Probably the last collaboration between then husband-and-wife team Kidman and Cruise, this classic haunted house tale is full of creaky doors, spooky sounds and passionate acting.

Kidman's character is understandably frustrated by her situation. Her husband Charles (Eccleston) went to war a year and a half ago and has never been seen since. Her servants have walked out and her children are photo-sensitive and cannot be exposed to light, leaving the enormous house in complete darkness.

But then, unexpectedly, three replacements housekeepers, led by Fionnula Flanagan and Eric Sykes, turn up unbidden and, with their arrival, strange things begin to happen.

There's a piano that apparently plays by itself, a chandelier that shakes, though there is nobody in the room above, and a little boy is glimpsed and then gone... In one of her most under-rated and over-looked performances, Kidman takes on the role of the haunted wartime housewife in a painfully sensitive way.

Beautiful and serene, the Australian actress is at her best during the scenes where Grace feels the panic rising but must remain composed for the sake of her children.

Spanish director Amenabar also wrote the score, which gives rise to a feeling of dread in every scene. This film is so atmospheric that it's easy to forget there's an ingenious plot underway.

Natalie Stone