Wes Craven Presents They
They're coming to get you, but who--or what--are They? By refusing to offer specifics, this chilling mood-piece rises above its familiar premise and achieves its desired effect of percolating dread. It's a Wes Craven presentation, sponsored by the horror-meister but directed by Robert Harmon, whose 1986 thriller The Hitcher has a modest legion of fans. They deserves a similar following after its brief theatrical release; Harmon values suggestion over explicit frights (i.e., don't expect a full-throttle shocker), and he effectively exploits our collective fear of things that go bump in the night. Petite newcomer Laura Regan is well-cast as Julia, a psychology grad student who, like a close friend who just committed suicide, has suffered "night terrors" since childhood? and her gravest fears have now returned. Is it all in her head, along with that mysterious implant in her skull? Do They really exist, in this movie's gloomy nooks and crannies? If you prefer subtlety, They is creepily engrossing, and better than its box-office failure would suggest. --Jeff Shannon
