The Other (1972)

[7]

In The Other, To Kill a Mockingbird director Robert Mulligan does a great job engendering sympathy for a schizophrenic child who is channeling the spirit of his deceased twin. Chris and Martin Udvarnoky do a commendable job playing the boy and his 'other,' and famed acting teacher Uta Hagen is good as the Russian aunt who begins to put two and two together after a series of tragic 'accidents' happen on the family farm.

The movie could have stacked a lot more suspense if didn’t show its hand so early — the reveal that one of the brothers is a ghost could have been pushed to much later in the story (you find out in the first fifteen minutes). There’s also a plot device involving Russian voodoo that doesn’t sit well with me, but there are several good moments in this film and I like that it doesn’t end pretty. Also featuring Diana Muldaur and John Ritter, with a score by Jerry Goldsmith.

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