This film is testament to the power of dramatic tension in horror

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2001)

Only once in a very long while does an excellent horror flick happen to be playing in that cinema that you swore was offering a horror flick when you paid that ticket price. More often that not, what you are offered is a special-effecstravagansa that's like that cold spaghetti you stuck your hand into at the carnival when you were a kid. It's sensuous, definitely horrible, but not really all that scary.
Then again, once in a while, someone like Amenabar demonstrates what we all knew as kids: Nothing bites in the dark like your own imagination! The atmosphere of "The Others" is, as you might expect, dark and cold, set upon the classic Lovecraftian tale of a tragically broken family trying to live in the past. The tone of the movie is established *very* quickly (there is no time wasted!) but allowed to mature more slowly as bit by bit we discover more about Grace, her family, and the mysterious servants. The tension rises slowly; "The Others" teases you with whispers and creaking doors, relying on the marvelous use of consecutively dark and bright rooms to generate a kind of confusion between the reality and nightmare that permeate the house.

Don't worry though, when "The Others" wants you to jump, you'll jump. My housemate was airborne, while I'd much more sensibly taken cover behind the seat in front of me. I haven't done that since my Dad took me to see "Misery" when I was twelve! The beauty is that it isn't usually the events themselves that are scary; Chainsaws, Baseball bats, and/or men hanging from the ceiling are notably absent. When you walk out of the theatre, you're not talking about inconsistencies, or how original the story was. You're just trying to convince your friends that you weren't just ducking under the seats to cower with the spilt popcorn!
Verdict: CGI gore and freak-a-minute junkies stay away. This film is testament to the power of dramatic tension in horror. 9/10
(I will admit that biblical tirades are getting tiring though)