Say "haunted house movie" to any recent cinema-goer and the only shivers it'll produce will be shivers of fear remembering the remake of The Haunted. The genre has not had the best few years, so it's fitting that 'The Others' now comes along to redress the balance.

After years of self-referential, irony laden slasher movies it's a pleasure to report that The Others is that rare beast - a genuinely tense, subtle horror movie. As in all the best films of this type, the horror lies not on screen, but in the viewers mind. Don't go and see this if you're expecting gory killings and ritual disembowelments. The beauty of The Others is more psychological, and this makes for a far more sinister, disturbing film.

Directed by 29-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Amenabar, The Others tells the tale of a young mother, Grace, who lives in a darkened house in Jersey with her two young children. The children suffer from a rare disease which makes them photo-sensitive to light, and the darkness lends the film a very eerie tone. When three servants turn up looking for work, various supernatural events begin to occur, until Grace and the children becomes convinced the house is haunted. To say any more would be to spoil the film, but suffice to say, things are not as they seem.

Amenabar certainly seems to be some kind of whizzkid, not only directing the film, but writing it and creating the music as well. His last film, Open Your Eyes, caught the attention of Tom Cruise (who is executive producer here) and Cameron Crowe, and is soon to be released as the remade 'Vanilla Sky'. He demonstrates here exactly why so many Hollywood players find him so promising. He builds up the tension absolutely perfectly, with creaking floorboards and ghostly voices, until by the end of the film the viewer is almost as jumpy as Grace is in the film.

Nicole Kidman proves in this film just what a good actress she is. Coming so soon after Moulin Rouge she proves she's one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. Her character here is totally different to that of Satine from Moulin Rouge - uptight and religious, carrying a understated sadness that is never fully explained until the film's conclusion. There's already talk of an Oscar for this performance, and rightly so.

The supporting cast are also outstanding - James Bentley and Alakina Mann manage to avoid the cute kids syndrome, Bentley in particular giving Haley Joel Osmont a run for his money. Eric Sykes also makes a rather bizarre appearance as one of the sinister servants. His performance is slightly jarring at first, but soon settles down to become satisfyingly creepy.

If Scream 3 signalled the death throes of the post-modern horror movie, The Others marks the reappearance of the more retro model. Amenabar is certainly a name for the future - if he keeps up this level of dark atmospherics and head-spinning, twist-ridden plots, he won't be needing Cruise and Crowe to remake his films.

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