Them

Them **1/2

Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud
Written by David Moreau and Xavier Palud

Starring:
Olivia Bonamy as Clémentine
Michaël Cohen as Lucas

77 Minutes(Rated R for some violence/terror. )
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* The following review does contain a mild amount of spoilers starting in the third paragraph. For this reason I have stated a couple of reasons why I rated the film the way I did in the first paragraph before expanding on it later on, trying to be as spoiler free as possible. Read with caution.

I must say, as I walked out of a special advanced screening of "Them," that I was a bit conflicted with how I felt about it. On one side it was a fairly entertaining horror film with a very creepy ending. It was quick, only clocking it at a little over an hour and ten minutes, and it did not rely on gore-instead it relied on a claustrophobic and highly taut method involving a strong number of closeups and small rooms. And then on the other side I could not really see the point of it all. It did not get you involved in the "them!" portion of the film, which was good as it made the anonymous even more creepy, but it also did not get you involved in the lead characters. Aside from a brief ten minute bit at the beginning with them eating food and making out on the floor, you care as much about the leads-Clementine and Lucas-as you would about a dirty mop or an ant on the floor. But then on the other side, this view of them just gives you enough knowledge about the two of them as the "them!" people would know about them, making the viewer look at them in the eyes of "them!" So I was conflicted. I could not really decide how I fully felt about the film at all. Looking back at it, "Them' is ambitious, it is effective for the most part, but after a day or two goes by after its over and done with, it is forgettable.

It's a very simple story, and like I said-once it gets going it just flies by, as you would expect in something that is only seventy-five minutes long. After a creepy prologue where you know that danger is lurking around the corner, we are introduced to Clementine-a teacher-and Lucas-a writer, who have a secluded house in the country. The two of them have a romantic evening, but when they go to sleep creepy things begin to happen. The television set goes on in the middle of the night, and no matter how many times Lucas shuts it off it finds itself back on again. And there is that creepy hooded person in the house that is after them as they run away. Following them through an almost real time cat and mouse change, Clementine and Lucas are followed by THEM!

There are a couple of interesting aspects in the screenplay for "Them." One is Clementine's role as a teacher and the ultimate revelation of who "Them" is. But this revelation just seemed a bit odd considering the events of the first hour of the film. The prologue at the beginning, as well as many of the things that occur in the house during the chase sequences, seems supernatural, and a lot of the times implausible. Trying to be realistic and bone chilling does not work because most of the time what happens in the film is impossible. What makes it creepy is not the screenplay but the way it is shot, which really makes you feel like your in a confined space. Maybe seeing it in a tiny theatre and sitting very close to the screen would just add to the claustrophobic atmosphere. The final minute or so does leave a pang of horror with you just because of the whole anonymity of the whole situation. I did not guess revelation of "them!" but that's because its impossible to. Like I said you kind of have the feeling its supernatural most of the time. And to highlight this anonymous quality, you barely know anything about the lead characters, a mark that has both good and bad aspects. On the bad side, it distances the viewer from caring about them in any way. You watch them with amusement as if you would watch a spider walk across the floor. On the good side it makes you feel like one of "them!" You are watching with amusement as opposed to horror, which is what "them!" did as well. The viewer is almost as sick as "they!" are.

And so my conflict comes full circle. Did I like "Them?" Yes, parts of it. I like the way it was made and it quick and clear and concise way it tells it story. I also liked it more than most horror movies around right now, although this certainly does not hold a candle to the terrifying "Poughkeepsie Tapes" which finally got a release date for next February. But in the end, "Them" left such a conflicting feeling in my stomach that I clearly could not really fully recommend it. I left with a puzzled reaction, really trying to think about what I should give it for the readers. So I'll not recommend it, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from seeing it. It's interesting, and it makes you feel odd in a way. It may not have you covering your ears to not hear any loud jump noises, or it may not have you covering your eyes to avoid seeing something brutal and creepy. But it is directed well even though the screenplay is flawed, and it makes you think.

"Them' opens on August 17th, at the Cinema Village in New York City, a very nice small triplex in the city that I am not raving about just because I used to work for the company. They go hand in hand with the small screen and theatre that I mentioned above, as all of their rooms as equally small with a screen that goes with it. I saw it at an advanced screening at the Walter Reade in Lincoln Center, and on the weekend of August 17th I will write a reminder that "Them" is opening that weekend.