Alejandro Amenabar is an outstanding director. This movie was an excellent film and one of the best of the year in my opinion. I'm trying to remember the last movie that actually scared me (Blair Witch? possibly..because I saw it on the first night at 11 PM when everyone still thought it was real and I live in front of a big dark forest) As we know, that was a long time ago and since then, there haven't been many movies that have actually been scary. The Others was absolutely amazing.
This time, I'm really going to try to not give a lot of the details and all of this movie because the more you know ahead of time, the worse the movie could be. If I start to mention too much and you haven't seen it yet, feel free to leave and return at another time after you have seen the movie. I haven't seen too many movies of this nature so I really don't have much of a basis to compare it on; however, it's quite similar to The Sixth Sense, but is very unique as well.
The movie is set near the end of World War II on a small island called Jersey off the shore of France and England. Set in an aged mansion lives a family of four. The husband is not around since he has gone off to fight for his country in the war against the Germans. The mother, Grace (Nicole Kidman), lives with her two children, Anne and Nicholas. These two children did an excellent job in this movie by the way.
"That day" a few weeks ago, several servants mysteriously disappear from the house and the mother is said to have gone mad according to Anne. Not much of this incident is known in the beginning, but as in all horror movies, the details eventually become clear. Grace inquires that new servants be sent out and shortly, three new workers appear at their door. A seemingly nice and peaceful group, an old man, an old woman, and young girl. Grace welcomes them and introduces them to the home and gives instructions about the house and her children.
The meeting of the children is quite strange. It is said that they have a very rare disease in which they are fatally allergic to sunlight or any light brighter than a candle. The three new people introduce themselves and then continue on the tour until the old woman mentions that they used to serve in this house a few years back.
Since the children can not go outside, they are homeschooled by their mother; constantly learning of the Catholic religion. There are a few times where Anne repeatedly tells stories of ghosts living in the house and that she sees them very often. Her mother, very religious, will not tolerate such stories and punishes her by making her read the bible for days straight. Anne claims to see a little boy named Victor, an old lady, and a married couple. Are they dead or alive?
As the movie progresses, more voices are heard by the mother and she begins to believe what her daughter has told her. She begins to have a nervous brakedown once again. She decides she must walk into town and return with the priest to bless her house. As she is walking down a Sleepy Hollow type road, the fog becomes so dense that something 6 inches from her face is not visible. Footsteps are then heard in the distance. Previously thought to be killed in action, her husband walks into the movie dazed and confused. They both return for a happy reunion with the children. The next morning he mentions he must return to the war, which recently just ended. Grace realizes that he wants to leave her, not for the war, but just to leave the family. He then leaves without saying goodbye to his children who greatly miss him.
This is where the movie becomes very interesting as you try to distinguish the world of the living and the world of the dead. I really don't want to ruin the movie for anyone so I'll try my hardest. The children run into the garden one night and discover three graves. Whose are they? The three servants appear behind the children and want to talk to them. They run back to the house where Grace is waiting with a rifle attempting to defend the family and house. The three try to explain to Grace the whole story of who is actually alive and who is really dead.
According to the Bible, the worlds of the living and the dead will only cross paths at the end of eternity. It's possible that WWII symbolizes the end of life on earth. Grace finally realizes that "that day" she went crazy, she had in fact killed her children and then shortly after shot herself in the head with her rifle. The three of them are in fact dead as well as the three servants.
Victor and his family previously referred to as the intruders are now introduced as people wanting to purchase the mansion. The old woman is a psychic type woman trying to relieve the curse of the house, but the family is not pleased and decides not to buy the house. Grace, Anne, and Nicholas are seen in a window saying "This is our house" while Victor is watching from outside and then the family disappears in the glass. Victor and his parents leave the premises and the house remains "For Sale"
Overall, I recommend this movie to everybody. It is a great quality horror movie which is hard to come by these days.
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