Marvelous Scare the Pants Off of You Ghost Story!

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2002)

"The Others" is a superior ghost story in the old fashioned vein without any glitzy special effects, no blood and guts, no graphic sex and no gruesome murders. What it is, is an atmospheric, eerie and claustrophobic scare the pants off of you haunted house ghost story.
The story involves a young mother Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) and her two light-sensitive children Anne and Nicholas (Alakina Mann, James Bentley) who live in an isolated manor in the middle of the countryside in 1945. The father has gone off to war and has not returned. Along come three mysterious house servants, Bertha Milk (Fionna Flanagan), Edmund Tuttle (Eric Sykes) and the mute Lydia (Elaine Cassidy), who show up unexplainably to apply for the vacant servant positions. Elaine and the children then begin to hear voices and things that go bump in the night. Are there ghosts or intruders in the house? Are the servants who they say they are? Can Grace protect her family against the evil forces?
Director Alejandro Amenabar keeps us guessing throughout. He presents us with a creaky old mansion with all of the haunted house cliches (slamming doors, unexplained noises, creaking floors etc.) but does so in a style reminiscent of the classic ghost stories such as "The Uninvited" (1944), "The Innocents" (1961) and "The Haunting" (1963). He gives us a slam-bang ending, with a few surprises, that you won't want to miss.
Nicole Kidman, after playing second fiddle to ex-hubby Tom Cruise is finally receiving the roles and recognition she deserves. Always a beautiful and talented actress, she proves in "The Others" what a fine dramatic actress she can be and does so without any of the trappings and glamour such as she had in her previous film "Moulin Rouge" (2001). Alakina Mann and James Bentley are excellent as the children. Veteran performers Flanagan and Sykes as well as, virtual newcomer Cassidy stand out as the servants.
Take it from me, you won't want to miss this one.