known more affectionately to TV audiences as Mr. Edwards on "Little House On The Prairie") as a crazed farm-hand who figures in strongly during the blood-freezing finale. You may also recognize a young John Ritter who makes a couple small and modest appearances through out the film. The real-life twins are excellent in this film. It's really a shame that this was their only film.

The term "psychological thriller" was coined a long time ago, probably by some filmmaker who wanted a more dignified label for the horror flick he was shooting at the time. "The Other" is all of the above. It plumbs the depths of psychological dysfunction and murderous illusion while convincingly illustrating the look and the lay of 1935 Americana, much like Mulligan's job on "Mockingbird" ten years prior. It snares, ingratiates, rivets, shocks and then horrifies you. And it got a PG. Only in 1972, I guess....

This is by far one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. The story is incredible. I'm surprised no one tried to remake this flim, clearly overlooked. This is a true movie lover's horror flim. Some one with sense, not for people who want to see heads chopped off, and a lot of blood. This movie will make you rewind (due to the fact it's not on dvd) and watch over and over.

This film holds up well in the decades since its release. It was filmed boldly in color, and yet director Robert Mulligan still maintained the "feel" of the Depression in 1935 Connecticut. This was a world he perfected in 1962 with his classic film, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The script by Tom Tryon, from his own novel, was fraught with challenges for the minds and hearts of the viewers.

Twins Chris and Martin Udvarnoky were perfectly cast as twins Niles and Holland Perry. They had been discovered doing plays for Herbert Berghof, who just happened to be married to Uta Hagen. This movie was the only film work the twins ever did. They just seemed to drop out of sight afterward, heightening the reality of their performances. When I first saw this film in a theatre in 1972, I bought the extant twins premise. It was skillfully handled visually by Mulligan. I was strung along until midway when Uta Hagen, as the grandmother Ada Perry, revealed to the young Niles that his "bad" brother, Holland, had been dead for a year.

The movie worked on two levels successfully. There was a sun-kissed rural 1930's heartland, a kid's woodland paradise, on the one hand; great spans of forest and field, old barns, and dark mysterious cellars. Juxtaposed to that, overlapping and intermeshing with that, we discovered a Gothic plot; complete with a doomed family haunted by dark psychic powers, whose family crest was a peregrine falcon, for their name Perry, emblazoned on an heirloom ring, and on the creaking weathervane high atop the Victorian style house. Murder stalked the Perry farm, and spread out to the neighbors; murder disguised as accident.

Mulligan orchestrated wonderful touching moments between Uta Hagen and young Chris as Niles...loving moments whereby a blue-eyed angelic tow-headed child adored his wise and spirtually advanced grandmother. Much was made of the special psychic games they played, with Niles projecting his mind, and perhaps even his essence, into things and others; guessing the sex of his sister's unborn child, and even projecting into a crow, able to cognizantly fly freely over the farmlands cawing greetings to all it recognized. This was a game that Niles was so adept at, had perfected so well, that he had no difficulty dealing with his own split personality, and embracing a form of complete denial at to his brother's actual death, and further denial as to his own responsiblity for conducting divers heinous acts in the guise of, or as Holland. So Niles never had to be alone, would not accept being alone.

Diana Muldaur, as the mother Alexandra, was simply wonderful as the archetypical Gothic doomed heroine; beautiful, vulnerable, descending into madness and darkness and near catatonia. Her meager attempts to regain some emotional balance, to recapture the light, were soon dashed by the evil actions and reactions of Niles, who seemed to love her and loathe her, and definitely wished her harm.

Uta Hagen, a great actress of the Theatre, completed only three films, and a slew of television roles. In this one, she was very effective as a kind of Maria Ouspenskaya mid-European matriarch, with some kind of a dark past, and considerable psychic abilities. She radiated love for her entire doomed family, and riddled with guilt for her part in the machinations of plot, she was willing to sacrifice, to martyr herself in order to stop the killings. It was a kinky and delicious twist that her sacrifice was to no avail.

Victor French gave a fine performance in the small role of the farm handyman, Mr. Angelini [nice symbolism]. He did well with is brief scenes, illustrating the frustration and lonliness of an emigrant in America during the Depression; a man descended into drunkeness as a panacea or refuge; only to find himself dragged from his enebriated sweaty slumber and accused of murdering an infant; ala the Lindburgh case of that era. We witnessed racial prejudice and insane mob rule as the family and the authorities leaped headlong to incorrect conclusions. John Ritter was adequate in the likewise small role of Rider, the son-in-law living in the Perry household. It was a tiny part, but it hinted at Ritter's future talents.

The ironic ending reasonated with all the significant chords of a horror contata. At the fade, one wondered who would be next on the adolescent death list? Mulligan struck gold mining Tryon's dark tale.

The Other should be a classic, but is so severly over-looked! This should be seen only by people who like psychological horror films. This isn't for the Scream-Generation, this is for intelligent people. Now I must compare this movie to The Omen and The Exorcist. Let's see, in my oppinion The Exorcist and The Omen are scarier. Sorry if that offends anyone, but that is the honest truth. This film however has a much better story that those two, and dare I say better actors? Sure why not. This is a very scary and disturbing movie, kind of a mix between The Good Son, The Shining, and The Omen. But this is an original masterpiece that has yet to be copied. This is not for casual horror buffs, this is for the ones that like more than random sex and blood in there movies. The Other is a criminally underated and should be taken seriously. WHERE THE HECK IS THE DVD!!!! Watch this one alone in the dark for the ultimate effect!

Why have I never heard of this movie before???? Totally out of any spotlight, this movie is much like Holland (the evil twin brother) lurking in the shadows. THe movie would have been considered a classic had it not been burried by the teen horrors of the 1970's and had more exposure. It is upsetting to me that there are people out there who that have no clue what they are missing. As said by others, this movie is more psychological than a "bloody mess horror flick" or a "Boo, I made your heart stop thriller." There is a creepiness to this film that out does many more succesful horror films. The almost surreal uneasiness sends the minds of those with imaginations to a far distant place. The dynamics of the film works very well with the plot. Instead of the watcher getting thrown right into the madness, they are simmered to a slow boil. THe movie deserves way more attention and should again be revealed to the world.

I saw this movie many years ago on late night TV and it made an indelible impression. Later tracked down the book by former actor, Tom Tryon. A fine piece of atmospheric rural horror. Creepy as hell, with some great unsentimental twists. Director Robert Mulligan served the story well. Love to compare my memory with an up to date viewing. Let's have it on DVD one day soon please. I'm afraid VHS is a sunset (or sundown) technology at our place.

This is one of those movies that take a long time to build up. Nothing much happens during the first hour. Except for something mysteriously said about a ring, it seems to be not much different than an episode of Little House. But this is done to bring an understanding to the characters and their lifestyles. Frankly being a twin myself with a similar close relationship like the ones to this movie, I can understand the participation with the other. The town life just looks so boring. With both it would drive you crazy. Uta Hagen does an exceptional job in this.

Flawless creepy film from the 70's (sadly forgotten) I've seen at least 10 times in my 39 yrs. I loved it and always will. Uta Hagen rocks! This is also one of the best horror novels of the 70's, it was on the New York Times Bestseller list for over 9 month's!(or longer!) I love it even more than the film.