Movies: Other (2025) by David Moreau: The House Remembers What You Forgot
- dailyentertainment95
- 1 day ago
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Summary of movie: A Descent Into Memory, Surveillance, and Identity
Other (2025) is a French–Belgian psychological horror-thriller directed by David Moreau. It follows Alice (Olga Kurylenko) who returns to her childhood home after her mother’s death—only to discover the house is wired with hidden surveillance designed to study, manipulate, and expose her darkest memories. As she navigates a labyrinth of recordings, masked figures, and warped recollections, Alice confronts a truth she has spent her entire life suppressing.
Blending atmospheric horror with emotional trauma, the film uses ambiguity, shifting perspectives, and unsettling imagery to explore identity, abuse, and the inescapability of the past.
Movie trend: elevated psychological horror focused on trauma and memory.
Social trend: surveillance anxiety, identity fragmentation, and generational trauma.
Consumer trend: demand for slow-burn horror with prestige cinematography (A24-style).
Awards / nominations: early festival recognition likely for cinematography but not major wins yet.
Insight: The film hooks modern audiences because it fuses paranoia, memory, and trauma in a way that reflects contemporary fears of being watched—not only by cameras, but by one’s own past.
Why it is trending: A Surreal Surveillance Nightmare Anchored by Kurylenko
Audiences gravitate to Other because it blends psychological ambiguity with gothic horror and modern surveillance themes.
Olga Kurylenko’s commanding solo-centric performance: She carries nearly every scene.
A mystery structured around unreliable memory: Viewers love the puzzle-box nature.
A house wired like a psychological trap: Feeds into the current wave of “haunted but technological” horror.
Discussion-worthy ambiguity: Ending interpretation debates drive online traction.
Insight: Horror fans love deciphering films that reveal as much through silence and shadows as through plot.
Why to watch this movie: A Moody, Atmospheric Horror With a Human Core
Other is a slow-burn, dread-filled experience built around tension and eerie visual cues.
Atmospheric cinematography that hides threats in shadows: Viewers must actively scan the frame.
A psychological puzzle that rewards attention: The story unfolds through clues, objects, and memories.
A deeply emotional center: Alice’s buried trauma gives the horror meaning.
A haunting tone reminiscent of French psychological cinema: Minimalistic yet intense.
Insight: Those who enjoy atmospheric horror rather than jump-scare-heavy pacing will find this film gripping.
Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/other (US), https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/other (Australia), https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/other (Canada), https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/other (UK), https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/other (France)
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34207924/
What Trend is followed: Trauma Horror Meets Surveillance Paranoia
The film participates in several modern horror trends:
Horror driven by memory and trauma, not monsters.
Surveillance-focused narratives: tapping fears of being watched, tracked, or manipulated.
Unreliable protagonists: driving interpretive conversation.
Stories where the “haunted house” is a psychological machine.
Insight: The film’s blend of analog childhood fears with modern surveillance anxiety makes it feel contemporary and familiar.
Movie Plot: A Riddle Built From Surveillance, Trauma, and Identity
The narrative builds slowly, piece-by-piece, around Alice’s confrontation with the home she fled years ago:
Alice returns after her mother’s death: intending only to settle affairs.
She discovers cameras, sensors, and audio logs: revealing the house was observing her for years.
Memories resurface through tapes and masked figures: blurring reality with hallucination.
Teenage Alice appears as a presence or memory: haunting adult Alice’s attempts to remain rational.
A creature-like figure (“La bête”) stalks her: either a manifestation of trauma or a real threat.
The house’s recordings reveal hidden abuses: contradicting everything she believed.
The climax forces Alice to confront the truth she has buried: leading to a revelation that reframes the entire film.
Insight: The plot’s primary power lies in its refusal to distinguish between memory, fear, and reality until the final moments.
Director’s Vision: David Moreau’s Hybrid of Art-Horror and Psychological Meltdown
Moreau approaches horror like a psychological excavation.
A minimalist house as psychological arena: every corner feels haunted by emotion, not ghosts.
Faces obscured intentionally: creating unease and reinforcing themes of identity suppression.
Long silences and slow camera moves: forcing viewers to fill the dread themselves.
Ambiguity favored over explicit exposition: making interpretation essential to the experience.
Insight: Moreau frames horror not as external threat but as an internal collapse—using visuals instead of explanations.
Themes: Surveillance, Trauma, Fragmented Identity, Inescapable Memory
The film’s thematic core is emotional and sociological.
Surveillance as violation: The house monitors her like an experiment.
Childhood trauma resurfacing: The fear she fled becomes impossible to ignore.
Masks and facelessness: Symbols of suppressed identity and erased truth.
Memory unreliability: The film constantly questions what is real.
The monstrous “other”: Both literal and metaphorical—representing the self we fear we might be.
Insight: The film argues that the greatest horror is not the monster, but the truth we refuse to face.
Key success factors: cinematography, performance, atmosphere, mystery structure, production design
Why Other resonates despite mixed reviews:
Olga Kurylenko’s emotionally grounded performance: She turns a cryptic script into something human.
Dark, moody cinematography: Shadows hide details, forcing active engagement.
Creepy masked characters: Adding iconic imagery to an intimate story.
A mystery-first narrative: Keeping viewers guessing until the final reveal.
Production design: A house that feels claustrophobic, clinical, and haunted simultaneously.
Insight: The film’s strengths lie less in plot clarity and more in immersive emotional atmosphere.
Awards and Nominations: Limited Festival Momentum
The film is still newly released, with modest festival circulation.
Early talk focuses on cinematography and mood rather than major awards categories.
Insight: While not an awards juggernaut, the film is earning niche praise in genre festivals.
Critics reception: Strong Atmosphere, Mixed Writing According to Major Outlets
Critics from the most influential film media note the film’s strengths and weaknesses with consistency across publications.
Variety: Praises Kurylenko’s performance and the visual composition, calling the film “emotionally icy but visually captivating.”
The Hollywood Reporter: Criticizes the script’s lack of payoff, noting the ending “fizzles rather than detonates.”
Screen Daily: Highlights the cinematography as “beautifully oppressive,” but points out narrative vagueness as a flaw.
Bloody Disgusting: Commends the eerie masked imagery and surveillance concept, while calling the third act “frustratingly ambiguous.”
IndieWire: Applauds the mood and atmosphere but calls the emotional arc “underdeveloped.”
Insight: Major critics agree that Other excels visually and atmospherically, but they remain divided over whether its ambiguity is a strength or a narrative gap.
Reviews: Divisive Viewer Response Across Key Platforms
Audience reactions from the most influential viewer-based platforms reflect strong engagement but polarized satisfaction.
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Reviews): Praises the tension, visuals, and eerie pacing, but many mention the payoff lacks clarity.
Letterboxd: Users appreciate its symbolic imagery and slow-burn dread, but frequently cite frustrations with character logic and darkness levels.
Reddit r/horror: Discussions focus on the masked figures, the “house as memory machine” metaphor, and theories about the ending.
Shudder Community Reviews: Viewers compliment the atmosphere but critique the dim cinematography and “unfinished-feeling” ending.
IMDb User Reviews: Opinions range from “brilliantly unsettling” to “annoyingly vague,” illustrating the film’s polarizing nature.
Insight: Fans of psychological, interpretive horror respond strongly, while viewers wanting clear answers or brighter visuals express disappointment.
Release dates
France theatrical: July 9, 2025
Russia: July 17, 2025
Turkey: August 1, 2025
Germany (Fantasy Filmfest): September 3, 2025
Streaming (various): October–November 2025
Insight: A typical festival-to-European-release rollout designed for horror audiences.
What Movie Trend the film is following
The film is part of the elevated psychological horror trend focused on trauma, memory, and fragmented identity—popularized by A24-style adult horror narratives.
Insight: These films prioritize mood and psychology over conventional scares.
What Big Social Trend is following
It mirrors public fears around being monitored, being gaslit, and discovering truths about one’s past—all tied to increased societal conversations about surveillance, privacy, and mental health.
Insight: Surveillance horror resonates because modern life feels constantly observed.
What Consumer Trend is following
It aligns with the streaming audience’s appetite for slow-burn, atmospheric, emotionally heavy horror that sparks online discussion and theories.
Insight: Consumers increasingly favor horror that doubles as psychological drama.
Final Verdict: An Atmospheric, Haunting, Imperfect but Memorable Descent
Other is a flawed but compelling psychological horror film built around mood, memory, and one excellent central performance. While its third act may frustrate viewers seeking clarity, its emotional tension and eerie visuals make it a noteworthy entry in the trauma-horror subgenre.
Key Trend highlighted: Trauma-driven psychological horror infused with surveillance paranoia.Key Insight: The film reminds us that the past we avoid will find ways to watch us—until we confront it.
Similar movies: If You Liked This, You’ll Love — With Directors
The Babadook (2014) — Jennifer Kent: A mother’s buried trauma manifests through psychological and supernatural terror.
Black Swan (2010) — Darren Aronofsky: A dancer’s fractured identity spirals into paranoia and hallucination.
Hereditary (2018) — Ari Aster: A family unraveling under generational trauma and hidden histories.
Eyes Without a Face (1960) — Georges Franju: Masked faces, identity horror, and eerie emotional restraint.
Run Rabbit Run (2023) — Daina Reid: A mother haunted by past trauma as reality blurs into memory.
The Night House (2020) — David Bruckner: A widow discovers disturbing secrets in a house filled with psychological traps.
Insight: These films share a core focus on psychological unraveling, unreliable memory, and the horror of confronting one’s past — reinforcing that Other belongs firmly to the lineage of trauma-centered, art-driven horror.