Other
October 16th, 2025
MOVIE: OTHER
STARRING: OLGA KURYLENKO, PHILIP SCHURER
DIRECTED BY: DAVID MOREAU
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 95 MINUTES
Last year, director David Moreau delivered one of my favorite films of 2024: the shocking, fast-moving, and relentless MadS. Following up a success like that is never guaranteed, especially when a filmmaker experiments with new themes, tones, and methods of scaring an audience. Still, with MadS on his résumé, I was instantly intrigued to see Other, which premiered on Shudder this past week. The result, unfortunately, is a film rich in ideas and anchored by a committed performance from Olga Kurylenko, yet one that stumbles at nearly every turn.
Kurylenko plays Alice, whom we first meet in bed with her partner Charlie (Philip Schurer), lingering in the quiet aftermath of intimacy. They discuss the possibility of having children and what their future might hold, only for Alice to receive a phone call informing her that her mother has died. Tasked with cleaning out her mother’s belongings, she returns to her childhood home — a fortress-like property surrounded by electric fences, security cameras, and a heavy steel gate. It’s immediately clear this was no ordinary home, and as Alice begins to unpack her past, something within those walls begins to stir.
One of Other’s most intriguing choices is that, outside of Alice, we never see another character’s face. A neighbor hides behind a white mask, Charlie is filmed only from behind, and a police officer is obscured by a cracked monitor. Moreau is clearly making a statement — perhaps about identity, vanity, or perception — but his intent never fully lands. Instead, the technique feels more like a limitation than a revelation, suggesting either budgetary constraints or an idea that wasn’t fully developed.
The film’s shortcomings are unfortunate because Kurylenko gives it her all. Mostly alone on screen, she tries to turn the house itself into a second character — exploring childhood relics, confronting buried memories, and reacting to a mysterious presence that seems to live in the attic. Motion sensors trip, growls echo through the walls, and suspense builds toward scares that never quite pay off.
There’s a version of Other that could have been great — a haunting meditation on memory, grief, and self. But what we get instead feels like a collection of interesting fragments, loosely stitched together without a strong emotional or thematic throughline. Kurylenko deserves credit for her commitment, but even she can’t elevate the messy screenplay or uneven direction.
As far as isolated horror goes, Other isn’t the one that will keep you up at night. For something in a similar vein that succeeds where this doesn’t, I’d recommend revisiting The Lodge or Goodnight Mommy instead.
2 STARS
OTHER IS NOW PLAYING ON SHUDDER.
Written by: Leo Brady
