Could have been scarier ... but still good.

Rating: Null/10 (19 August 2001)

***Warning: Spoilers Ahead ***
Since I saw the Sixth Sense first, I had an idea of how this movie would end around the time Grace (Kidman) mentioned the absence of the letter carrier. Having been a paperboy in my youth, I would definitely avoid a house like that. My idea about the ending suddenly changed during the middle of the film thanks to Kidman's great performance. She convinced me that Grace's sanity was in question. I started thinking that she might have been imagining everything ... even the children. I was preparing myself for an ending where the people who bought the house would barge in with several policemen, point at Grace, and say "She's the one. She's crazy. She talks to herself, locks herself in the house, and refuses to acknowledge we are the new owners. Officers, take her away!" For me, that would have been scarier because it shows that people are the ones who "see what they want to see". Especially true when they have lost loved ones. I must admit that I wanted to see the film just for the ending. The ending was just not as scary as I thought it would be.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film because it was soo mysterious. The build-up was done really well. Setting and acting were all well done. Just a note about another post that commented on why we can't stop ghosts with guns but doors work. I believe that the gun Grace was using was not really there. A ghost gun perhaps? But the house and the locked doors are real. The director might also be putting a spin on the old myths about evil things being able to enter only if they are invited first. Something Grace does in the beginning, and possibly at the end after she discovers the truth.