Crazy Good Cinema

Turner Classic Movies is one of my favorite channels. They seem to never waiver from a level of excellence in presenting to the viewer exactly what they expect from a network so named. The movies shown are a cut above, always. Unlike the similarly named American Movie Classics channel they stay focused acutely on their genre. Not that AMC is not quality, but they diverge in an effort to reach a broader audience, I guess, offering original series programming as well as just theatrical movies, like the acclaimed series Mad Men, of course. TCM though, stays the course. Perhaps this means a lower viewership but the programming doesn't suffer for it.

Case in point, I just got done watching one of my all time favorites, "The Other", a sublime psychological thriller from the early 70's.

I'm not sure if its broadcast was scheduled because of the upcoming Halloween holiday or the recent passing of its star, former child actor Chris Udvarnoky but it was a happy find as I channel surfed and recognised it immediately. This was probably my 7th or 8th viewing.

I read this following excerpt on a movie buff blog and thought it summed up the shocking ending of this film perfectly:

The final shot of The Other is absolutely horrifying: Mulligan’s camera tracks up to the bedroom window of the Perry house, where an unscathed Niles is staring down below at the ruins of the burned barn. “Niles!” Aunt Vee calls. “Wash up, now! Time for lunch!” We hear the echoing whistle of Holland over the soundtrack, and then Mulligan freezes the frame on Niles’ evil, ensnaring face. He is not the innocent child he once was. He never will be, ever again. The boy coming down to eat lunch at the Perry table is not a boy any longer, but a monster.