entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment

THEM (Ils)

By Rick Grant

      In classic horror, scary things that viewers can't see are more terrifying than if the threat is revealed. In this Romanian film, this technique is used effectively. A young French couple living in a large run-down mansion in the Romanian forest are terrorized by an unknown group of people-"them," as it were.

      Lucas (Michael Cohen) is a successful novelist and Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) is a French teacher at a private school. Clearly, they have too much room for just two people, but they bought the house as an investment. One night, Clementine hears noises and she sends her husband Lucas to investigate. He witnesses Clementine's car being stolen.

      Then the house comes under attack by an unknown force. They hear animal-like noises and lock themselves in their bedroom. The threat is not revealed until the end of the film, but a diabolical group of house invaders want to scare them to death or do them harm-or both. Things slowly degenerate as the couple desperately tries to escape the house. Once they do get free of the house, they run into the woods, but the house invaders are following with flashlights.

      The fact that the scenario is based on a true story adds credibility to the couple's frightening encounter with unknown marauders. Eventually, the couple finds an abandoned underground tunnel complex where they chose to hide out. Of course, this is the attackers headquarters and Lucas and Clementine are trapped in a maze of tunnels unable to get out. As their pursuers close in, they seem doomed. Remarkably, this film is relatively free of horror cliches and is genuinely scary.

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