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

Brendan Hood

Robert Harmon

Owen Walstrom

Ashlea Earl

Scott Kroopf

Amy McIntyre Britt

Anya Colloff

Jennifer Fishman

Elia Cmiral

Ted Field

Tom Engelman

David Linde

Chris Peppe

Tony Blain

Barbara Kelly

John Mariella

Douglas Higgins

Karen L. Matthews

Peter Grace

Lin MacDonald

Patrick Banister

John Beatty

John Kobylka

Shane Harvey

Matthew Friedman

Ron Sowden

Michelle Hrescak

Donald D. Brown

Joe Rangel

Jeremy Stanbridge

Melina Calogiros

Susan H. Bodine

Doug Parton

Franklin Leibel

Fay von Schroeder

Will Sickles

Lee Riggs

Sean M. Harding

Berj Bannayan

Jake Callihoo

Ricardo Olivero

Amy Flint Catherwood

Ed McMahon

Debbie Geaghan

Chris Madden

Andrea Dietrich

Janice MacIsaac

Thomas Bartke

Michael Hansen

Oliver Hajdu

Norman Cabrera

Pauline Heaton

Andrea Boorman

Devan Kraushar

David Husby

Scott Litsinger

Gene Radzik

Kyle Menzies

Rick McLennan

Anke Bakker

David Crone

Mike Larivee

Ryan Steel

S. Steven Sach

Paul E. Moes

Emily Coutts

Susan Stefanyshyn

Bev White

Mike Beaulieu

Ben Brafman

Scott J. Ateah

John Armstrong

Duane Dickinson

Patrick Tatopoulos

David Paul Hewitt White

John Westerlaken

Richard Coleman

Mark Francis

Jay Clennan

Jayson Rupert

Wes Craven

Alexis Hinde

Jay Cheetham

Mike Flicker

Shelley Cox

Paul Anderson

Frank Patton III

Dario DiSanto

Wayne McLaughlin

Brian Campbell

Crystal Dalman

Darren English

Chris Reesor

Ron James

Vanessa Andrascik

Horror

Thriller

They

Focus Features

Dimension Films

Radar Pictures

United States of America

Charles Tatum

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.

English

Wes Craven Presents: They - Trailer