Gothic thriller in every sense of the term

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2002)

"The Others" delivers on the promise of its trailer: a well-directed and well-acted Gothic with plenty of frights. All the elements are there: an old mansion inhabited by mysterious people, strange, possibly supernatural events, and tons of red herrings and camera tricks.
On the other hand, it's also a Gothic in that it's thoroughly predictable.
Nicole Kidman is excellent as Grace, a reclusive war widow (or is she?) who seems to be walking the edge between sanity and madness. She is extremely protective of her children, who suffer from a rare skin condition (or do they?) that condemns them to life at home in the dark. Just days after the servants "disappeared," along come three mysterious new servants, who dress in the clothing of another century. Then, unexplainable things start to happen.
Sounds great, right? All except the predictability bit. I'm not going to reveal the much-hyped "big twist ending," but I will say that if you are a fan of "Twilight Zone" reruns it will be no twist to you. In fact, you'll have it figured out in the first twenty minutes. Not that director Alejandro Amenábar hasn't created a wonderfully moody picture. Many of his camera tricks are right out of "Halloween" (the first one), but they are still effective. Kidman is alternately likable, sexy and creepy, and it's always refreshing to see child actors who can "really" act. But if you rent this, expect a great buildup with a disappointing final half hour.