Feh. (to quote another critic) *MINOR SPOILERS*

Rating: 4/10 (13 August 2001)

*MINOR SPOILERS*
Ahh... a mansion surrounded by fog. "Eerie" characters and events that the director holds back from us, like we care, to create suspense. And many cliches later, you have the ultimate cliche, which would, yes, be that funny little cute little twist that smacks of The Sixth Sense. I liked it with Bruce Willis. I was ready to walk out after enduring an hour and a half of Nicole Kidman in one of the worst-scripted roles I've seen in a while. (She chases ghosts with a rifle - yes, it's true - and I was trying hard not to laugh out loud and disrupt the theater.)
Not that she can act very well, either, but that's beside the point; i'll give her the benefit of the doubt here and put Eyes Wide Shut, and this bomb of a script, out of mind.
What's good? Atmosphere. Kids.
What's the worst? Waiting for nothing. I mean really, nothing. I knew it would come out why the girl is mute, i knew they would tell us the big deal with all the ghosts, it was just a matter of time. It's usually the responsibility of the director (and writer; in this case, the same unfortunate soul) to make sure we care why the girl is mute. In this case, feh. You know, I liked the candles but I didn't like Kidman drawing out the explanation, like it's some big mystery, like maybe we won't find out. Of course we find out. So tell us up front. Waiting on something like that does not make a movie. And that waiting WAS the entire movie. The entire 100 minutes that felt like 200, easy.
two stars out of five, for Nicole Kidman being easy to look at, for the kids, and for that glassy look on the husband's face...