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They on DVD (2002)

They cover art
Average rating: 51%
9152072
2.5
from 942 members
 
Starring: Laura Regan, Marc Blucas, Ethan Embry, Jon Abrahams, Dagmara Dominczyk
Director: Robert Harmon
Studio: ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time: 89 mins
Certificate: 15
Genres: Thriller
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Released: 22/09/2003

Brief synopsis of They

Robert Harmon's psychological thriller tells the tale of a graduate student whose childhood comes back to haunt her. Julia Lund (Laura Regan) is a seemingly well adjusted young woman who is getting a Master's degree in psychology. But one night she receives a call from her childhood friend, Billy (Jon Abrahams), who appears to have lost his grip on reality. Billy is convinced that the nighttime monsters that plagued both him and Julia as youngsters have returned to torment him. Before she can get him to calm down, Billy has turned a gun on himself and pulled the trigger. At the funeral service, Julia meets college friends of Billy's (Ethan Embry and Dagmara Dominczyk), who confess that they too had night terrors as children. Already under enough stress with her impending thesis deadline, Julia must now contend with the supernatural evil that has begun to wreak havoc on her life. Harmon, who directed the classic 1986 thriller THE HITCHER, creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere, leaving it to the viewer to decide if this is really happening, or if it's all just inside Julia's stressed-out, fragile mind.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 3 stars out of 5 Radio Times

Since his promising 1986 debut with the cult chiller The Hitcher, director Robert Harmon's career has been eminently forgettable. So it's pleasantly surprising to see him return to form with this nervy psychological horror. Strongly reminiscent of Jacob's Ladder and with echoes of Rosemary's Baby and The Twilight Zone, the film makes up for a lack of originality with its dream-like style and tense atmosphere. Revolving around the monster-in-the-closet nightmares of childhood, it follows ambitious student Julia (My Little Eye's Laura Regan) and her pals as they're terrorised by inhuman creatures that materialise when the lights go out. Harmon harnesses the power of imagination, creating fear by suggestion with creepy sound effects and shadowy visuals. However, his masterstroke is the creatures themselves, which are wisely limited to pulse-pounding glimpses of shrieking flesh and sinew. The end result may be basic and manipulative, but it's ruthlessly effective nonetheless.

Halliwell's Film Guide

Tame horror that is derivative of better movies, such as Val Lewton's Cat People, when it is not trying to shock by loud, doom-laden sound effects.

Total Film

"...A film that unsettles..."

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Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 5 starsDont watch this late at night ;-0

A customer from Wales , 13/11/2003

Well not many films have spooked me out but this is definately one of them.Wes Craven (he of Freddie fame) has done it again.This is one really scary film,from the very first opening sequence to the terrifying ending it will have you on the edge of your seat.To say much more will spoil it...Watch it if you dare........but not late at night (screams silently)

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 1 starsAwful film not scary

hawk1 from suffolk , 19/01/2004

This was one of those films that slipped through the net. I was annoyed at the time but having watched it my annoyance has turned to gratitude that I didn't shell out hard earned cash on such tripe. The one redeeming feature is its length. Eighty five minutes was more than enough time to be bored. Dire plotting, dire script, dire acting, and no tension or frights. It a waste of everybody’s time.

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 starsIt's okay

A customer from Hampshire , 11/08/2004

It's watchable, quite creepy and does make you jump but it's also instantly forgettable. However I did like the ending and even the alternative ending was worth checking out.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 2 starsUnfulfilled potential

Melon from East Sussex , 15/08/2004

At times this feels almost an American take on those great Japanese horrors that rely on subtlety and the slow burn for their sense of growing menace ('Ring', 'Dark Water', 'The Eye'). However it never delivers on the build-up, as though the film-makers weren't quite sure what to do when they got there, so simply didn't bother. As such it's massively disappointing and a big letdown. The story and characters just don't go anywhere.

Also any horror that passes up the opportunity to ice that annoying piano teacher guy from 'Fame' isn't worthy of attention.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 3 starshave you seen nightmare on elm street?

Shane Brown from Norwich, norfolk , 30/12/2004

If so, you'll know the basic premise of this movie - don't go to sleep or the boogeyman will get you. Except, in this instance, they come after you during the day as well - those pesky little things.

Despite it's lack of originality, it is a taut little thriller with some genuinely scary moments and a creepy atmosphere. Well acted and well scripted, although it could have done with a little more humour for it is extremely dark and downbeat for a horror movie.

Definitely worth a watch, providing you don't expect anything other than a decent scary movie. It's not a masterpiece, but that probably wasn't the point.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
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Rated - 1 stars

pigman#1 from LONDON , 21/03/2004

If you happened upon a half hour version of this film by chance one night while flicking

through the channels, you'd probably consider it a pleasingly creepy find. Settling down

and sitting through an hour and a half of this is, however, a bit of a chore; there's simply

not enough story there. It plods between predictable "don't go in the dark" set pieces

and soon starts to repeat itself. To paraphrase one review I saw of it: "when things go

bump in the night but nobody cares"

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
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