The Others Review

There’s already talk of Nicole Kidman being Oscar nominated next year, either for her showy role in the musical extravaganza "Moulin Rouge" or for her performance in "The Others," the chilling new movie from acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenebar. Set on the small English island of Jersey (but actually filmed in the director’s native land) just after the end of the Second World War the film stars Kidman as a mother of two, still waiting for news of her soldier husband. She moves into an old house with her children, both of whom suffer from a rare allergy to sunlight. With windows drawn constantly and doors always closed the stage is set for an atmospheric horror story that really begins after three mysterious servants arrive to replace those that left out of the blue the night before. After mysterious happenings throughout the house the young girl reveals to her mother that they are sharing their home with apparently supernatural forces that consider it theirs, and only communicate with her.

This moody and atmospheric film is a million miles away from your average teen slasher movie, and proves once again that Hitchcock was right when he said that what you don’t see will always be scarier than what you do. Consequently the film was given a ‘12’ certificate in the UK, but don’t let that deceive you: this is a film that will have you on the edge of your seat and will stay with you for days.