3. The Others
Nicole Kidman stars in this ghostly, spooky tale of which the setting is perhaps the only frightening part. The remote Jersey country home in which she cares for her two children whilst her husband is absent fighting for Britain during the War, is not the only traditionally spooky part however. Almost all elements of this production are steeped in the Gothic, from the ghostly motifs, to the fact that it is partly based on Henry James' 1898 novella
The Turn of the Screw. Additionally the use of the word '
Other' in the title, directly refers to the idea of the 'Other' which is central to the idea of Gothic fiction.
The Reveal: The Others is another victim of a predictable and rather unsatisfactory plot twist, which can begin to be figured out by the family's increasingly isolated and hermit-like attitudes. There is little or no interaction with the outside world apart from the ghostly servant figures who only the son identifies with. Ultimitely, the whole family is revealed to be ghosts who are haunting the house's current inhabitants, which is clearly inspired by the
Turn of the Screw but despite this it remains a potent example of a disappointing and unsatisfactory plot twist.