Cleméntine (Olivia Bonamy) and Lucas (Michaël Cohen) are living in a rural countryside house somewhere in Romania. One night they are awoken by strange lights and intimidating sounds from outside their house. Slowly their idyllic accommodation becomes their worst nightmare as they soon realize, whatever is out there is working its way into the safety of their bastion. Their ordinary night at home turns into a battle for survival to keep safe from… THEM!

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Constructinghorror.com:

The French, Romanian surprise hit, Ils (A.k.a. THEM) stormed through it’s native France, before besieging Europe and finally shocking the pants of US viewers, leaving a trail of horror fans ranting and raving about this new, stunning and very scary movie that packed a hard punch on the viewer leaving them gasping for air. True or false? Could it really be “magnificent” or is it all just because we crave a good scare and create a hype that unfortunately proves to be all air and no substance?

Putting genre hype aside and looking at the bare facts it’s easy to claim that THEM is an impressive tour de force, and it’s one of those movies that you probably will hear mentioned when discussing the horror genre in the years to come, one of those so called “modern masterpieces”. Because that is what we at ConstructingHorror.com feel that this movie is, a fresh breeze in our beloved genre pool that frequently stagnates as we await new creative visions of terror.

As the opening titles with their “Based on a true story” text fade in and out, and the opening sequence starts unfolding, (Two people driving along on a dark, small woodland road. Then suddenly there’s something on the road, the car swerves into the ditch, one person goes out to check while the other waits inside the dark car…) it is easy to feel that the story is running safely down familiar and safe genre ground, setting the viewers up for the initial scare, which is somewhat just what this opening sequence is preparing us for, but then the reclusive elements of this movie are introduced. The “Them”, the namesake of the movie make their first initial attack and the viewer never really gets a look or indication of what they might be.

From here on the traditional horror formula is put to one side, as directors Moreau and Palud start introducing their lead characters with great feeling and impressive skill. Fifteen minutes into the movie we know what the two French characters are doing in Romania, we know their names, we know what they work with, and we have created a rather honest opinion of their relationship. Far too often debuting or “early on in their career” directors rush into creating the scary scenario and the set up, that they frequently miss one of the most important questions needed to create a psychological horror/thriller drama; Do we really care about the protagonists? If your audience hasn’t invested in you protagonists, they are not going to be engaged in them as they struggle for survival during the coming ninety something minutes either.

Apart from splendid character establishment, both leads are good looking, not drop dead gorgeous, but everyday good looking which adds to the lure of drawing the viewer in. The acting is really good, and honestly believable. No sudden feats of super human strength that have you going, “there is no way he’d be able to do that…” just toned down realism. Realism, which is the key ingredient in the success of THEM.

There is a very bold “low key” approach throughout the entire movie, and it works very effectively. The cameras are handheld, possibly shot on DV, and the lighting probably isn’t the existing light, but it sure looks like it in the darker sets. All of this adds to create a documentary like, realistic feel to the movie, and that is a very efficient way of portraying a “based on true events” kind of movie. Sticking with the realism, take notice to the small details that evolve the characters into a very believable world, the way that Cleméntine taunts Lucas when he says that a writer is always working even if he isn’t sitting at his computer, the affectional bickering during their very minimalist dinner, and also the way the directors take the time to show the couple sitting together late at night in the couch watching a TV show that they don’t understand, just to pass time before going to bed. It’s a very “honest” scene and works as an acknowledgment of the routine, comfort and safety Lucas and Cleméntine feel in their big house in the middle of the forest.

Another key ingredient that works in favor of THEM is that instead of keeping the “Them” as a strange unidentified entity [ghosts, monsters, aliens etc], Moreau and Palud just leave it be and pretty soon the audience becomes engaged as they start putting the pieces together to figure out what the threatening entity can be, keeping them off screen for as long as possible until revealing the antagonists, and defining where in the horror genre scale this movie slots in. This isn’t a ghost story, this isn’t a weird sci-fi, this isn’t a supernatural horror film, it’s playing for real with it’s low key realism and going straight for the jugular, presenting the most terrifying thing that you could ever imagine; an unknown person walking in off the street and entering your “safe” home with the intent of taking your life just for kicks.

Keeping in line with the realistic approach, there are no illogical scenes where the antagonists get divided. The kind of scene which at least has me sighing every time I see one. There’s no need for that quick shower while your friends search the house for the psychopath with the big knife. The few times that Cleméntine and Lucas are separated is all done in a believable way, the preceding incidents are logical obstacles.

The last ingredient worth pointing out in the restricted approach Moreau and Palud have chosen to take is that there are no big scary music keys. As a matter of fact, and keeping with the realism note, there’s hardly any music in the movie at all, erasing all audio indicators hinting that something is going to happen any minute soon. The atmosphere and tension works, and the scares just happen creating one of the most realistic and disturbing horror films of many years.

Storytelling Highlights:

• Character build:
The slow pace which we are introduced to Cleméntine and Lucas helps the viewer invest in the protagonists, and results in two lead characters with whom we feel really empathetic towards. Taking the time to present believable and identifiable lead characters is a very useful tool. If the character build had been less effective the viewer would probably not have been as affected by the scenes where Lucas is injured, or feel the tension when Cleméntine searches the attic or even the distress of the final sequence when we realize that escape is impossible. As they have invested emotionally in these characters, and identify with them, they obviously we want them to get out alive and well, otherwise you end up with a movie relying on effects and body counts. You believe the blue collar workers in Alien, as they are presented to you as identifiable characters, friends you might have met at work. You can relate to the frustration and anxiety of Regan’s mother Chris as she witnesses her daughter’s possession and struggles with her faith in The Exorcist, as they are established in a realistic environment.

• Off screen terror:
Keeping the antagonist off screen as an un-definable entity for as long as possible is one of the best tools you can utilize in the horror genre. Once you let that cat out of the bag, it won’t be as intimidating as the things you conjured up in your mind. You never comprehend how large the shark is in Jaws, so you obviously envision the biggest shark you can imagine, which definitely more concrete than an abstract measurement. You never see the ghosts that inhabit Hill House in the original The Haunting which make them much more terrifying than a cheesy double exposure or CGI. As soon as you see the creature that has been stalking Kate and realize that it’s just a pale, somewhat mutated man in Creep, the terror is lost to ridicule.

• Logic:
One of the most insulting plot devices commonly misused in the horror genre is the illogical situations and events that frequent the movies. Create a believable and honest world to unfold your story in. Never let chance or illogical decisions separate your lead characters. In THEM we always have logical explanations to why Cleméntine and Lucas are divided, Lucas can’t climb into the attic or climb the fence during their escape from the house, because we have seen and comprehended the wound he has sustained to his leg earlier. They can’t take the car and escape, because the kids started their assault by stealing their car. You believe that the zombies will devour anyone alive in Dawn of the Dead because we have been told that they will do so by the “experts”, and we have been told by the same experts that they don’t know exactly what has suddenly brought the dead back to life, which helps to create a believable world. It’s logic to send the blind girl into the city for medicines in The Village, as she can not see, and won’t be corrupted by modern civilization.

• Restrained music score:
This obviously varies from movie to movie, but for THEM the restrained soundtrack works with the movie. As ther is almost no music heard in the first half of the movie, it adds to the realistic feeling of the movie. Without the building score the shocks have a bigger impact, much like a lot of the Asian horror movies. Quite often you will see a ghost or entity on screen without the protagonist realizing, and without a sudden burst of audio it sets a much creepier tone, you are seeing the antagonist before the protagonist without it being accentuated with music. There is no score heard as the reels of film are played in The Blair Witch Project, nor in the “un edited tape” set up of Cloverfield. They are viewed as real life documentations. In real life you won’t hear Bernard Herman’s Psycho score as the shower curtain is withdrawn all you will hear is the sound of your own gargled scream as the water gushes down your throat.