Them (2007)

THEM is an excellent little thriller in the BLAIR WITCH PROJECT mould: by that I mean gone are all the gore effects, psycho killers, and torture scenes popular in Hollywood horror films, in favour of a back-to-basics approach that throws a couple of people into the middle of the woods at night and has them being scared by an unseen, malignant presence. Despite being a French/Romanian production made on a low budget, this movie was successful enough to single-handedly spawn a new sub-genre of 'hoodie horror' with both America and Britain bringing out very similar films with THE STRANGERS and EDEN LAKE respectively.Thank goodness there are no false scares here, no cheesy jump-in-your-seat moments, just unrelenting terror as an innocent couple find themselves at the mercy of unknown killers. The camera stays in close to the action, making this a thriller by turns tense, suspenseful and claustrophobic. The lean, pared-down plot doesn't really have anywhere to go and this is one long chase movie, but nevertheless it works. There are some great locations. I don't recall seeing Romania in a film before, but the isolation comes across really well. The cavernous house is a wonderful locale for some hide-and-seek scares and the subterranean tunnels make a chilling backdrop for the climax.Olivia Bonamy makes for a very attractive heroine and is ably supported by Michael Cohen. As these two actors carry the film, they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders but they manage to pull it off well. The standout is the evocative camera-work as it prowls through the surrounds, scene-setting music and an expert pacing. Running at 74 minutes, this lean, efficient film boasts all of the thrills and none of the padding. It's a goodie.

A fine European thriller. The opening over the titles is gripping enough, and it never really lets go.For the first half hour, I had Hitchcock at the back of my mind: "Let's suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, "Boom!" There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions, the same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!" " We know of the 'bomb' from the word go, and yet Moureau and Palud refrain from showing it and hold it back ... then hold it back some more until the string is at its very tautest. In fact, as is often the case with this kind of film, less is better than more ... but the 'more' part - when we get to actually see the threat - is still excellently handled. And the downbeat ending is the very best way it could have gone.Really good stuff.7/10

While "Them" wasn't poorly made, I just couldn't get into it.The acting is decent and the story is your typical home-invasion affair that is pretty common in the genre of horror (and, of course, it's claim to be based on a true story) but the problem came from the fact the characters aren't really developed enough that I found myself capable of caring for them and the story is just too familiar. Additionally, the film bravely decides to opt-out of using music to cue the shocking scenes and the moments meant to scare but the editing in the film proved to be the undoing with this move because, too often, scenes went on too long and they seemed to be giving the audience time to prepare and be caught totally ON-guard for what was to come next.The film also tries to put a fresh coat of paint by twisting up the usual home-invader and the motive behind said invasion but, after watching a story that basically boils down to watching a person run, hide, look for the chaser, run again and repeat, I found myself completely unable to even be a little bit impressed or even surprised by the reveal—not to mention that how the filmmakers decide to tell you the motive behind it all was just lazy and felt like a last minute addition."Them" wasn't put together poorly and it really had some potential but these films just don't spook or scare me. So any scene that was meant to be tension-filled and suspenseful came off slow-going and boring.

***MAY BE A SPOILER TO SOME***Strong sturdy plot.All characters play their roles well.Keeps you very entertained.Story line doesn't drag.You're stuck into the the movie the exact moment it begins.Shows you a lot of key points to how the movie was based on actual events, e.g. what the murderess said in court, shows when the bodies of the dead were found. A lot more entertaining than the American version. (The Strangers).Well worth the watch.