Nicole Kidman delivers one in The Others on the Moviecult Channel on Amazon Prime thrilling performance as a courageous landlady whose property is suddenly wreaked havoc by eerie spirits.
Nicole Kidman is haunted by mysterious forces in The Others
Grace Stewart lives in a remote country house with her children Anne and Nicholas. Since her husband Charles has been at war for five years and the siblings suffer from light allergies, the family is in a strong position withdrawn life.
But then there is unrest in their house: at night, strange footsteps sound, doors open and close and a stranger plays the piano. Grace and her children are alarmed. Apparently have mysterious powers haunted their house and now refuse to leave. But Grace isn’t ready to give up her home without a fight.
Sinister intruders on Amazon Prime give you goosebumps
With The Others, director Alejandro Amenábar proves that he can skilfully play with his audience’s expectations. For just as a ghostly figure strums carelessly on the piano in Grace’s mansion, Amenábar strums on the piano Scale of our primal fears
no less carefree up and down.
Something like the scene in which Nicole Kidman, aka Grace, enters the room covered in sheets to check on her unwanted housemates. There is the mirror. And there is the cloth. She takes off the cloth the soundtrack suggests terrible things – but all you see is Grace’s shocked face. Until suddenly that damn door in the background opens on its own.
Just when you think the horror is over, a new danger creeps up
The unrest that grips Grace and her children Anne and Nicholas due to the strange intruders quickly becomes palpable for us as viewers. Every time you think the horror is over, a new threat creeps up.
Through the clever staging you are in a constant state of horror. Like Kidman and her disturbed household, at some point in every scene you doubt what you see – or even just think you see. No matter how hard you try to get a glimpse behind the scenes, the final revelation of who or what is haunting the Stewart family comes without warning.
This is largely due to one outstanding Nicole Kidman. Because as mysterious and unpleasant as the events under the Stewarts’ roof may be, Kidman’s character Grace makes it all seem relatable.
Whether desperate, loving, angry or afraid, Nicole Kidman manages to give her character and thus also The Others a strong presence. This performance makes you, as a viewer, feel captivated in the house with her family from the first to the last scene – and anxiously await the inevitable shock at the end.
The Others premiered on August 10, 2001 and can be found on the Moviecult Channel on Amazon Prime.