Horror

Thriller

They

Focus Features

Dimension Films

Radar Pictures

United States of America

English

Laura Regan

Marc Blucas

Ethan Embry

Jon Abrahams

Dagmara Dominczyk

Desiree Zurowski

Alexander Gould

Mark Hildreth

Jonathan Cherry

Jessica Amlee

Jay Brazeau

L. Harvey Gold

David Abbott

Jodelle Ferland

Peter LaCroix

Colin Foo

Robert Harmon

Brendan Hood

Owen Walstrom

Ashlea Earl

Tom Engelman

David Linde

Elia Cmiral

Ted Field

Chris Peppe

Scott Kroopf

Amy McIntyre Britt

Anya Colloff

Jennifer Fishman

Tony Blain

John Mariella

Barbara Kelly

Lin MacDonald

Patrick Banister

Peter Grace

Ron Sowden

Jeremy Stanbridge

Douglas Higgins

John Beatty

Karen L. Matthews

Janice MacIsaac

Ben Brafman

Michael Hansen

Bev White

Franklin Leibel

Shane Harvey

Fay von Schroeder

Will Sickles

Scott J. Ateah

Joe Rangel

Devan Kraushar

Gene Radzik

Michelle Hrescak

Andrea Boorman

David Husby

Emily Coutts

Thomas Bartke

John Kobylka

Susan H. Bodine

Lee Riggs

Oliver Hajdu

Duane Dickinson

Ryan Steel

Chris Madden

Sean M. Harding

Jake Callihoo

Doug Parton

Rick McLennan

Anke Bakker

Mike Beaulieu

Kyle Menzies

David Crone

Amy Flint Catherwood

Matthew Friedman

Norman Cabrera

Pauline Heaton

Susan Stefanyshyn

Donald D. Brown

Scott Litsinger

Melina Calogiros

Paul E. Moes

Berj Bannayan

Ricardo Olivero

Andrea Dietrich

Ed McMahon

Debbie Geaghan

John Armstrong

Mike Larivee

S. Steven Sach

Patrick Tatopoulos

David Paul Hewitt White

Jay Clennan

Frank Patton III

Jayson Rupert

Alexis Hinde

John Westerlaken

Mark Francis

Richard Coleman

Wes Craven

Dario DiSanto

Jay Cheetham

Shelley Cox

Paul Anderson

Mike Flicker

Brian Campbell

Wayne McLaughlin

Crystal Dalman

Sondra Durksen

Jacques Rey

Andrea Brown

Amy J. Kaufman

You have probably seen the plot summary a hundred times before, and if you haven't, then you have seen scenes from this film in other films a hundred times before. Julia (Laura Regan) is a master's degree student in psychology. A troubled childhood friend, Billy (Jon Abrahams), contacts her, meets her, rambles incoherently to her, and then shoots himself in front of her. The viewer has already seen Billy, as a young boy, grabbed by monsters in the night, so he probably had some problems even Julia could not help him with. At Billy's funeral, Julia meets Billy's other friends Sam (Ethan Embry) and Terry (Dagmara Dominczyk). The friends have had night terrors as children, and they now bear strange markings on their bodies that seem to say "hey, mysterious computer generated creatures, come and get me!" Julia goes to former childhood psychiatrist Dr. Booth (Jay Brazeau), who does the shrink thing. Julia's boyfriend Paul (Marc Blucas) doesn't really get it all, either. Come to think of it, neither did I.

The basic flaw with "They" is the lousy execution of the premise. Childhood monsters coming back for adult victims is a good idea, but the script was given the go-ahead without any explanation as to where the creatures come from, why they mark certain victims, etc. This is huge in a film that is otherwise not very compelling. The cast is fine, acting scared at just the right moment. The instrumental score is terrible, it sounds like incidental music for "The Music Man." Director Harmon's talents are wasted on the screenplay. He needs a script that will not fail his eye. The screenplay borrows from tons of other films like "Jacob's Ladder," "Phantasm," the remake of "The Blob," and "The Sixth Sense," to name a few, and thinks nothing of ripping off the pool scene from "Cat People." Sure, the DVD has the alternate ending, which is a ripoff of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," but that ending was better than the one that made the final cut. The special effect monsters are wisely kept out of view through most of the film, they look like giant bats. They do deliver a few scares, but in context with the mindless script, it is not enough. Eventually, you will figure out that most of the special effects here consist of some grip flicking lights on and off. "They" had a promising director, nice cast, and a low budget. The script is what never should have seen the light of day.

Wes Craven Presents: They - Trailer

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They

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Laura Regan

Marc Blucas

Ethan Embry

Jon Abrahams

Dagmara Dominczyk

Desiree Zurowski

Alexander Gould

Mark Hildreth

Jonathan Cherry

Jessica Amlee

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