The Others

The Others is not your typical ghost movie. Before seeing this, I had heard it compared to The Sixth Sense, and while there are similarities between the two films, I felt that The Others did a much better job of building the suspense. The Others does not depend on camera tricks or gory splatter scenes to chill the audience, but instead slowly builds a sense of foreboding menace that carries all through the film.

Nicole Kidman plays Grace, the mother of two children who are suffering from a disease that leaves them vulnerable to the effects of light on their bodies. To keep her children from harm, Grace keeps her spacious mansion completely shuttered and curtained leaving the interior eerily gloomy. When the film opens, we learn that Grace’s servants left her employ a week prior. This prompts the arrival of three replacement staff, who come to Grace’s door in response to an ad she had placed. It is not long after their arrival that we start to find that things are not what they should be.

The cast is excellent, and the acting offered up by everyone involved is good, but Alakina Mann and James Bentley who play Ann and Nicholas, Grace’s children, are especially impressive given their ages.

It is difficult to review this movie without giving away the plot’s central theme or the surprise ending, but if you are a fan of the suspense or horror genre, don’t miss it!

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