The Others (PG-13) There are so many classic ghost stories and vintage fright films that work their way through the fabric of The Others that it's almost impossible to list them all. Impossible and unnecessary, since the movie stands just fine on its own — a moody and elegantly menacing spook story of the sort that hardly ever finds its way into movie theaters these days. Nicole Kidman stars as a high-strung widow who lives in a deliciously claustrophobic, old house with two small, sunlight-allergic children, and, possibly, a ghost or two hanging about. The movie doles out its information in a slow, sure manner that uses atmosphere, small details and deliberate pacing to throw us off balance and maximize tension. All the right elements are here — weeping and wailing from invisible entities in the night, inanimate objects that take on ominous life, creepy children, withered crones with weird eyes, inscrutable servants with terrible secrets. The real strength of The Others, though, much like the classic psychological ghost stories it echoes (the original 1963 The Haunting and The Innocents), is its successful creation of a sense of unreality that encourages us to share the mounting disorientation of its characters and to doubt their very perceptions. The film is shot almost entirely in dimly lit interiors, but you'll be amazed at how many different shades and textures you'll discover within all that darkness on Dimension's wonderful new Collector's Series 2-DVD set. The widescreen picture is absolutely luxurious and the highly atmospheric Dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack will have you jumping out of your seat at regular intervals. A second disc of extras is mostly routine stuff — a making-of doc, still gallery and brief profile of the director — but a supplement about a family with the actual light-phobic disease featured in the film is alone worth the proverbial price of admission.
This article appears in May 22-28, 2002.
