Dir. Alejandro Amenábar · 2001 · 104 min · new 4K restoration in UK cinemas from 16 October 2026
It is 1945 on the island of Jersey. Grace (Nicole Kidman) lives in an isolated manor with her two children, who cannot be exposed to sunlight. That condition is the whole premise of the house: it has to be kept dark, and the rules that keep it dark are the film's first source of dread. Then Grace begins to suspect that she and the children are not alone in the house. That is as far as this review goes, because the film's reputation rests on where it goes next.
Amenábar wrote and directed, and the film was a Spain/US/France co-production. It grossed around $210 million worldwide on a budget of about $17 million, and it won eight Goya Awards in Spain, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The critics who loved it all say the same thing, in different words. The Times' Wendy Ide, as quoted on Rotten Tomatoes, wrote that it "creates more tension from atmosphere alone than most other horror films do from vats full of fake blood". Variety called it "a luxuriously old-fashioned star vehicle custom-fit to its topliner's strengths", and that is the part that has aged best: Kidman holds the screen, and the film is built around her.
She fascinates, holding camera and viewers spellbound.
Variety, 2001
This is also a film about restraint. Even Roger Ebert, the coolest of these critics, saw what it was doing: a haunted house movie that is "dark and atmospheric, but it's quiet and brooding". If you have only met the ghost stories that came after it, with their jump scares and louder sound design, the patience here may be the surprise.
The critics split, and the split is worth knowing about. Ebert gave it two and a half stars out of four. His complaint is pace: it is "a waiting game, in which an atmosphere of dread slowly envelops the characters" and he adds, "too slowly". He compares it unfavourably with The Sixth Sense, which held tension through small things happening rather than big things about to happen. If you need constant incident, his criticism will probably be yours too.
The new version is described by its UK distributor, Park Circus, as a director-approved 4K restoration. For the home release, StudioCanal says the film was restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative. A film about candlelight, closed curtains and thick shadow should be one of the better candidates for a restoration: darkness is where weak transfers fall apart, and a big screen with a proper projector is where this one has the most room to work. How it looks on the night is something the published descriptions cannot tell you; the cinema release is the way to find out.
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The restoration is announced for UK cinemas from 16 October 2026, with Park Circus listing it among its Halloween re-releases. A 4K Ultra HD disc from StudioCanal was announced for 2 October 2026. Availability varies by country, so check your local cinema listings.