We all have our own fears. What scares you may not exactly scare me, but I think some fears are universal. Someone breaking into your house while you are asleep, no matter how bad ass you think you are, or even if you own a gun—is still scary, because you never know what the intruders are capable of, or what their motives are. Being attacked while in a vulnerable state is a fear most people share, whether they are conscious of it or not. Films that exploit that fear, and bring out the scared little kid in us, are always fun, and are a reminder of why we're horror fans to begin with. THEM aka Ils (yes, the French strike again!) does just that, and it excels where a lot of newer horror movie fail, it's genuinely scary—if you're willing to lose yourself in the film, and allow yourself to be scared, that is.
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The film takes place in the French countryside. The opening scene shows a Mother, and her teenage Daughter traveling down a back road at night. The Mother is arguing with the Daughter when she sees something in the road, swerves, and then hits a light post. The Mother gets out of the van to check the engine. The Daughter revs the engine, unable to see her Mother over the raised hood. Soon the Mother stops answering the Daughter, and she gets out to check, and the Mother is gone. The Daughter calls out for her and hears a response from the woods that is not her Mother. Startled, she gets back in the car, and locks the door. Somebody starts throwing mud at the car, she tries to call the cops but her cell phone is busted (the Mother knocked it out of her hands, and broke it during their argument). I'm not gonna say what happens next, but the scene is a great tension builder, and great way to set the tone for the rest of the film.
The rest of the film is about a teacher, named Clementine (Olivia Bonamy—va-va-va-voom!) who lives in the same countryside where the opening scene takes place. She comes home from work to her husband, Lucas (Michael Cohen), a writer. They live in a very old looking (and uber-fucking-creepy) villa. They enjoy a meal, some nookie, and then head off to bed. That night, Clementine is awoken by some loud music. She wakes up Lucas, and they head downstairs to find out that the music is coming from her car--that is not where she parked it. Lucas heads outside, and the car's headlights go on, and somebody drives away with the car. They head back inside to call the police, then the electricity goes out (damn cordless phones!). The couple lock themselves in their bedroom when they realize they are dealing with multiple intruders. What follows is a pulse-pounding, edge of your seat ride that never lets up as the couple try to find a way of escape from unknown—and unseen attackers.
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THEM is an incredible horror/thriller and an excellently executed one. There are some cliché moments, but they work. The reason some things are cliché, and repeated in horror films so often is because—they do work. The film is not all about the jump-out-of-your-seat scares, though there are a few of those, it's more about tension, and the fact that until the very end--you don't know what or who the victims are dealing with, and the final reveal is kind of shocking (I saw it coming, but I think the DVD box somewhat gives it away—the original French poster is much less revealing). The camera work and sound effects are top notch, this is no amateur looking film, in my opinion the directing is top notch for horror. Some may quibble that there's no character development, but it's not needed—it's one of those, put-yourself-in-their-shoes kind of films. Let me tell you, at around 6', 250 lbs, not many people mess with me and I can intimidate other people very easily (you have to get to know me to know I'm just a big goofball and not the scary dude that I look like), even I can admit, if put in the same situation, I'd be pretty fucking scared too.
The film (which is only one hour and seventeen minutes long, by the way) is co-directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, who also directed THE EYE remake with Jessica Alba. I've not seen their version, so I can't vouch for it, but I've not hear many great things--which is too bad. Everything you can say positive, technically, about a film you can say about THEM. The lighting, the sound (I hope you have surround sound), the set/location, the camera angles—all brilliant! The cast gives an excellent performance as well, the only real acting needed in the film is to act terrified, and the two stars, Bonamy and Cohen do that quite well.
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I think the film is based on a true story, but I think it's "based on true story" in the same way THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE was based on a true story---very loosely. True story or not, it's an affective horror film that is best watched at night, with the lights out. I mentioned that you have to be willing to be scared because I feel as adults we rationalize things too much, and don't allow ourselves to be scared. I watched THEM with my wife, who is just a casual horror fan and just watching her squirm in her seat made the film more fun. We talked back at the screen ("Run!", "Don't go in there!" ect.) and just enjoyed it for what it was…a good ol' fashioned scary movie. If more new horror films were like THEM, I'd watch a hell of a lot more of them.
Since writing this review, a film called THE STRANGERS was released that seems to borrow a hell of a lot from this film--but while some have called it a remake, I would argue there's enough differences between the two films to put that claim in question. So if you've seen THE STRANGERS and didn't like it, I wouldn't write-off, THEM.
THEM trailer