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In The Others, Nicole Kidman gives perhaps the finest performance of her career as Grace, a lonely wife caring for her two ill children and awaiting the return of her husband, a soldier lost overseas in WWI. Alone in a huge mansion, a trio of mysterious new housekeepers arrives following the disappearance of Grace's previous help, but all is not what it seems. The two children suffer from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (a rare condition that cause death by exposure to sunlight), and soon Grace is plagued with the arrival of undead spirits. Is the house haunted? Are the new servants attempting to drive Grace out of house and home? Or perhaps Grace really is losing her grip and teetering on the brink of insanity?

For most of the film, Spanish auteur Alejandro Amenabar rarely steps wrong. He has an impeccable eye for detail and mood, and patronizes the three sacred "S's" of suspense cinema: shadows, silence and simple camera moves. The film does have some flaws - the pacing is sometimes too slow, and I had a script problem with the reintroduction of a key character near the end of the second act - but this is one heck of a gripping thriller. Released last August to little prerelease buzz and without a huge marketing campaign, much like The Sixth Sense a couple of years earlier, each shares similarities critics didn't fail to point out. Both are somber in tone and style, feature strong, Oscar- worthy performances, and contain the now-obligatory "twist" ending that kept audiences guessing. But personally, I preferred The Others, perhaps because I'm just a sucker for haunted house stories, and I found Amenabar's style far more satisfying than Sixth Sense helmer M. Night Shyamalan's penchant for pretension.

The Others also benefits from excellent use of limited locations, an eerie score (also by Amenabar) and topflight performances. Indeed, this movie would all but fall apart if it wasn't for Kidman, and here she finally comes into her own after weathering a string of bad movies (Days of Thunder, The Peacemaker) or good performances in little-seen gems (Dead Calm, To Die For.) I think the Academy simply made a mistake earlier this year by nominating her for Best Actress in Moulin Rouge instead of The Others. Her range here is exceptional; from pain to rage to astonished bewilderment, her eyes allow us to understand Grace's heightened emotional states and she makes a potentially off- putting character likable. Also deserving of a Supporting Actress nod was Fionnula Flanagan as the mysterious maid, and both Alakina Mann and James Bentley as the children are some of the least-annoying child actors in recent memory.

Stylish, suspenseful and just plain classy, The Others is the kind of horror films Hollywood should be making these days, but isn't. Hopefully its box office success will prove once and for all that you don't need gore and stock suspense cliches to attract audiences. Now, wouldn't that be a revelation?

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, director Alejandro Amenabar has crafted a film filled with dark shadows, fog and tons of dissolves. In other words, a nightmare for any DVD to handle. But thankfully, Buena Vista has devoted a whole disc just to the main feature, so perhaps that is why difficult material such as this still looks as great as it does.

While the color palette is intentionally subdued, hues are as vibrant as allowable and free of noise, bleeding or smearing. Blacks are dead on and contrast consistent across the entire grayscale. While the print is as clean as you would expect given such a recent film, there is a consistent grain throughout that gets somewhat heavier in higher-contrast shots. The film also has a somewhat soft appearance in outdoor scenes with heavy use of CGI-created fog and mist, yet the transfer is surprisingly sharp and shadow delineation impressive. Compression artifacts are still minimal despite the difficult source material, and aside from a few slow dissolves and transitions, I noticed little in the way of pixel breakup. Edge enhancement is also minimal, resulting in a very natural and film-like presentation.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

Given the fact that this is a two-disc set with the main feature getting a whole disc all to itself, it is odd that no DTS track is included, only an English 5.1 Dolby surround track. But it's certainly a fine mix that is as enveloping and atmospheric as the film. Amenabar is widely known for composing his own scores, so his ear for aural details is impressive. Dialogue is pitch perfect and anchored in the center channel with the score well spread out across the front soundstage. The rears are not overbearing or gimmicky, but delivering eerie ambiance throughout; and there are some nice discrete effects cues that heighten the mood and are expertly balanced with the music and effects. The .1 LFE track is supple but never overpowering. I suspect a DTS track would have added even more to this film, but such is life. This is still a fine presentation that suits the film very well.

Also included is a French 5.1 dub, English and Spanish subtitles, and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

As part of Dimension's Collector's Series, this two-disc set would seem to be packed with extra goodies, at least judging by the heft of the packaging. But upon closer inspection, alas there is less here than meets the eye...

First up is the 22-minute featurette A Look Inside: The Others. Thankfully, it is a bit more than just the original theatrical EPK; the addition of new interviews conducted after the film's breakout box office success adds some much-needed perspective, and participates include actors Nicole Kidman and Fionnula Flanagan, producers Paula Wagner and Sunmin Parks, and director Alejandro Amenabar. We're also treated to some atmospheric behind-the-scenes footage, and of particular interest are Amenabar's use of music as a directorial tool and preference for subtly and restraint as opposed to flesh and gore. A bit fawning and self-congratulatory as most of these featurettes usually are, this is still worth at least one viewing.

Also included are three more brief featurettes. Running 8 minutes is the informative and poignant Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a look at the rare disease portrayed in the film. Interviewed are Karen and Dan Mahar and their daughter Katie, one of the only 1,000 known cases of "XP" in the world today. Dr. James Cleaver also offers some background on the disease, and oddly enough the film clips interspersed throughout suddenly make the film look slight in comparison to the real-life difficulties of living with such a disease. An Intimate Look at Director Alejandro Amenabar is really just 8 minutes of behind- the-scenes b-roll footage of Amenabar in action, complete with production sound and a perplexed-looking Nicole Kidman. Finally, the 5-minute Visual Effects Piece is a little bland, featuring full screen and split-screen before-and-after comparisons of 8 key effects scenes. I'd recommend watching this one after seeing the film, as it takes away some of the mystery from the film's impressive atmospherics. All the video supplements are presented in full frame and 2.0 stereo.

Also included is a still gallery with about 40 behind-the-scenes and publicity stills, along with the film's original theatrical trailer in full screen. All told, not a bad lineup of extras, though with the thick two-disc packaging, I bet potential purchasers are going to expect to get more out of this one.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts