THEM is an excellent little thriller in the BLAIR WITCH PROJECT mould: by that I mean gone are all the gore effects, psycho killers, and torture scenes popular in Hollywood horror films, in favour of a back-to-basics approach that throws a couple of people into the middle of the woods at night and has them being scared by an unseen, malignant presence. Despite being a French/Romanian production made on a low budget, this movie was successful enough to single-handedly spawn a new sub-genre of 'hoodie horror' with both America and Britain bringing out very similar films with THE STRANGERS and EDEN LAKE respectively.

Thank goodness there are no false scares here, no cheesy jump-in-your-seat moments, just unrelenting terror as an innocent couple find themselves at the mercy of unknown killers. The camera stays in close to the action, making this a thriller by turns tense, suspenseful and claustrophobic. The lean, pared-down plot doesn't really have anywhere to go and this is one long chase movie, but nevertheless it works. There are some great locations. I don't recall seeing Romania in a film before, but the isolation comes across really well. The cavernous house is a wonderful locale for some hide-and-seek scares and the subterranean tunnels make a chilling backdrop for the climax.

Olivia Bonamy makes for a very attractive heroine and is ably supported by Michael Cohen. As these two actors carry the film, they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders but they manage to pull it off well. The standout is the evocative camera-work as it prowls through the surrounds, scene-setting music and an expert pacing. Running at 74 minutes, this lean, efficient film boasts all of the thrills and none of the padding. It's a goodie.

The teacher of the French School in Bucharest Clémentine (Olivia Bonamy) lives with her husband, the writer Lucas (Michaël Cohen),in a remote real estate in Snagow. Along the night, Clémentine is awakened by weird noises outside the old house and Lucas sees their car being stolen. Then the lights are turned off, phone line is dead and they see that their property gate has been trespassed and they are surrounded by weird persons with lights. They hide in the cellar and try to escape to ask for help in a dreadful night of pure terror.

The unknown "Ils" is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen, almost comparable to Michael Haneke´s "Funny Games". The story of this low-budget movie is very simple, does not have special effects and apparently is based on a true story, but the direction of David Moreau and Xavier Palud is stunning, supported by the awesome and credible performances of Olivia Bonamy and Michaël Cohen that make the difference with most of the American movies of this genre. I was tense and nervous with the frightening atmosphere of this film. The alienation of the youngsters "them" in the end is perhaps the scariest part of this gem of horror. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Eles" ("Them")

You should know that this movie is a horror movie. But even if you didn't know going in or renting this, you would certainly get that from the first minutes. And you will also get, that this is not the slasher horror movie that became a fashion (chic) the last few years, but a down and dirty (although that's more towards the second half of the movie) old school horror movie. And that means it's all about the suspense.

And the road to get there. Think about other (suspensful) horror classics and you will see that some of them had not that many scares at the beginning, but instead build/created the characters for us. This is what happens here too ... and the end really left me with a chill!!