They (2002)

Most children are afraid of the dark, but what if there was nothing but darkness all around you? Well a child named Billy Parks was too scared to go to sleep with the lights out when it was a stormy night so his mother left his bedroom door open a crack so there was light. But suddenly the power went out and a dark creatuire grabbed him and pulled him under his bed.

Nineteen years later Billy asks his friend Julia Lund (Laura Regan) to meet with him at a Diner. There he tells her about these creatures that everyone calls They and they're out to get him but they only come out when it's dark and how babies and children can sense them. Also there's a scar on him as he tries to explain to her what that's all about.
Then there's a power outage and Billy shoots himself in the head. Eventually she experiences some minor power outages as do her friends. Also, they all realise that they have a mark on them too from when they were children.

One by one her friends disappear from the monsters and Julia gets strange sounding phone calls to top it off with unusuakl illusions to top it off.
Julia tries to talk to her counsellor named Dr. Booth (Jay Brazeau) about what's happening but he convinces her that it's all her imagination although he believes it is happening.

Julia also talks to a little girl who has a marking on her too and then tells her about the marking so when they come back for you they eat you. Julia is the only one left of her friends who survived.
So the question is, will she always be by lightness or will they get her too for their next meal?

The film starts off perfectly with a little boy named Billy scared of thunder and lightning when he is in bed at night andseeing the shadows of his belongings making things look creepy in which the makers totally showed the realistics on kids fears thinking they can turn into monsters along with the mother telling him to put his sheets over his head to keep the monsters away which we all think that will keep us safe while we were at that age. Also a nice one liner on the Mom telling him she will keep the door open a crack so there's light since we all imagined that monsters only come to attack at night. Defientely the beginning of this looked effective afer what we spot afterwards with the lights going out and effects on a creature coming out to attack.
Later on in the story is interesting when it takes place present day and the main character Julia Lund meets up with Billy now an adult in whaich this boggles you wondering how he surirved that night but it was impressive on him acting like a basket case in a diner with her telling her about those creatures and the lights flickering around them and he gets scared when this happens as well as explaining why a baby there is crying and telling her about their past and how these creatures come out when you're scared and what they will do to you as an adult which was very imaginative. Defientely not a film to let your child watch who has those fears.
Another great spooky moment is when Julia looks at her bathroom sink and the place is dark looking and then black stuff splurts out along with some other weird stuff happening which looked pretty creepy to watch as well as her going hysterics attacking her boyfriend which really grabs your attention as to why she went crazy.
Later on in the story more nice dark moments when another character Terry Alba hears a strange sound and goes near the inside vent to spot a rat as well as trying to grab her cigarette lighter that won't activate along with a good camera shot on a dark figure is watching in a distance and then scrambling towards her making you wonder if she will manage to light her lighter in order to be safe. It for sure keeps you peeled to find out what will happen here.
There's also a great creepy moment with Julia driving at night and her radio won't activate properly which was a perfect distraction. Also it seems suspenseful when she nearly hits something in the road and swerving as you wonder if something terrible will happen. Plus great shots on her looking outside and spotting a foggy marsh as well as a figure moving around which was perfectly set and looked believeably scary here. Also nice susenseful moments when she nearly hits a truck while lying on the road as this makes you jump for sure as well.
More suspenseful moments was when Terry goes in for a swim and she's alone which is not a nice impression which you know something is going to happen here and it just does when the lights there slowly go out as well as her trying to swim back and get away in which we know someone of the scenarios that will prevent her in order of escaping like most horror film plots.
More great writings with Julia talking to a little girl who's a patient coloring a picture and explaning on how she got a mark on her arm and explaining her nightmares on creatures eating her when she gets older in which this leaves a nice creepy feel and perfectly put in making the story even more impressive.
Another perfect jumping moment here is when Julia slowly looks inside a closet and a creature is about to leap out at her as this was believeably scary.
A perfect misunderstanding is when Julia talks to her shrink explaining to her shrink about these creatures coming to get her in which this looked impressive that she has lost her marbles alltogether in which it seems pretty funny even if this moment is supposed to be really serious. Also lots of suspenseful moments when she struggles against these creatures on a subway track which seemed exciting.
Bottom line is I remember being scared of the dark and imagining those terrifying things. I always asked my Mom to keep the door open a crack and I usually I hid under the covers when everything was dark. What better place could they have shot it but in my hometown of Vancouver. It works by itself and is very original. I can honestly tell you that this was the film that inspired Boogeyman. I can't say anything else but to check it out!

The acting is very well done in which lead actress Laura Regan (Julia Lund) definetely shows a nice innocence to her character and shows off a good sensitivity to her part too. She was impressive with her sympathetic attitude towards someone sitting at a diner. She also shows off a ton of great intense energy to when the terror surrounds her really getting into what she does here along with having a great aggressive attitude too when needed to be. Also she shows a great attacking force within her blocking in certain parts of the story too. She reacts good and violent with her blocking in a subway tunnel along with her screaming and intense hollering too really getting into this scene as well as reacting vicious too. I found her ot be a great character actress above all with what she did here.
Marc Blucas (Paul Lumas) has a nice lightheaded type of behavior and knew how to be believeably sarcastic as well as being sympathetic in whatever he does here. He shows off a great charm into his personality as to someone who likes to enjoy life as well as having the right looks for this type of character too.
Ethan Embry (Sam Burnside) comes across well by acting dysfunctional along with showing perfect intense aggressions into what he does here. He also know on how to act tense and paranoid with what is surropunding him. He for sure comes actors well onto the camera by performing all of this. In one scene he reacts well when his sprinklers go off with a nice jumping reaction. Also he does well screaming and hollering as well as trying to struggle bringing his energy at a good level here.
Dagmara Dominczyk (Terry Alba) does well with her expressionless attitude in which she comes across as believeably spooked and a bit disturnbed. She is impressive with her seriousness into what she does here and studied this part perfectly well. She was effective in the story here and grabs your attention nicely in her performance here. Also she does well reacting nervous in a swimming pool after the lights are shut off and was well acted on her adrenalline while panicking trying to run away in which her energy was very high while performing this and knew how to react to all of this.
Jay Brazeu (Dr. Booth) lived to play a shrink in the flick as he has a nice softness to his voice and also draws attention very well making himself mysterious with things. He was a great key role to the story and shows off alot of true characteristics to his personality here in which he makes his role believeably likeable.
Jon Abrahams (Billy Parks) only has a small role in this flick but he was worth mentioning in which he does well by acting like a basket case as well as his paranoid attitude and expressions. He really knew on how to freak out a great deal acting insane here. His energy was terrific and can be well remembered for anyone who has seen this film in which he really drew to the creepy story here.

Elia Cmiral does a wonderful job with the music in this film as there's good strong piano playing for the calm moments. Plus for the real suspenseful moments we hear fast action trumpet quiverring along with the good violin music. Also great metal clanging and scraping sounds along with the hissing which is suitable for the dark scene's when the terror happens.

Billy: I mean, I've been doing research and reading, and
[Exhales]
Billy: I don't think I'm alone. Poe, I think, I think he saw them, too. His writing's dark and hopeless and he went crazy, too...

Billy: You hear a baby crying, you hear a kid crying, you keep moving, okay? Children can sen-sense them. It's your warning.

Billy: They hide in the dark so you can't see them.

Billy: You know what I found out?
Julia Lund: What?
Billy: Nobody can help me.

Billy: [Crying] I'm scared.
[Whimpering]
Billy: I'm scared!
Julia Lund: There's nothing to be scared of.
Billy: You're wrong.

[at Billy's funeral]
Sam: Well, you know, he was, he was taking Prozac. I guess it didn't work.

Terry: What do you think went through Billy's mind when he did it.
Sam: A bullet.

Julia Lund: They grabbed me! In my apartment! They tried to get me!

Julia Lund: Do you have any idea what he was trying to tell us with all this?
Terry: Maybe he was planning for a really long camping trip.

Terry: Or that he was afraid of the dark.
Julia Lund: I know that feeling.

Terry: When I was 5, I watched my sister drown in a lake where we used to spend our summers. Right after, I started to suffer from these terrible night terrors. There was one particularly bad night. I woke up screaming my head off. My parents finally managed to get me back to sleep, and a couple of hours later, my mother came back to check on me, and, uh, I was gone. They looked everywhere... in the attic, in the basement, all over the house. My mother was hysterical. She thought I'd been kidnapped or I'd run off or who knows what? Then my father went into the backyard, and he heard a noise in the doghouse of all places. He stooped down, looked in, and there I was huddled in the back. Naturally, he reached in, and... that's when I stabbed him in the eye with a kitchen knife. I was convinced he wasn't my father... that he was some kind of demon coming for me. I was absolutely sure of it. I haven't had that feeling since I was a kid, but I have it now.

Terry: [Talking about Sam] Guy engages his mouth before his brain sometimes.

Paul: Playing a good game of pool's a sign of being well-rounded, you know.
Julia Lund: Says who?
Paul: Some dead English guy.

Terry: I mean, I'm twenty-four years old, and I walk into a dark room now, and its like I'm five again.

Julia Lund: Are you drunk?
Paul: Prefer intoxicated.

[watching TV: reports of rolling blackouts through the city]
Paul: Speaking of, you guys pay the electric bill?
Troy: Actually, we were thinking, why should we pay for something we're not even gonna get, right?
Paul: You got fired again.
Troy: Yeah.

Julia Lund: Sarah, do you have bad dreams?
Sarah: Sometimes.
Julia Lund: What happens in your dreams?
Sarah: They come for me.
Julia Lund: Who comes?
Sarah: They.
Julia Lund: Why do They come for you?
Sarah: To eat me.

Dr. Booth: Julia?
Julia Lund: Yes. Dr. Booth.
Dr. Booth: Why, I hardly recognize you. In fact, I don't recognize you at all, but come on in.

[Terry is picking at "the mark (a scab)" on her ankle]
Sam: Look,Terry, stop picking it. It's never gonna heal, okay?
Terry: It's not healing anyway, you know, I might as well get some satisfaction.

Terry: You know, there's something seriously demented about you. Do you know that?
Sam: You know, maybe I should have gone to law school.
Terry: Like I said: demented.

[after giving her a pill]
Paul: Okay, take a few deep breaths, okay? You'll be asleep soon.
Julia Lund: Sleep? I'm not gonna go to sleep.