The Others (2001)
★★★ — The Others (2001)
Released in 2001 and co-produced by Spanish, American and French studios including Cruise/Wagner Productions and Sogecine, The Others arrived at an interesting moment for mainstream horror, a genre that had spent much of the late 1990s leaning hard into self-aware slashers and CGI-assisted spectacle. A period ghost story set in a fog-bound Channel Islands manor, it offered something rather different: slow, hushed, and rooted in sustained dread rather than immediate shock. It was written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, a Spanish-Chilean filmmaker who had already attracted serious critical attention in Europe, and it marked his first English-language feature. The film was shot entirely in Spain, despite its distinctly British setting, which gives it a slightly removed, dreamlike quality that suits the material rather well.
Amenábar had made his name with psychological thrillers before arriving at this project, and his instinct for building unease through atmosphere rather than explicit violence is evident throughout. The production design leans into the gothic with real commitment: darkened rooms, heavy drapery, and a house that feels like a sealed world unto itself. Nicole Kidman heads the cast as Grace, a devout and increasingly frayed mother caring for two children, Anne and Nicholas, played by Alakina Mann and James Bentley, whose rare sensitivity to light means the house must always be kept dim. Fionnula Flanagan brings a quietly unsettling presence as the head of a trio of newly arrived servants, and Christopher Eccleston appears in a supporting role. If you enjoy horror that takes its time, or have found other Spanish productions from the same era worth your while (as I did with Nightmare City and Pacifiction), The Others sits in interesting company. It is also worth noting alongside other horror films I have looked at here, such as Moshari and Tiger Stripes, in that it is a film where the horror is built from character and mood rather than from anything you can easily point at on screen.
The Others (2001) is the most M. Night Shyamalan-esque film not actually directed by the man himself. A slow-burning supernatural thriller steeped in gothic atmosphere and psychological unease. Alejandro Amenábar crafts a masterclass in restraint: a secluded Channel Islands manor in 1945, perpetually shrouded in mist and shadow; heavy velvet curtains drawn against the light; the faint creak of floorboards where no one walks. Nicole Kidman delivers a tightly wound performance as Grace, a mother fiercely protective of her light-sensitive children, her piety and paranoia blurring into something quietly unhinged. The premise alone (a house that may not be entirely empty) is enough to set the nerves on edge. Yet for all its chilling setup, The Others is more unsettling than outright terrifying. Those expecting jump scares or spectral grotesquery will be disappointed; this is a film that trades in dread rather than dreadfulness. The horror lives in the spaces between lines of dialogue, in the slow turn of a doorknob, in the way a room feels different after you've left it. It's a ghost story told with the solemnity of a period drama, prioritising mood and mystery over visceral fright. For viewers who dont particularly enjoy with "ghost" horror (myself included), it's almost a relief that the tension is palpable, but the terror remains cerebral. A beautifully mounted, impeccably acted exercise in gothic suspense that lingers through atmosphere rather than shock. It never quite ascends to greatness (the pacing occasionally drags, the payoff polarising) but as a supernatural thriller that respects its audience's intelligence, it remains quietly compelling. More haunting than horrifying, and perhaps all the better for it.
For me, that last point is really what stays with you after the credits roll. Films that rely on atmosphere to carry their weight live or die by how well they sustain it across the full runtime, and The Others manages it more often than not, even if it loses its footing here and there in the middle stretch. Kidman's performance is the anchor through all of it, controlled and brittle in equal measure, and the two young leads more than hold their own. I'll admit I came to this one slightly braced for the kind of ghost story that leaves me cold, and the fact that it won me over, at least partway, says something. It is the sort of film you find yourself thinking about in a quiet house late at night, which is probably the best thing you can say about any entry in this genre.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2001 | Watched: 2026-03-30
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for The Others (2001) on YouTube
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Spain: Nightmare City (1980) · Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (2015) · Land Without Bread (1933) · [REC] (2007)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
More mystery: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · One Way or Another (1975)
