5 contemporary horror films you need to see this October

The Others (2001)

Foreign horror films have received increased cache as the opportunities to see them widen, but in 2001 a foreign filmmaker was given an opportunity to make a Hollywood film that audiences were enthralled by. Directed by Chilean director Alejandro Amenabar, The Others is a return to the Gothic haunted house thrillers of the 1960s. Starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Stewart, we watch her attempt to keep a rambling English estate going in the wake of WWII. Her two children are extremely photosensitive and require constant darkness. The problem is Grace’s daughter claims to be seeing strange people in the house.

There’s so much to appreciate about The Others, particularly Nicole Kidman’s Golden Globe-nominated performance. She conveys not just the requisite terror you require from a horror movie, but the exhaustion of being a mother. She’s raising two children with special needs and ignoring her own self-care, which has disastrous results. The film eschews gore for more macabre frights, emphasizing the existential questions about dying that we all have. The ghosts, whether they exist or not, are only part of a grander mystery we’ll all face someday. That lends The Others an additional layer of horror that’s more relatable than a ghost-faced killer.

Watch now on Amazon Prime, YouTube or Google Play.