The Others

This gothic ghost story manages to surprise and scare on many levels. Nicole Kidman, in a remarkable performance, plays a mother of two secluded in a Victorian mansion in 1948 England, waiting for her husband to return from the war. Three mysterious servants show up on her doorstep, and strange noises fill the air soon thereafter. This movie is impressive in its ability to do something new and different in a genre that sometimes seems worn out (especially after the countless, boring haunted house pictures of recent years). You might be able to figure out parts of what’s going on, but you get a gold star if you figure the whole thing out. Creepy.