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Title: Wes Craven Presents They (2003) |
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Review of Wes Craven Presents They
- Scream king Wes Craven presents this terrifying suspense thriller where the most frightening childhood fears become real when they return to stake their claim! A psychology student (Laura Regan -- UNBREAKABLE) who experienced "night terrors" as a child must face the chilling realization that her nightmares were not all in her head! And when she finds others who shared similar experiences, together they discover the most frightening truth of all: the monsters in their closets marked them as children and are now returning to collect them! Also starring Marc Blucas (WE WERE SOLDIERS), Ethan Embry (SWEET HOME ALABAMA), and Jon Abrahams (SCARY MOVIE) in a hip young cast ... you don't want to miss a minute of this terror-filled thriller!
Description
- They're coming to get you, but who--or what--are They? By refusing to offer specifics, this chilling mood-piece rises above its familiar premise and achieves its desired effect of percolating dread. It's a Wes Craven presentation, sponsored by the horror-meister but directed by Robert Harmon, whose 1986 thriller The Hitcher has a modest legion of fans. They deserves a similar following after its brief theatrical release; Harmon values suggestion over explicit frights (i.e., don't expect a full-throttle shocker), and he effectively exploits our collective fear of things that go bump in the night. Petite newcomer Laura Regan is well-cast as Julia, a psychology grad student who, like a close friend who just committed suicide, has suffered "night terrors" since childhood… and her gravest fears have now returned. Is it all in her head, along with that mysterious implant in her skull? Do They really exist, in this movie's gloomy nooks and crannies? If you prefer subtlety, They is creepily engrossing, and better than its box-office failure would suggest. --Jeff Shannon
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Comments for Wes Craven Presents They
- Posted on 2008-06-18
Good Movie
I liked this movie while two other people who I watched it with hated it. So it simply comes down to personal preference. I wouldnt say its really Scary, but come on How many horror movies really are. The acting was solid all around. The ending was kind of a letdown but again how many endings really give you what you want. I remember watching this movie in 2003 and thinking there would be a part 2 released shortly afterwards. Just don't pay attention to any negative reviews watch the movie with a open mind and theres a good chance youll like the movie for what it is. A Decent Horror Movie, not stuff of legends but pretty damn good.
I recently bought and watched it again and it was good like I remembered it. I would say this is a must have for a Horror Collection and I still hope they Make a part 2.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-12-18
A Terror-Filled Nightmare
Legendary horror film director Wes Craven has created a very scary and psychologically thrilling movie where frightening childhood fears become real.
The movie begins with a young boy lying in his bed during a thunderstorm. The boy tells his mother that he's afraid. But, his mother reassures him that everything will be fine. However, everything turns out very wrong, and something grabbed the child.
Fast forward 19 years. Julia (Laura Regan) is a young psychology Master's degree candidate. She is out on a date with her boyfriend Paul (Marc Blucas) when she gets a frantic phone call from Billy (Jon Abrahams). Billy and Julia were childhood friends and both suffered from "night terrors". Julia agrees to meet with Billy; much to the chagrin of Paul. Upon arriving, Julia notices the bad condition Billy is in. He begins babbling incoherently about "They"; the creatures that tormented him as a child. This babbling goes on for several minutes until Billy pulls out a gun and kills himself right in front of Julia.
A few days later at the funeral, Julia meets two other friends of Billy: Sam (Ethan Embry) and Terry (Dagmara Dominczyk). They too suffered from the same night terrors that Billy and Julia did. After talking for a while, Julia learned that Billy, Sam, and Terry suffered with nightmares well into college. Each also displayed a strange mark on their skin. Billy also kept a journal, and Sam has become engrossed in each entry. The marks on the skin are believed to be something left behind by the creatures so that they could come back later and collect them.
Sure enough, Sam and Terry are "collected". Julia, fearing that she might have the mark, asks Paul to check. Finding nothing, Julia begins to feel somewhat better. However, Paul didn't check everywhere and soon, Julia is suffering from her own new set of night terrors. Is all of this in her head, as her psychologist expects, or is she really convinced that "They" are coming back for her?
This is a very good movie. It took a while for me to get into the plot, but after a short time, I became engrossed in the film. The plot is expertly designed around the nightmares of children, and its something everyone can relate to.
I highly recommend this movie. Wes Craven does a good job of building on the childhood nightmare experience, and he expertly weaves it into a very scary movie. By the way, the ending is by far the best part of the movie. Don't miss this fine psychological thriller.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-12-16
Why? Undeserving of a star.
The worst, dumbest movie I have EVER seen. And I'm a real movie buff. Don't waste your time or money.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2007-11-21
A VERY CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED MOVIE!!!
Anybody who has read my reviews knows I love dark, atmospheric, supernatural, Lovecraft type of stuff, and Wes Craven Presents "They" is a criminally underrated film that was released in 2002 that did poorly in theaters and has a reputation of being a bad movie. "They" had a very troubled history. First, even though his name is in the title, Wes Craven was the executive producer, and had nothing to do with the development(just put the money up). The script went through many re-writes, and the film does not resemble the original concept. It went through a number of directors, and many re-shoots to deal with the ever changing script. When the movie was finally released, it was slammed by critics and many horror fans and I simply cannot understand why? This movie captures the Lovecraft style, supernatural VS. insanity like very few can.
Our story starts off with Julia(Lara Reagan) who is a young adult living in an unidentified city persuing her masters degree in psychology. After a night out with her boyfriend, she recieves a call from her childhood friend, Billy who is desperate to talk to her. She meets him at a resteruant and sees that he is extremely aggitated and incoherent. He claims that he was marked by "They" through night terrors he(and Julia)experianced as children and "They" are coming back for him. he shows a wound from what he claims was an object "They" marked him with. After explaining himself, he becomes even more erratic, and suddenly shoots himself. At Billy's funeral, Julia meets Sam and Racheal, who were friends of Billy's. It seems that they also are experianing the problems that Billy had before going crazy. As the movie progresses, Julia starts to experiance the paranioa and delutions that Billy suffered from, and she realizes that Billy might be right. Is she going crazy, or are "They" coming for her?
The story is Lovecraft style horror and solid. It's a complete story with no noticable plot holes. The movie is well defined, but leaves alot up to the viewers imagination, movies that are defined, but unexplained are always more frightening. It has little things in the background like Billy's dresser full of batteries, the electrical rolling black-outs, and drawings that Julia made as a child that fill the movie with explaination without being to obvious. It has a linear story, and is all about the boundery between insanity and the supernatural, kind of like 'The Shining'.
The overall look of the movie is great. Very naturally dark and minimal use of color. It gets darker as the movie progresses.
The editing is solid. It has quick, jerky camera cuts during suspencefull moments. Overall the movie moves at a really good pace.
The acting and dialoge are great. Lara Reagan(Julia) carries this movie, and gives an outstanding performance! Her body language and emotive facial expressions carry entire scenes. Pay close attention for a short apperance by a very young Jodelle Ferland(Silent Hill, Tideland).
The effects are great(but are not abundent). I'm sure some computer work was done to capture the dark, somber look, but the special effects are sparingly used. "They" are C.G.I. created, but are always extentions of shadows and blended in with the natural darkness(good use of an electrical blackout)and are not reveiled until the climax, and even then it's just individual 'body' parts.
This movie is so under-appreciated!!!! Everything about this movie is spot-on. Suttle music, dark atmosphere, great convincing acting, ambiguos suspencefull moments, what more could anybody ask out of a supernatural/psychological movie? The only reason for the poor reviews and obscurity I can think of is that it was released amoung a crop of watered-down, PG-13 horror movies and was overlooked; This movie is rated PG-13 only because there is no gore. This is the type of movie(like The Ring)That works on psychological suspence. The DVD comes with an alternate ending that is equally disturbing and somber, but completely alters the focus of the movie, and is in conflict with the opening scene, so I'll say that the theatrical ending is the better.
This movie, to me, was more 'real' than Silent Hill, and every bit as enjoyable. Let me end this review with a friendly question: How can any fan of supernatural/psychological horror not like "They"???? 4.5 out of 5!!!!
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-10-21
Very Creepy
I've read a lot of the reviews here for this movie and I feel some of the negative ones miss the point.It has been noted that we aren't told just what these creatures are all about. That is what makes the whole thing so eerie.That atmosphere puts you in the same uncomfortable position as the characters/victims here.It just adds to the overwhelming sense of weirdness and fear that grips them. I was never bored because the thought of what is lurking in the shadows is a lot of times much more unsettling than in-you-face blood and guts. I found this to be a good movie worth renting.
Score: 4