The perfect ghost story

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2005)

Only the mildest of spoilers.
This movie is perfect. Normally, if I'm watching a horror movie, I prefer a balls-to-the-walls frightfest like 'The Excorcist'. And I'm always disappointed by horror movies with no gore. But after watching 'The Others', I think it actually might be my favorite horror movie ever. The dark atmosphere is delicious, the plot is just excellent, and all the performances are top-notch - especially that of Nicole Kidman, who despite her character's numerous flaws, manages to make you like her and care what happens to her. The dialog written for her character is so authentic; it's so refreshing to finally see a film set in the past where the characters actually use the appropriate kind of language & tone. The language in this film made me feel like I've never seen a 'period piece' with authentic language.
'Rosemary's Baby' is often mentioned as a prime example of a film that creates a great sense of tension without any killing or monsters or gore. But I'd have to say that 'The Others' far surpasses 'Rosemary's Baby' in it's bloodless delivery. You are not left with any disappointment at all. After 'Rosemary's Baby', I thought "Well done, but they should have at least shown the baby." But 'The Others' is absolutely perfect. There is nothing that they should have shown. There is nothing that could have made it any better. And how nice to finally have a great horror movie that is truly spooky that you can actually watch with your kids?