Family discovers they are not alone in their old Victorian mansion.

Rating: 6/10 (3 October 2001)

I liked this movie. It wasn't great, and falls far short of the Sixth Sense, to which it is often compared, but it was still a good movie. The scene is England, 1945, and revolves around a woman (Kidman) who has lost her husband to the war and is isolated in this mansion with her two children afflicted with a condition which makes them vulnerable to light. The children must spend their lives in candlelight.
The movie has a few surprises, and there will be no spoilers here. I will just comment that the movie moves rather slowly for the first two-thirds or so, but does pick up at the end and did provide me with some jumps. You are rewarded in the end for allowing the movie some character and plot development.
The acting is excellent, and I was impressed by the two children's performances. Kidman was fine, as was whoever played the old lady servant (OK, I'm too lazy to look it up now). The movie was more spooky than scary for the most part. The scary parts are due more to timing and development than gratuitous violence (there is none of that here).
My warning is that the movie is not for those with short attention spans, or for those who need a shock every two minutes to keep their attention. This movie unfolds like a good book, introducing the characters and slowly giving you the stories behind the people and withholding most of the action until the end when you better understand who the events are happening to. I gave it a 6/10, which, to me, says it is better than average.