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They (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:54
Fresh:20
Rotten:34
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: They fails to sustain the level of creepiness necessary to rise above other movies in the horror genre.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: 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... 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 defense, 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. [More]
Starring: Laura Regan, Marc Blucas, Dagmara Dominczyk, Ethan Embry
Starring: Laura Regan, Marc Blucas, Dagmara Dominczyk, Ethan Embry, Jon Abrahams
Director: Robert Harmon
Director: Robert Harmon
Screenwriter: Brendan Hood
Producer: Tom Engelman
Composer: Elia Cmiral
Studio: Dimension Films
Reviews for They
Too ordinary to restore [Harmon] to prominence, despite some creepy scenes that evoke childish night terrors, and a praiseworthy attempt to generate suspense rather than gross out the audience.
Who are 'they'? Well, they're 'they'. They're the unnamed, easily substitutable forces that serve as whatever terror the heroes of horror movies try to avoid. They exist for hushed lines like "They're back!", "They're out there!" and "They're coming!"
One of the best silly horror movies of recent memory, with some real shocks in store for unwary viewers.
'Wes Craven Presents.' Such an endorsement is meant to be a mark of quality, and indeed it is--bad quality, that is.
I've seen They twice now, once theatrically and once via DVD, and...for the life of me...I can't tell you what it's about.
On the heels of The Ring comes a similarly morose and humorless horror movie that, although flawed, is to be commended for its straight-ahead approach to creepiness.
The movie's gloomy atmosphere is fascinating, though, even if the movie itself doesn't stand a ghost of a chance.
With the cheesiest monsters this side of a horror spoof, which They isn't, it is more likely to induce sleep than fright.
Characters wander into predictably treacherous situations even though they should know better.
Harmon ... does crank up the tension, getting nicely petrified performances from the young cast.
It's certainly entertaining enough and made with great style, but the whole thing feels slightly undercooked.
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