Ils (Them) (2006)

June 30, 2018

I decided to choose a French film to celebrate France's victory over Argentina in the World Cup Final-16. There are three films that websites claim are responsible for introducing the world to French horror cinema: High Tension, Martyrs, and Them. I saw High Tension twelve or so years ago when a bunch of my friends and I were part of a horror club where we would meet monthly to watch horror movies and play games. I was blown away by the film especially the twist ending. With that thought in mind I decided on Them and I was not disappointed.

Them is a home invasion movie, possibly the most terrifying genre of film (Remember the home invasion scene from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? Ab-so-lute-ly terrifying!). The film takes place in Romania and begins with the murder of a mother and her daughter after getting into a car crash on a desolate road. This scene expertly builds suspense as the daughter is trapped in the car after her mom disappears. Visuals are obscured by rain and mud (?) that is thrown at the car. Lights come on. Lights go off. The keys disappear and the locks unlock. The daughter character panics but of course, the killer is already in the car. The claustrophobia of the car and the despair of no escape set the theme for the rest of the movie. The rest of the movie follows these same people terrorizing a couple at a mansion that they live in. Beginning in the middle of the night the strangers just appear to want to terrorize the couple (taking their car, turning the TV on and off, calling the couple). This terrorizing gradually builds until it becomes obvious to the couple that they mean to murder them. The husband sustains an injury to the leg when he was stabbed in the leg with a shard of glass and it is up to the wife to save them.

There are some great suspenseful scenes that Alfred Hitchcock himself would approve of. The obscuring of visuals and the use of odd sounds make the film extremely unsettling. While in the attic with the killer loose making strange sounds, the viewer is also unable to see where the killer are until it is too late. Plastic sheeting obscures both the victim and our view. Also the house itself which is largely unfurnished and enormous makes a terrifying setting for a home invasion. There are so many doors and corridors, places to hide and places for people to be hidden.

There is another great scene when they finally escape the house and have to run through the woods. Slowed down by the husband's injury, it is clear that the couple will be unable to outrun the murderers. Forced to split up, each character must go on their own failed mission for survival. The woman is captured and all we can hear for a while is her screams as her husband enters the sewers to try and find her.

The question of why are they doing this continues through the entire film. What makes this film memorable is that we never get an answer to that question. Based on a true story, sometimes there is no reason for the things that people do. Along with High Tension, Them is a great piece of French cinema that shows how terrifying and beautiful French cinema can be.