The Others stars Nicole Kidman and her two children finding herself trapped in a bizarre and perplexing marriage to Tom Cruise. Oh wait, that’s just her real life at the time. In The Others she plays Grace a widow in post WWII Jersey living in a mansion with her two photosensitive children Anne and Nicolas. When three workers show up on her doorstep, she hires them as servants to help take care of the children and the estate to replace her previous staff that recently walked off the job. Soon after they are hired strange occurrences start happening and unexplained sounds start emanating from empty rooms. Could it be ghosts? Are her children messing with her? Are the servants trying to drive her mad? Are scientologists trying to silence her? You’ll have to watch the whole twisty turny movie to find out.

Drawing heavy inspiration from the Turn of the Screw, this is a really well constructed supernatural film that has more than one trick up it’s sleeve for the audience. Nicole Kidman’s performance and the up tied and high strung Grace is what ties all the tension together. The haunted house genre is well trod territory, and this film explores all of the tropes associated with it adeptly and convincingly. It’s well paced, doling out little clues about the multiple mysteries surrounding the characters, their motivations, and the occurrences in the house. There’s enough revelations and twists and turns that it really does string the audience along until the last 15 mins or so before everything is revealed.

This is my second full viewing since I watched it in the theater in 2001, and it’s one of those films that is as enjoyable the second time if you know the ending. I don’t remember being blown away at the time, since it felt like it was riding off the coattails of the surprise blockbuster The Sixth Sense released two years earlier. However now, I can recognize the masterful craftsmanship of Alejandro Amenábar’s script and direction. 

It’s an exceptional example of gothic horror, exploring the darker aspects of life and death, maintaining an oppressive and claustrophobic atmosphere, and leaning heavily on suspense and mystery.

10/10