10 Horrifying Haunted House Films
5. The Others
The Others was released in 2001, and despite the overwhelmingly positive critical and commercial reception, the film isn’t placed alongside other classics of the horror genre. Perhaps due to its understated approach, The Others is less viscerally memorable than some of its contemporaries.
Grace (Nicole Kidman) moves into a mansion with her two children - their father having recently died fighting during WWII. Before long, Grace and her children discover signs that mysterious “others” are living in the house; things only get stranger from there on out.
The film's best known scene is when Grace finds her daughter playing with a doll. At least Grace thinks it's her daughter until she notices the wrinkled, emaciated hand clutching the doll. When she confronts the mysterious figure, she finds a wizened old crone who speaks with her daughter's voice, bemusedly insisting she is in fact Grace's daughter.
The film successfully affects a surreal dreamlike tone throughout that lends to the overall mystique of the feature; events are satisfyingly teased over the course of the film and we’re left unsure if anything supernatural is actually occurring, or if Grace is slowly descending into madness.