Picture the scene, you're in English class. It's a boring summer afternoon and you've already finished all the work for the school year, so the teacher decides we're all going to watch a movie. Brilliant, time to put your feet up.
Unfortunately for me, that movie was The Others, an excellent but incredibly creepy horror movie starring Nicole Kidman. I was 13/14 which is technically old enough to watch, but I was (and remain) a big scaredypants. Cue the longest class of my life, an afternoon scarier than quadratic equations and a host of nightmares for weeks to come. School is meant to be safe, not scary! I still haven't seen Moulin Rogue to this day, Mrs Kidman.
Well lucky me, I can now relive that horrifying experience at home whenever I like, because The Others has just landed on Amazon Prime Video. Oh, the joy of streaming services.
In all seriousness, this is a movie that very much is the master of 'less is more'. Things like Saw and Friday the 13th can make you jump and gross you out, but this is a genuinely spooky film. I wouldn't cry re-watching it today (probably) but I would be chewing my nails in response to the intensity and skin-crawling atmosphere.
Nicole Kidman is superb as Grace a woman living in the Channel Islands at the tail end of WW2. It was in the war that her husband was killed, leaving her in charge of Anne and Nicholas their two children who are severely allergic to light. To say much more would spoil the film but you can imagine things start to twist and turn.
Like I said this is a very restrained film as far as horror goes. There aren't any cheap jump scares, instead, there is genuine tension, mystery and some horrifying truths. The film sports a strong 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and although my childhood self hated it, that's because it was so effective and I'd argue that score is a little low.
If you're after a modern scare, learn how you can soon watch the biggest horror movie of 2024 for free. It can't be spookier than The Others.
