Finally a good film in a summer of stale, stupid movies.

Rating: 8/10 (18 August 2001)

After most of this summer's films, I left the theater feeling like I had contributed money toward the intellectual decline of America. The Others was a refreshing change in this sad trend. Comparisons to the Sixth Sense will inevitably be made by folks who have had their sensibilities atrophied by too many lame thrillers, but -- except for the most obvious and shallow of plot points -- there really is no basis for comparison between The Others and The Sixth Sense. Both are fine films with entirely different agendas. The Others joins a very small list of authentic film ghost stories, descendants of the rarefied and poetic fiction of the late Victorian era. Wiser comparisons would be to the original version of the Haunting, The Changeling, or the obscure 1989 TV film The Woman in Black -- films about the places, dramatic and metaphoric, our world touches the world beyond death, but also about the philosophical implications of such contact. The Others will be too slow for viewers more accustomed to recent fare like the remakes of the Haunting and House on Haunted Hill, but for people who like their chills a bit more subtle, it is a rare and very fine treat. With superior performances, atmospheric sets, and an allegorical content that will be lost on many viewers, The Others may be the best film I have seen this year.