Stylish, well-crafted psychological thriller - POSSIBLE SPOILER

Rating: Null/10 (18 August 2001)

When I went to see "The Sixth Sense," I had read MANY reviews referring to the "twist ending" so I went in looking for it, had it figured out in the first 10 minutes, and it ruined the experience for me. Thank goodness I hadn't read much on "The Others," and what I did made no intimations about the plot turns and surprises. It is so refreshing to see a film that actually left me guessing and wondering where it was heading. I've gotten so tired of the endless parade of formulaic movies in which you know EXACTLY what's about to happen. It is certainly also VERY refreshing to see a well-scripted, filmed, stylish "haunted house" film that doesn't rely on computer-generated demons and gore. As many reviewers and users have commented, it is much scarier NOT seeing what's behind the door...
The only reason to compare "The Others" to "The Sixth Sense" is that it shares some significant plot elements. Other than that the two films, both wonderful in their own right, belong to two very different genres - "The Others" is a throwback to some of those wonderful old black-and-white gothic thrillers that relied on the door that closes on its own and odd noises upstairs. In fact it felt much like a classic novel - speaking of which, how many others found it remarkably similar to Henry James's novella "The Turn of the Screw"?
If you love and miss classy, artful, and genuinely frightening old-style psychological thrillers, this is the one for you. If you've gotten brain-numbed by special effects, car chases, and gore and find these kind o f movies "slow" - I feel sorry for you. You're missing out on a whole lot of what movie-going used to be!