M. Night Shyamalan’s spooky “”The Sixth Sense”” may have ruined the modern ghost story as we know it. Because of the atmospheric fright fest, it’s nearly impossible to sit through another dimly lit shadow dance with the supernatural without expecting (or at least hopingfor) a mind-blowing twist. But, as proven in “”The Others,”” a methodical but ultimately disappointing chiller written and directed by Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar, we realize that the existence of said surprise doesn’t guarantee success.
On the English island of Jersey, shortly after the culmination of World War II, Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), keep the lamp of hope burning for their father, who left to fight and never returned. From out of the fog that perpetually surrounds the family’s mansion come three servants looking for work. We learn that they’ve worked at the house before and were hoping Grace would need help with the grounds and the children.But caring for these kids isn’t a picnic, as Anne and Nicholas both suffer extreme allergic reactions to sunlight, a condition that forces Grace to monitor their every move with militant precision. No door can be opened in a room until all other doors are closed. Curtains cover every window in the rooms occupied by the children. The servants are ordered to maintain these boundaries, and the game devised by “”The Others”” is underfoot. After the setup, “”Others”” unfurls the elements of its inherent ghost story as things begin to bump in the night. Footsteps pound across the attic floor, though no one appears to be up there. Grace hears whispers, laughter and crying, but can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from. And Anne swears she sees a family of “”intruders,”” even going so far as to converse with a little boy named Victor. Mann and Bentley hit the right notes as Anne and Nicholas, children being children who generate innocent chills just by being open receptacles for the paranormal. But it’s Kidman’s Grace who must anchor the insanity for this ghost story to work. It’s a wonderful role for the detached actress, whose naturally icy disposition permits her to portray Grace as a quiet control freak whose sanity unravels when challenged by the supernatural goings-on in her house. The image of her storming down the hall with shotgun in hand is memorably delicious and forbidding, a la Nicholson wielding an axe in “”The Shining.”” But all the suspicious mist and ominous shadows that lurk in almost every scene of “”The Others”” – expertly captured on film by cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe – can hardly hide the questions raised by Amenabar’s surprising conclusions. Rarely has one absorbing premise unraveled so quickly under the weight of the ludicrous twist proposed in “”The Others.”” Meant to shock and amuse, the twist really only manages to deconstruct important truths we were asked to accept for the first 90 minutes. Crucial character traits are forgotten and new ones are introduced haphazardly, with no explanation found in the preceding scenes. If you’ve accepted anything that has happened in the first two acts, and it’s easy to do, Amenabar’s resolution is impossible to accept, and it quickly deflates the mood the director took so long to establish. Amenabar’s following is building. Cameron Crowe’s next project, the Tom Cruise/Penelope Cruz drama “”Vanilla Sky,”” is a remake of Amenabar’s 1997 drama “”Open Your Eyes.”” After a brief run, the director’s subtle “”Butterfly”” recently hit video shelves. And “”The Others”” displays more than enough proof that Amenabar can excel as a writer, director or composer – a true triple-threat. Once he can make all three of his talents work in harmony, the vision he touches on here should finally be achieved. FINAL GRADE: C-