Warning: this article contains a murder-suicide topic.
The Sixth Sense’s twist is one of the most well-known of all time, yet whenThe Otherswas released two years later, it surprised audiences with the same twist. This was impressive, as many people knowThe Sixth Sense’s shocking ending, even without seeing the movie, which is about a boy named Cole, who tells his therapist that he can see dead people.M. Night Shyamalan’s plot twistshave become an expected pattern in his movies, andThe Sixth Sensemade him a household name. However, despite being a more haunting movie,The Othershas attracted less attention.
The Othershas often been considered one ofNicole Kidman’s best movies. Kidman plays Grace Stewart, who lives in a remote country house with her children, who are both sensitive to light. When three people arrive, all seeking employment, Grace hires them as house staff, but strange things soon begin to happen. As Grace’s children are photosensitive and cannot tolerate direct sunlight, the family sees the darkness as their safe place, while the light is portrayed as dangerous. This is one ofThe Others' most interesting details, which is as memorable as its horrifying twist ending.
The Others Has The Same Plot Twist As The Sixth Sense
The Others' Twist Ending Turns The Entire Movie On Its Head
When Grace and her children make contact with the people she calls “the intruders,” she discovers that they are living people holding a seance, trying to contact them.The ending ofThe Othersshows that Grace and her children are all dead, with Grace smothering them both with a pillow before ending her own life. This is the same twist asThe Sixth Sense, in which Bruce Willis’s character realizes that he is dead, as the result of his troubled patient’s murder-suicide. That said, whileThe Sixth Sense’s twist effectively ends the movie,The Others’story has not yet finished.
The Othersis a ghost story told from the ghosts' point of view. This unique twist turns the entire movie on its head by introducing the idea that the ghosts are actually being haunted by the living. This is especially clear in the terrifying seance scene, which shows a typical horror movie seance from a new perspective, forcing the audience to sympathize with the ghosts.RewatchingThe Otherseven shows its most sinister characters in a more sympathetic light, with the spooky staff afraid to reveal their true nature to a character they know to be a murderer.
Why The Others' Horrifying Twist Works
Both The Sixth Sense And The Others Dropped Hints That Their Protagonists Were Dead
WhileThe Sixth SenseandThe Othershave the same twist, it is unsurprising that audiences do not see it coming.The Sixth Sensetells a simple story, with the therapist helping the boy to accept his abilities. On the other hand,The Othersis much more complicated. It features tropes from thebest ghost story movies, and the many mysteries surrounding the house distract audiences from the truth. Even if viewers had guessed that the family had been murdered, Grace appeared to be the least likely person to commit the act, thoughThe Othersdropped regular hints.
12 Twists That Feel So Obvious When You Rewatch Those Movies
Movies with a twist can often provide a satisfying ending that creates more drama and excitement, but after the big reveal, it’s hard to revisit.
The Others, likeThe Sixth Sense, hints as to the true nature of its main characters, but they are harder to spot among the other spooky moments. Bruce Willis' character cannot open a door inThe Sixth Sense, while Grace discovers that she cannot leave the grounds of her house.The Sixth Sensehints that the therapist is deadby only showing Cole interacting with him, whileThe Othersrepeatedly references the way that the characters died. Grace, who shot herself in the head, suffers from migraines, while the children repeat “stop breathing” during a game.
The Premise For The Others Is One Of The Most Disturbing Horror Plots Of All Time
The Others' Ending Has A Final Terrifying Moment
On its surface,The Othersis a classic gothic ghost story, with typical haunted house tropes. Grace is understandably terrified, and appears to want nothing more than to protect her children, so when it is revealed that this fragile and frightened protagonist is a family annihilator, it is a very disturbing moment. The premise for the movie was so unsettling that evenNicole Kidman briefly quit filmingThe Others, saying that it gave her nightmares. It is rare for a horror movie to feature parents murdering their children, and rarer still to set the person up as a sympathetic character.
1999
86%
2001
Alejandro Amenábar
84%
Grace is still a fragile and unpredictable character by the end ofThe Others, only just coming to terms with her new life. This is a completely different resolution toThe Sixth Sense, which ends with the therapist finding peace and his spirit departing the earth in a flash of light. While the housekeeper tries to reassure Grace that most “intruders” are peaceful, Grace refuses to accept this, telling the children that “this house is ours.” The ending implies that Grace will be a malevolent ghost, settingThe Othersup for an even more disturbing sequel.
The Others
Cast
Alejandro Amenábar wrote and directed this cult-classic 2001 Horror film starring Nicole Kidman and Fionnula Flanagan. The premise follows a mother and her two young photosensitive children as they attempt to deal with a mysterious and possibly sinister presence in their New Jersey home.
The Sixth Sense
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
