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Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes ... see more see more... , Alakina Mann , James Bentley , Renée Ashershon , Gordon Reid , Keith Allen , Michelle Fairley , Alexander Vince , Rico Lopez , Aldo Grilo

Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's first English-language production is a creepy period ghost story that continues in the vein of his earlier art house hit Open Your Eyes (1997). Nicole Kidman sta... read more read more...rs as Grace, a devoutly religious mother of two ailing children who has moved with her family to a mansion on the English coast while awaiting her husband's return from World War II, though he has been declared missing. Their children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), both suffer from a rare photosensitivity disease that renders them extremely vulnerable to sunlight, prompting Grace's rule of having only one door open in the house at a time. When Anne begins claiming to see ghosts, Grace at first believes her newly arrived family of eccentric servants to be responsible, but chilling events and visions soon lead her to believe that something supernatural is indeed going on. The Others was released only a few months prior to Vanilla Sky (2001), the American remake of Alejandro's Open Your Eyes (1997), ironically starring Kidman's then-estranged husband Tom Cruise. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar

Release Date: August 10, 2001

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DVD Release Date: May 14, 2002

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Flixster Reviews (17,284)

  • aquateen2
    April 2, 2012
    aquateen2
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

    It's very possible that hardcore horror fans might find the entirely but undeservedly forgotten psychological thriller The Others a bit too predictable and a bit too empty. For mainstream it's still an i... read morencredibly creepy movie that maintains it's eery atmosphere and bravely doesn't have people screaming all the time or make use of almost any assault on the senses special effects. There are some remarkable performances from the child actors and I was pleasantly surprisied with their performances alongside Nicole Kidman. On the other hand, it's unbelievably and leg achingly long and consequently the film gives too little in it's staggering and unnecessary running time, but for the majority it had me glued to the screen in suspense.
  • jamers2011
    March 9, 2012
    jamers2011
    Brilliant film! I won't name the film this reminds me of because that spoil it, those that have seen this probably know the film I'm thinking of, it came out a few years before this; I like The Others more! Don't miss this, it's a must see!

    Nicole Kidman gives a flawless perform... read moreance! 2001 was a great year for her. She really elevates this film.
  • blkbomb
    October 9, 2011
    blkbomb
    Mrs. Mills: Sooner or later, they will find you. 

    "How do you keep them out, when they've already invited themselves in?"

    The Others is one of the best haunted house movies ever. It is a suspenseful, atmospheric, chilling and frightening film. Amenabar absolutely nails it with ... read morehis direction here. He uses darkness, shadows and mirrors like they are characters and he ends up crafting a truly scary movie. Throughout the whole movie, I was always ready for something to jump out of a dark corner and Amenabar knew everyone would have this same feeling and he used to his advantage. The movie is slow moving, building an intense suspense in the viewer. The ending creeps up on us so slow that when the big twist hits; it hits like a hurricane. 

    Grace Stewart lives in a big house with her two children, Anne and Nicholas. The kids can't be in a room with light as they have a condition where they are extremely light sensitive and could possibly die from the light. Grace's husband is away at war, as the story takes place in the 40's during World War 2. Three new servants come looking for a job and since Grace's old ones just left without a word, she takes them in. 

    Nicole Kidman fuels the movie with one of her many stunning performances. But the movie succeeds because of the brilliance of Amenabar. The house is a wonderful setting and the way the kids condition is used is magnificent. The house is always dark and moody and this just adds to up to make a truly chilling atmosphere. Then there's the huge twist ending that, in my opinion, is the coolest twist of any movie I have seen. 

    The Others is so far above the average ghost story. It manipulates us in more than one way. There is a feeling of dread that just hangs over the whole picture, the whole time. There are scenes where Amenabar uses old techniques and ideas, but his style make them feel so fresh; like you're seeing them for the first time. The movie is highly original and is a brilliant piece of work all the way around. The movie was overlooked because of The Sixth Sense, but in my opinion, this is better. The Others is one of those unforgettable movies and that's usually the sign of greatness.

    Mrs. Mills: Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead. 
  • mumby1988
    October 6, 2011
    mumby1988
    In my review of The Secret Garden, I said that many films which are held up as British classics are the result of a collaboration between British and international talent - in this case, a Polish director adapting a British book from an American screenplay. It is fitting therefor... read moree that the tradition of old-fashioned English and American ghost stories should be most fittingly upheld by an international director, which brings us, (super)naturally, to The Others.

    At its most basic level, The Others is a stylish and evocative throwback to the classic Victorian ghost stories, which in turn formed the basis for 1960s horror classics like The Haunting and The Innocents. Like the latter of these films, The Others has its roots in Henry James' renowned novella The Turn of the Screw: both revolve around children whom, it is suggested, can interact with a world beyond our own. There are also hints of The Shining in the use of panning shots throughout the house, and in several of the music cues. Alejandro Amenabar borrows from Wendy Carlos in his use of deliberate anti-climaxes following by deep terror.

    The Others takes place on the Channel Island of Jersey just after the Second World War. The setting is interesting due to the cultural differences between the Islands and mainland Britain, and the fact that they were occupied by the Germans (although Nicole Kidman is keen to point out that none of them made it to the house). Amenabar exploits these differences to quickly create an unsettling, 'other-worldly' feel: we recognise all the hallmarks of 1940s fashion and architecture, but they are so precisely and readily positioned that something doesn't seem right.

    The film evokes the immediate post-war period very effectively. Although the majority of shooting was done in Spain, the house feels British in every detail. The ornate and elegance furniture, the empty, echoing halls, the pale but elaborate costumes - it is almost too perfect in its recreation of wartime Britain. The film has a very pale visual palette to underscore the age of the characters' environment and the sense of personal and national exhaustion. Javier Aguirresarobe, who later shot The Road, contrasts light and dark to such an extent that it almost feels like sepia, hinting at the chilling revelations lurking in the old photographs.

    Because of its affection for classic cinematic ghost stories, The Others does contain a fair number of familiar elements. The elderly housekeeper may be much nicer than Mrs. Danvers, but she still has ulterior motives and secrets to hide. In a further reference to Rebecca (which itself borrowed heavily from Jane Eyre), one of the key plot twists concerns the contents or inhabitants of an attic. The use of fog as a meeting point between this world and the next borrows not only from John Carpenter's The Fog but from gothic horror: Susan Hill's The Woman in Black is set in a house cut off by marshland, and the title character first appears after the fog comes in.

    With so many familiar elements in play, there comes a point where the film has to make its own mark on the genre. It takes a while for it to do so, but it eventually achieves this through both technical proficiency and the substance of its storyline. On a technical level, The Others is very creepy. Amenabar uses the pale cinematography and period dressing to play up all the creaks and shadows (and there are a lot of shadows), and he achieves two really big jumps: one with the door closing on Nicole Kidman's face, the other involving the old woman and the cupboard where the children are hiding.

    Like all great ghost stories, The Others makes you question whether or not you saw something, and what that something might have been. It shares with The Haunting and The Innocents the device of a central female protagonist who, in one interpretation, has gone completely round the twist. The film establishes Grace as the audience's guide, using her strict values and sense of conviction to unnerve us. During the opening act, her character is set up as someone completely orderly and in control, in contrast to Nell in The Haunting, who was always a little on edge. Hence when the strange noises start to occur, we experience either the act of someone going mad or Grace's genuine shock at seeing her values so deeply questioned.

    Whereas The Haunting explored possible scientific explanations for the strange goings-on in a dark house, The Others is primarily concerned with the role that religion plays in dealing with or understanding the world beyond this. Grace remarks early in the film that she "doesn't like fantasies": she is a staunch Catholic who takes literally both the teachings of the Bible and, even more so, the Church's views on purgatory. The film's view of religion is mixed - faith in the afterlife is rewarded, while the dogma to which Grace clings turns out not to be enough.

    When Grace's religious outlook interacts with those of her children, The Others drifts closer to the work of Guillermo del Toro, who directed his own ghost story in The Devil's Backbone and would later produce The Orphanage. An underlying theme of del Toro's work is that of children being able to connect with another world, with some underlying force which adults have chosen to ignore or dismiss outright. When Grace's children say that they don't believe all that they have been taught about God and the afterlife, it's not simply a reflection of a lack of faith. It is a sign that they see the truth, the horrifying magic which Grace denies or avoids; as Roald Dahl wrote in The Minpins, "those who don't believe in magic will never find it".

    The Others is very smart in tricking us over where the boundaries between the living and the dead lie. In light of its final twist, the reunion between Grace and her husband (Christopher Eccleston) gains an added layer of poignancy; the joy and subsequent strain of reunion becomes overladen with grief and despair. Like The Shining, the film suggests that portions of individuals' souls are imparted into a location or building which has significance in their life, and that after death their spirit returns, as if one's life were recurring in eternity with all by way of meaning plain to see.

    The Others is also boosted by its great performances. It finds Nicole Kidman in her prime, following up her excellent work in Moulin Rouge! the same year. She has often been criticised for being brittle, but here it is entirely appropriate that she be highly strung: her character is very close to Deborah Kerr's in The Innocents, and she delivers a performance which is almost on a par with that. There are also great performances by the two child actors: Alakina Mann is terrific as the impetuous Anne, and is matched beautifully by James Bentley, who later played Geoffrey Rush's son in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

    There are a couple of flaws with The Others. Although its ideas are interesting and thoroughly explored, it remains just a little too generic: it doesn't develop or advance the genre in the way that del Toro's efforts have done. It is a little too long, being very slow at the beginning and predictable towards the end. And in the scenes involving the medium, it treads a fine line between creepiness and Blithe Spirit, with the deadpan delivery of the medium's observers threatening to tip us over that line.

    The Others is a stylish and creepy retuning of a classic ghost story. In spite of its flaws it still delivers a satisfying amount of substance and shivers, which have not decreased in the decade since its twist was first revealed. Kidman and her child co-stars are on scintillating form, matched by solid support work from Eccleston and a 78-year-old Eric Sykes. Though it has since been eclipsed by The Orphanage, it still has the power to chill.
  • moonrivers
    October 4, 2011
    moonrivers
    Steeped in mood and ominous forebodings here is horror of the old school. No knives or masked killers or bloodletting but only the growing sense of "something's wrong and I don't know what it is". Think of the creepy wonder you felt as a child ... wondering what was out there .... read more.. in the dark ...
  • spielberg00
    October 1, 2011
    spielberg00
    Featuring Nicole Kidman as the lead character, THE OTHERS is an eerie, suspenseful, creepy blend of horror and period drama. This isn't a typical "haunted house movie" or "ghost story" either, and there is absolutely nothing corny about it.

    Kidman, of all cast members, delivers... read more a fantastic performance (as usual).

    The film tells the haunting tale of a woman who returns to her mansion, after her husband begins to fight in World War II, with her two young children, who are highly sensitive to light stronger than that given off by a candle, and an elderly woman serving as a nanny. The terror begins when her two children begin claiming to see "ghosts", which at first she does not believe, but is eventually forced to, when she sees no coincidence between her children's tellings and the evidence of intruders in the house.

    If there's one horror movie that should have been won the awards for (at least) Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing at the Academy Awards, THE OTHERS is that film. It creates enough suspense and terror to keep you on the edge of your seat for the whole, entire feature. It is a definite must-see.
  • DreamExtractor
    September 25, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    The Others is a creepy and incredible horror film that is one of the most memorable films of all time. The plot is so slow, so intense, and in the end its one of those films that you will never forget in your life. Nicole Kidman plays one of the most chilling and great performa... read morences ever played in a horror film. The horror is incredible, the chills prove you don't need gore to be scary. The Others is one of the most original films ever made, and is one of my all time favorite horror films.
  • stevenecarrier
    September 12, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    "The Others" is one of the most memorable horror films from the '00s. It's atmosphere and use of sound is more unsettling than almost all the slasher pictures from that decade. The film is grounded in Nicole Kidman's perfect performance, bringing believability to the spooky proce... read moreedings. Kidman plays Grace with such conviction that she finds the sympathy in such a fractured woman. (When Kidman screams "leave us in peace!", the line is delivered so devastatingly that it rips right through me.) Lets also not forget the fine work from the films two children as well as the elders like Fionnula Flanagan. "The Others" works so well and is so creepy that you will not easily forget it. A shining achievement for how effective this genre has the potential to be. What is most admirable is how many different ways one can read the film. It works as an unexpectedly powerful crisis of faith story, a harrowing depiction of motherhood and a terrifying piece of gothic horror.
  • murphmann93
    June 24, 2011
    murphmann93
    You can't see most of the films since it's so dark! Really bad!
  • fb619846742
    January 2, 2011
    fb619846742
    A well-made, genuinely creepy ghost story concerning an overbearing mother (Nicole Kidman) and her two children, and how the family begins to experience disturbances inside their house during the days of WW2. It plods along at some instances but it makes up for whatever minor def... read moreiciencies it has with a fierce, brilliant conclusion that is partly predictable but nevertheless a stroke a genius. Kidman further adds to her decorated career with another masterful performance, she is without question one of the most versatile talents out there (compare this performance with her one in "Dogville" - incredible). The mood and atmosphere this movie has is competently captured, and although it feels a bit detached at parts, it is one of the better horror movies the 00's had to offer overall.

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Critic Reviews

Liam Lacey
March 22, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

A welcome change of pace from most contemporary scary stories, where the shocks come with all the subtlety of flashers jumping out of park bushes. Full Review

David Edelstein
August 17, 2001
David Edelstein, Slate

I saw the ending a mile away and couldn't have jumped higher. Full Review

Rita Kempley
August 14, 2001
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

A tantalizing spine-tingler.

James Berardinelli
August 14, 2001
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

It's atmospheric, stylish, and spooky. The plot is well thought-out and its secrets and mysteries are unveiled slowly. Unfortunately, it is also cold, distancing, and moves at a glacial pace. Full Review

Peter Howell
August 10, 2001
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Mr. Serling would be pleased. Full Review

Wesley Morris
August 10, 2001
Wesley Morris, San Francisco Chronicle

Clever as the film is, though, it turns out to be an exercise in narrative withholding that's more headache provoking than suspense laden. Full Review

Joe Baltake
August 10, 2001
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

A thinking person's horror movie. Full Review

Roger Moore
August 10, 2001
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

The Others is a thoughtfully chilling movie. It is not the action, but the look, sound and feel that make it nerve-racking.

John Anderson
August 10, 2001
John Anderson, Newsday

Creepy-verging -on-campy thriller with a great payoff, but a lot of broken promise. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
August 10, 2001
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

An unconvincing, pretentiously artsy pastiche of just about every hoary old gothic thriller you can think of.

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