31 Days of Terror, Day 7: “The Others”

As previously announced here, each day I will be posting a film to get you in the Halloween spirit. Each film is picked strategically based on what will excite you closer and closer to the big day.

DAY 7 :  The Others (2001) | Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

Time to get super spooky…

Each time I think of a new line up of films to add to this series, I always try to look into all of the different creatures we consider to get us in the mood for Halloween. From vampires to zombies, and demons to monsters, I always want to look at what has come before and the product after. Today, we’re looking at my favourite: Ghosts. In previous years I have looked at ghosts (Poltergeist, Ghostbusters, the list goes on) but I don’t feel like any of the films I have covered in the past have ever been as malicious as the ones we are looking at this year.

The Others stars Nicole Kidman as a mother that is convinced her quiet, darkened manor may be haunted and could be targeting her two photosensitive children. The film begins with a slow burn, but eventually burns up to an intense finale and a twist that upon its release had people talking for days.

I was really excited to re-discover the effective scariness of this movie and add it in to the lineup for this years list. It features many effective scares, some of which were mocked in Scary Movie 3 which is when you know – as a horror film – you have made it. Lining it up after a few fun entries like Scooby-Doo and Jennifer’s Body can reground the spookiness of the holiday one week into the countdown (as well as some really fun ones to come, hint hint…)

The unfortunate thing about The Others, is that upon its release in 2001 it was so fresh for movie-goers coming out of the slasher craze of the late 1990s and scared the life out of people with its eerie atmosphere, but now we have seen so many copycats almost 20 years later that what makes it an effective film may no longer seem as scary to audiences of today.

Regardless, The Others remains one of the few movies I forget how scary it is and revisit every few years to find myself holding my breath and just as shocked at the plot twist as I was the last time. You may even find yourself wanting to re-watch it and see how it all adds up.

Check out 2018’s Day 7 entry here for more Halloween fun! You can stream The Others on Shudder.