Other (2025)

Other (2025)

Not to be confused with The Other People, which was released in the same year. Nor with Other People’s Bodies (2025), which is a reimagining of the French film La Piscine. Then there’s also The Other (2025), which is probably linked to Final Destination, but I’m not entirely sure.

Once again, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I was quite nervous, as I have a bit of a problem with French films. This one is a Franco-Belgian thriller directed by David Moreau.

I didn’t watch the trailer, nor did I read the reviews to find out whether they were generally positive or negative. I simply read the plot summary, which didn’t even really grab me that much! So, I let myself be taken by surprise. And I was rather disappointed after an hour and a half. But I stuck with it until then! I thought I was finally going to be treated to an excellent French-language thriller. Unfortunately, it’s not for lack of trying again, but it’s a washout yet again!

The last twenty minutes are clearly bad enough to warrant saying that this film is rubbish and yet another waste of time.

A year after the groundbreaking MadS (2024), David Moreau was already back with a sort of closed-door thriller, carried single-handedly by the Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko. In fact, if you don’t like her, bear in mind that she’s the only one you see! She’s in every shot; everything is staged so that she’s the only one with her face uncovered, often in close-up. This psychological horror thriller explores painful memories, a difficult childhood and a tyrannical mother.

This film is completely hollow and uninteresting, with a rather poorly written script. I did, however, find it entertaining for an hour, but I felt let down. It’s that feeling when you think you’ve found a brilliant film, only for the ending to reveal that it’s actually a proper flop! I must admit I find it a bit hard to understand the press’s enthusiasm for this film – or perhaps I’ve only read articles from independent newspapers that enjoy odd, failed projects. I should point out that I didn’t read anything before watching it. Only afterwards.
For my part, I also found the plot particularly muddled, the story rather uninteresting and the final explanation utterly absurd. There’s a real lack of coherence in this film. You find yourself wondering what’s going on and then realise that nothing makes any sense.

The synopsis promised an intriguing psychological thriller, starring the famous Olga Kurylenko, and yet the introduction of a protagonist haunted by her past falls flat in a narrative void.

I read this review: ‘The screenplay, co-written by David Moreau and Jon Goldman, is typical of what one might expect from a shaky endeavour: it staggers along, seemingly aimlessly, reducing the plot to a wisp of an idea. Clearly, the direction drags on in a morning-like atmosphere – slow, confused, lacking in tension or dramatic build-up – to such an extent that every minute feels like an eternity. Throughout its 95 minutes, Other exhausts itself repeating the same gimmicks: a closed setting, masks, a gloomy atmosphere… but nothing ever really takes off. There is neither rhythm nor emotion. The viewer stays afloat without ever feeling invested, hanging on to the promise of a twist that never comes. The result? An hour and a half of sheer boredom.”

The thriller genre demands a crescendo, revelations, a gripping resolution. Here, we get none of that. Halfway through, the film seems to forget where it was heading. By the end, we’re left facing a narrative abyss: a bottomless void of meaning. It’s as if there had never been an idea to develop in the first place.

Kurylenko acts quite well in this film. But she’s often scantily clad, so her looks have been used to attract audiences. Admittedly, you could see it as her simply being at home, and therefore at ease and not in her work clothes. But her long legs didn’t need to be on screen all the time!

There are some characters whose faces we never see, even though I would have liked to. Just one of many shortcomings.

On the other hand, I was really pleased to hear Veruca Salt’s song ‘Seether’ in this film! The Donnas’ track, ‘Who Invited You’, is quite nice too! At least that’s something…