This decades-old thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston is now streaming on BBC iPlayer.

The Others went somewhat under the radar at the time of release in 2001, but has since garnered a cult following with an impressive 84% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. It was also nominated for a whopping 55 awards.

Written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, the film is a chilling tale of a woman reckoning with her children’s rare illness and losing her husband in WW2. The pacing of the journey Grace (Nicole Kidman) is forced on asks viewers to second guess every character, before a sucker punch of an ending that will leave you thinking about the story for days to come.

Battling with her conviction in God, Grace is driven mad by the prospect of her house being haunted and is exasperated by her daughter’s visions of ghosts and her “friend” Victor.

Phantom piano tunes, locked doors opening and the disappearance of the entire house’s curtains sweep the mother into a frenzy. She questions her maid, Mrs Mills (Finnoula Flannagan), who blames the anonymous “intruders”, as she tries to work out who is orchestrating the chaos.

This tragic film sees a gripping performance from Kidman, with Dan Nicola saying “Nicole Kidman is at her icy best in this psychological thriller.” Patrik Cavanaugh agreed:” The Others proves that you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel for a good ghost story and sometimes all you need it a captivating lead performer and a spooky mansion.”

One viewer on IMDb labelled the film a “masterpiece”, saying, “Twenty years on, and The Others still rates as one of the best, most memorable horrors of the last two decades.” They continued: “It doesn’t have the cheap gore or lazy scares that so many do, this has the element of menace, the scares are more measured, and suitably placed.

“It’s very different to almost every other horror I can think of, it’s like a story from a much earlier era, but given up to date production values and acting. It benefits of course from such a wonderful cast, Kidman is awesome, and does a terrific English accent.

“The ending came as a massive surprise, and was perhaps the most chilling element of the film. It is loaded with atmosphere, it’s thoroughly engrossing, I would hugely recommend this film, 10/10.”

Another fan called the feature film the “first intelligent horror in years”. They said: “The Others is a very remarkable film from more than just one viewpoint. In an era where you can only impress young horror fanatics with bucket-loads of blood and gross-out effects, Amenábar actually re-teaches his audience that fear is especially caused by suggestion and the absence of explicit images.

“The Others is the first intelligent horror film in years, completely relying on atmosphere and eerie set pieces. It’s such a relief to finally see a subtle film that is also effective! I’m normally not much of Nicole Kidman fan but she’s very convincing as the prudish, over-concerned mother who desperately tries to protect her children from the outside world (daylight in particular).

“The screenplay – by Amenábar himself – is not totally unique (filmfreaks who’re familiar with expressionism highlights from the 60’s will quickly guess the hidden plot twist) but it’s filled with ingenious findings and sublime dialogues. The Others reminds you of ‘The Innocents’ and there are far worse films to get compared with, if you ask me! What also is rather amazing about this production is that Amenábar seems so confident!

“This is his first giant Hollywood adventure with stars in the cast and American money and yet he has total control over everything. The acting is great, the plot actually scares you and the directing is solid. The Others is a total winner and easily one of the greatest genre-films of the last few decades.”

Whether you’re after a hit of Nicole Kidman’s best acting or a rush of adrenaline on weeknight – this is film is worth your time and is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.