Them (Ils)
DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY: David Moreau, Xavier Palud, STARRING: Olivia Bonamy, Michaël Cohen, Adriana Mocca, RUN TIME: 74 minutes, RELEASE: 2006, LANGUAGE: French/Romanian
Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) is a teacher at a French school in Bucharest who lives in a large remote country house with her husband Lucas (Michael Cohen). One night, Clementine is awoken by strange sounds coming from outside the large house. She and Lucas go to investigate only to discover her car being stolen. However, shortly after reporting the theft, Clementine and Lucas find themselves plunged into darkness and cut off from communication to the outside world and the couple are suddenly thrust into a night of terror and torment at the hands of a group of unknown assailants.
So, here I am again. Back in my favourite category/genre - home invasion. Before I get to my review of Them, I just want to bring up another film in the home invasion category, that I watched a good couple of years ago called The Strangers (2008). My home invasion fascination has seen me suffer through many a poor film but so dedicated am I towards my own personal journey of discovery that I battled through them regardless. To be honest, when I watched The Strangers I didn't think it was too bad. Not great by any stretch of the imagination but still watchable.
That being said, until one of my friends recommended Them to me (which I had never heard of) - vehemently arguing its case in defence that The Strangers is nothing more than a poor rip-off. I never gave it any more thought than that. However, how right he is. The Strangers truly is nothing more than just a half-hearted, saturated, lack-lustre insult to Them. I'm not going to go into it any more than that but what I will say is that you should really watch both of these films. Preferably back to back and kicking off with The Strangers. I'd say ignore The Strangers completely but, I desperately want you to see what utter crap it is compared to the film it disastrously robbed its idea from.
Scene from The Strangers (2008)
In my opinion, Them (Or Ils in its original language title) is a benchmark; a bar raised ridiculously high, that all other home invasion films should strive to become in their deliverance. This film effortlessly jumps right to the top of my home invasion list and knocks spots off any of the competition that I have watched so far. In a time when many films tend to drag on for two hours or more (sometimes a lot more), it is such a refreshing change to have a film that is so much shorter in its run-time. Them roles out over the course of a very short 74 mins and utilizes every minute of it perfectly. Brilliantly building up the tension throughout.
Them opens up with a nice little scene that brilliantly sets up just a teaser of what we can expect to see throughout the rest of the film. Setting up just a small glimpse of the tension and fear that will befall the protagonists shortly thereafter. It is a great hook to draw you in right from the off. Job well done. Them doesn't waste much time in building up the relationship and general personalities of the protagonists. Some people might say that if you don't really know the characters then you can't really sympathize with them or genuinely care about what happens to them. Sometimes this is true. However, to attempt to do this would probably add another 30 minutes to the film that just aren't needed. The characters are likeable enough without going into too much detail and the film is so well written that it really doesn't take anything away from it. You'll discover fairly quickly that you do care; Bonamy and Cohen produce solid performances all the way through as the tormented couple and you quickly find yourself gripped in their plight.
Olivia Bonamy as ‘Clementine’ in Them (Ils)
What it lacks in detailed character development, it certainly makes up for in other ways. You are given a subtle tour of the size of the property and its surrounding area on Clementine's return home from work, which pre-sets the vulnerability of its seclusion and stages the sporadic vastness of lurking danger. There is also a cleverly brief scene of Lucas playfully chasing Clementine throughout the large property that is a great piece of juxtaposition. You really don't have to wait too long for things to start happening; only around twenty minutes, with the start of the terror being cued in by the defensive barking of a dog. From that point on, the tension doesn't let up.
Them succeeds where many others have failed with its fantastic honesty, realism and depth. It doesn't try to be too glossy or over-play any of the characters. It never takes things to the absolutely absurd or propels itself into acts of disbelief. Instead, it maintains its credibility, from its enticing opening scene to its perfectly satisfying conclusion. What happens to Clementine and Lucas could happen to any of us at any time and that is its strength; simple, plausible and wonderfully consistent in its pacing. On a couple of occasions I literally found myself holding my breath; a testament to how gripping the story is. That is something I can honestly say I have rarely done whilst watching a film. The soundtrack is virtually non-existent and Them is filled with many great moments of deathly silence that pull you right in to the terror. The direction is second-to-none and utilizes darkness, shadows and light remarkably well. As for creepiness? You never knew the sound of something clicking could be so unnerving.
I realize that I have gushed quite heavily about this film but, to be honest I could have said a lot more. Them deserves all the recognition and praise it receives and I implore everyone to give this film a look. This is not only the best home invasion film that I have ever seen but, one of the best films. Period. If you have seen The Strangers, watch this and discover for yourself how awful that film really was.