Star power plus good writing.

Rating: 8/10 (5 September 2001)

This seems to have been a surprise box office hit, holding in the top 4 of the late summer returns for weeks.
If you are a fan of Nicole Kidman, which I am, you will love this movie, which I did. Saw it twice, and may do so again before it leaves. And unlike "Moulin Rouge" Kidman's other triumph of the season, it will translate well to the small screen.
There is one moment toward the end of the movie where a frightful person appears. Several people in the audience screamed when it happened--they were quite shocked and had been drawn into its emotionally claustrophobic atmosphere
The absence of violence, gore and murder is welcome in this genre. The hysteria that is always just below the surface (and occasionally breaking through the surface) builds throughout the film.
Kidman is in almost every scene--actually in almost every shot. She has never looked better.