Them
User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15

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  1. skim123
    May 17, 2011
    9
    Great Horror movie. As simple as can be. It simply depicts a series of scary events, and it depicts them well. The use of a more grainy film and simple lighting makes the atmosphere feel more true to life, rather than the "stylized" artistic lighting that most movies use these days. The dark scenes feel like you're in the dark....not like there's a spotlight off camera to illuminate the actors in a cheesy way. It's simple, it's scary, and it's very good.… Expand
  2. horrorboy
    Dec 31, 2010
    9
    THEM begins as any modern horror flick, a pair of women manage to find their way into car trouble. They seem to be stranded on a road in the middle of the boondocks somewhere very far from civilization. The mother of the two pops the hood and gets out to check if everything seems to be in shape. The daughter, who is a sitting duck in the car, waits patiently for her mother to return around the side so she can see that she's okay. Unfortunately the mother never does and the daughter leaves the car to investigate. She hears strange noises and mishaps in the forest, like the sounds of twigs snapping and leaves rustling. Knowing that this seems to be too much for the young girl, she retreats back into the car and locks all doors and rolls up all windows. Then it starts to rain, then dirt clods smash against the windows obstructing the view to the outside, then the streetlamp above goes out and all is dark, then the final act is carried out by Them. This 5 or so minute intro sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the film. As clichéd as the idea of two women getting butchered out in the middle of the woods is, this actually works. Now the main plotline that continues for the remainder of the film settles on a young couple, Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) a schoolteacher and Lucas (Michael Cohen) who is an author. They live together out in the middle of the same boondocks as the previous mentioned murders, who knew!? A scene I greatly enjoyed though was when Clementine was driving from her school to her large house in the woods. The scene was set up so greatly that it seemed to be the same intro scene from The Shining where Jack Torrance took the long winding drive to the Overlook Hotel. While it isn't that long of a journey of course, it builds up the feeling that this couple may soon be in a nightmare they can't escape from. Upon returning to the home, Clementine and Lucas spend a night together eating dinner, watching television, and just having a good time with each other. After Lucas falls asleep, Clementine continues to stay up and receives a strange call with nobody answering on the other side. She continues to finish her work and goes to bed. She later wakes to a strange noise somewhere in the house, she awakens Lucas and they go to investigate the strange developments. This is where THEM begins to kick into high gear. The following scenes are pulse pounding and scary. While other might not think so, the buildup of the first 20 or so minutes helps build the suspense and anticipation of a scare enough to create a true thrill ride. THEM isn't housed to a whole lot of the infamous jump scares, it instead focuses on an unseen force that tends to haunt your every move. Wherever you are, THEY are there close by watching your every move, your every breath. This sort of terror I find intriguing. It keeps up the suspense and the momentum so greatly that you're in anticipation of a great scare, it doesn't happen, and then the film pulls the rug out from under you and delivers a great scare. The few great chases throughout the catacombs of the countryhouse and elsewhere truly defined what a great horror chase scene really is. The slow quiet steps of a person walking down a flickering hallway filled with many doors and hallways has never felt so haunting and thrilling to watch. While the last 15 minutes are quite angering to some moviegoers due to the twist it exhibits, this very twist worked well in my opinion, and I really didn't see it coming until those final minutes. While viewing THEM I noticed that it was very reminiscent to the 2008 horror film of the same aspects called 'The Strangers'. The Strangers would be mediocre in comparison to THEM because it didn't portray the horror aspects as much as it had and it felt more as a slasher flick than an actual suspenseful film. While THEM may not be a horror film for everyone out there, it is a film you'll either love or hate. Its suspenseful chases are some of the best I've seen in a horror film and the characters aren't stupid while participating in them for once! The twist may either upset or shock you and the finishing image may print a vivid and haunting image in your mind, it all depends on the viewer. If you're in the mood for a building horror film that offers many great surprises, you won't be disappointed. Note that the most ideal way to view this film is in a pitch black room with the volume cranked all the way up, its a true experience.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lisa Nesselson
    70
    Romania-set scare-fest deploys the full cinematic vocabulary of creepy sounds and hostile intruders.
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  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    60
    The characters in Them are paper-thin: They're mere props to be manipulated by co-directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud, who want nothing more than to scare you sh--less in what, with its nonstop chase sequences and booby traps, often comes off as a live-action video game.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    You'd better deliver the goods. And Them, despite some moody imagery out of the "Blair Witch" school, never does.
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