They (2002)
They (2002)
Many people use film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb, for advice for films to watch, using their ratings as a marker of how good a film is or isn't. Yes, if you use that you will generally find a good film to watch, and avoid some stinkers, however you need to take in consideration that critics, and viewer reviews are nothing more than a person making a judgement on films, using their own personal thoughts and tastes to make that judgement, and if you look for only highly rated films, you are going to miss out on a lot of amazing lesser known films. The horror genre is a genre that has largely been dismissed by the stuffy film critics, and there are a lot of hidden gems in the genre, that were totally dismissed by the critics, and bombed in the box office. One film that really caught my eye when I watched it last night was the 2002 film They, which Wes Craven was an executive producer for. The concept of the film isn't entirely original, but it was still very well done. The film starts off with a flashback of young boy laying in bed at night, terrified of a thunderstorm, and his mum assuring him that everything is fine. Then the power goes out and a creature comes out his dark closet and attacks him in the dark. Then flash forward 19 years, and the story shifts to be about a young woman that we come to find out was friends with the kid in the beginning, and who has experienced similar night terrors, and as the film progresses we come to find out that "They" are real, and the young woman, her friend, and two others are being hunted by these creatures. The film takes a look at childhood fears, and instead of dismissing them, considers that maybe kids are more aware, and sensitive, and can see things that adults have forgotten how to see as they grow up and distract themselves with their adult lives. Not an original concept, but this film is a great treatment of it.
They was directed by Robert Harmon, with a script by Brendan Hood. Horror legend Wes Craven, who believed in the film as a great horror film, served as an executive producer for the film, and the film's promotional materials featured "Wes Craven Presents They". They was distributed by Dimension Films in 2002, and later re-released on DVD by Miramax. The film was considered a box office bomb, grossing $16.1 million against a budget of $17 million. They received mixed reviews from the critics, and holds a low score on film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
They stars Laura Regan as Julia Lund (Jessica Amlee plays young Julia in flashbacks), Marc Blucas as her boyfriend Paul Loomis, Ethan Embry as Sam Burnside, Dagmara Dominczyk as Terry Alba, John Abrahams as Billy Parks (Alexander Gould as young Billy in flashbacks), and Jay Brazeau as Dr. Booth. Laura, Sam, Terry, and Billy all see and are haunted by "They", the creatures from the dark. Dr. Booth was Laura's childhood psychiatrist, who agrees to see her as a patient as an adult too, when she again begins to be haunted by "They". The casting is pretty well done, most of the characters are pretty believable, and well cast for their roles. I will say that I hated Marc Blucas as Laura's boyfriend, he just seemed so plastic and fake to me, and such an inconsiderate asshole, and maybe he was cast to play the role, but him and his roommates to me, felt out of place. They were like college frat boy "dude-bros" in a movie that goes for a serious and dark horror tone, and they felt like they distracted from that atmosphere. I however loved Ethan Embry as Sam Burnside, this is the same actor that eats the "magic" brownie and goes on a trip where he is on stage with GWAR in Empire Records, I loved that character, he was one of my favourites from that amazing film. Now as an adult Ethan Embry has proven that he can play diverse roles appearing in multiple genre films ranging from horror, science fiction, romance, and comedy. Other than the issue I have with Marc Blumas and his character's roommates feeling completely out of place and miscast, I feel like this film has a great cast of actors, playing some relatively well written characters.
They is an effective horror film, and for me had some legitimately terrifying scenes. This might sound surprising, but I am actually scared of the dark, I am still scared of the monster that lives in the darkness under the bed, and I sleep with my closet door shut tight. So this film is effective at playing on those irrational fears, and proposes "what if those fears aren't irrational?", and to me that works really well. This film has some great characters, that I can feel empathy for. I honestly feel like They is an underrated horror film, and one that people should give another chance. I know that another thing that works for me, but is shown to be unliked in test audiences is the lack of a happy ending that the film has, I like that, because life doesn't always have happy endings, and to me that makes it feel more real, also it could potentially open up a possibility for a sequel, which we won't see, but the idea is there. I obviously won't tell you how it ends, but if you expect a "and then they lived happily ever after" then you will be sorely disappointed. Overall I think that this is a pretty great and effective horror film, and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it, and if you have seen it, maybe give it another chance and see if you see it differently this time. Not a must-see film, hell not even a super original film, but it is a great fun and terrifying film, and gives a little validation to those who are afraid of the dark. So if you find a copy on of this film, I recommend picking it up.
They was directed by Robert Harmon, with a script by Brendan Hood. Horror legend Wes Craven, who believed in the film as a great horror film, served as an executive producer for the film, and the film's promotional materials featured "Wes Craven Presents They". They was distributed by Dimension Films in 2002, and later re-released on DVD by Miramax. The film was considered a box office bomb, grossing $16.1 million against a budget of $17 million. They received mixed reviews from the critics, and holds a low score on film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
They stars Laura Regan as Julia Lund (Jessica Amlee plays young Julia in flashbacks), Marc Blucas as her boyfriend Paul Loomis, Ethan Embry as Sam Burnside, Dagmara Dominczyk as Terry Alba, John Abrahams as Billy Parks (Alexander Gould as young Billy in flashbacks), and Jay Brazeau as Dr. Booth. Laura, Sam, Terry, and Billy all see and are haunted by "They", the creatures from the dark. Dr. Booth was Laura's childhood psychiatrist, who agrees to see her as a patient as an adult too, when she again begins to be haunted by "They". The casting is pretty well done, most of the characters are pretty believable, and well cast for their roles. I will say that I hated Marc Blucas as Laura's boyfriend, he just seemed so plastic and fake to me, and such an inconsiderate asshole, and maybe he was cast to play the role, but him and his roommates to me, felt out of place. They were like college frat boy "dude-bros" in a movie that goes for a serious and dark horror tone, and they felt like they distracted from that atmosphere. I however loved Ethan Embry as Sam Burnside, this is the same actor that eats the "magic" brownie and goes on a trip where he is on stage with GWAR in Empire Records, I loved that character, he was one of my favourites from that amazing film. Now as an adult Ethan Embry has proven that he can play diverse roles appearing in multiple genre films ranging from horror, science fiction, romance, and comedy. Other than the issue I have with Marc Blumas and his character's roommates feeling completely out of place and miscast, I feel like this film has a great cast of actors, playing some relatively well written characters.
They is an effective horror film, and for me had some legitimately terrifying scenes. This might sound surprising, but I am actually scared of the dark, I am still scared of the monster that lives in the darkness under the bed, and I sleep with my closet door shut tight. So this film is effective at playing on those irrational fears, and proposes "what if those fears aren't irrational?", and to me that works really well. This film has some great characters, that I can feel empathy for. I honestly feel like They is an underrated horror film, and one that people should give another chance. I know that another thing that works for me, but is shown to be unliked in test audiences is the lack of a happy ending that the film has, I like that, because life doesn't always have happy endings, and to me that makes it feel more real, also it could potentially open up a possibility for a sequel, which we won't see, but the idea is there. I obviously won't tell you how it ends, but if you expect a "and then they lived happily ever after" then you will be sorely disappointed. Overall I think that this is a pretty great and effective horror film, and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it, and if you have seen it, maybe give it another chance and see if you see it differently this time. Not a must-see film, hell not even a super original film, but it is a great fun and terrifying film, and gives a little validation to those who are afraid of the dark. So if you find a copy on of this film, I recommend picking it up.
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