The Others

     2001's "The Others" is a delightfully old-fashioned, suspenseful ghost story.  Nicole Kidman delivers a multi-layered performance as the mother of two photo-senstive children living in an ominous Victorian mansion during WWII.  As the children are allergic to light, all the windows in the house are constantly covered- adding to the gloom.  As good as Nicole Kidman is in the movie, the young actors playing her children are fantastic.  They are truly chilling.  The movie wisely favors atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over special effects.

      Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, "The Others" moves slowly and surely, building up tension and suspense.  The fog-drenched and candle-lit cinematography is wonderfully old-fashioned, and the movie contains many clues and messages that pertain to the film's haunting climax- it definitely requires repeat viewings to pick up on them.  It's not your typical Hollywood ghost story full of slam-bang special effects- instead it relies on wonderful acting and mood to get its point across.   A welcome return to such classic ghost stories as "The Innocents" and "The Haunting (1963).  "The Others" will definitely make you think.  Bleak, dense, dark, and truly disturbing.  And the "Book of the Dead" is truly one of the most bone-chilling things I've ever seen in a movie.