The Other

Childless and hopeful, a couple invites into their home a young orphan whose own history is marked by trauma. They see in him the chance to complete their family and offer him stability after a difficult start. As days turn into routines, the line between care and control begins to blur. The new bond exposes secrets the adults would rather keep hidden, and what started as a desperate wish to love begins to erode under fear, anger, and unspoken doubts. When the past the child carries resurfaces, the household's fragile harmony shatters and safety quickly gives way to mounting peril. The tension escalates through quiet moments at the dinner table, late-night arguments, and the uneasy vigilance of the foster's presence, reminding viewers that danger can lurk behind everyday routines. The film asks how much a family can bear before breaking.

Directed by Paul Etheredge, The Other arrived in 2025 as an original screenplay rather than an adaptation, offering a psychological twist on the conventional foster family tale and spotlighting the moral costs of parental longing.

Box office figures for The Other have not been publicly reported, so there are no reliable worldwide grosses to cite at this time. Some regional premieres have generated modest interest.

There are no major awards or nominations reported for The Other, reflecting its status as a relatively niche release. Critics have noted effective performances and a claustrophobic mood, but the film has not yet broken into mainstream awards circuits.

The film leans on a tense atmosphere built from the tension between desire for family and the dangers hidden in trauma. Performances by Olivia Macklin and Shawnee Smith anchor the suspense, while the screenplay probes ethical questions about caring for a troubled child, the limits of forgiveness, and how easily love can become peril when boundaries blur.