Great Film overall

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

When I saw This movie I though it was OK, but got worse the more you stared to know of what was happening. I started to think about everything around the movie. They live in Romania in a gigantic house. She is a teacher and I cannot think she makes that much especially if you look at the cat they own. The husband is a writer. For this to work he must be a fairly successful writer. His death must be some fairly large news because of this. I wonder what type of books he writes. His fans must be cruised by his death. His books popularity must rise after this death. The books will be debated for a long time. Especily if he was writing a series and wasn't finished.On a second note. The kids are ridiculously good at sneaking.

While "Them" wasn't poorly made, I just couldn't get into it.The acting is decent and the story is your typical home-invasion affair that is pretty common in the genre of horror (and, of course, it's claim to be based on a true story) but the problem came from the fact the characters aren't really developed enough that I found myself capable of caring for them and the story is just too familiar. Additionally, the film bravely decides to opt-out of using music to cue the shocking scenes and the moments meant to scare but the editing in the film proved to be the undoing with this move because, too often, scenes went on too long and they seemed to be giving the audience time to prepare and be caught totally ON-guard for what was to come next.The film also tries to put a fresh coat of paint by twisting up the usual home-invader and the motive behind said invasion but, after watching a story that basically boils down to watching a person run, hide, look for the chaser, run again and repeat, I found myself completely unable to even be a little bit impressed or even surprised by the reveal—not to mention that how the filmmakers decide to tell you the motive behind it all was just lazy and felt like a last minute addition."Them" wasn't put together poorly and it really had some potential but these films just don't spook or scare me. So any scene that was meant to be tension-filled and suspenseful came off slow-going and boring.

****MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**** First of all, I've been sold the idea that this title is part of an acclaimed successful french horror hit series along with Martyrs and High Tension. It is not so. It is very far from these two in both value and theme. I can barely spot the "horror" element, but I can see why many thriller fans would like it... but to put this on the same level as Martyrs... is deceiving to say the least.Thriller fans should give this a go but without expecting a whole lot. It is supposedly based on true events but as a local who knows the area pretty well I can vouch that such a thing never happened there. If 4 people would have been murdered there by a gang of teens I would have definitely got wind of it. Furthermore, its not some backward remote village, but rather a nature retreat for many rich local oligarchs. A school teacher and a would-be writer would likely not be able to afford living there, even in a derelict villa like the one shown in the movie.

A second foreign film review for Gruffhouse. We have to say… We're really looking forward to watching another one. This film, known is 'Ils' in it's original state, is a French /Romanian film directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud (both better known for directing 'The Eye'). Straight off, we can easily say that we loved it. Jonathan Ross called it "77 minutes of gloriously maintained tension". He's not wrong.Let us describe the opening scene for you. The film starts off with a mother and daughter arguing whilst on a car journey to… who knows where. They lose control of the car trying to avoid something in the road and plough straight into a lamp post. After many failed attempts to start the car, the mother gets out of the car and looks at the engine. Everyone knows what's coming. It's a horror film. It's obvious. BUT the eerie noises, the lingering shots of the road that slot in between short, choppy camera shots almost makes it seem like something paranormal is about to happen. The daughter calls out to her mother. There's no shadows. No evidence of anything moving around the car. The hood of the car slams shut and the mother's nowhere to be seen. She gets out of the car to look for her mother but the creepy sounds of the forest send her running back to the vehicle. She is then taunted and terrified by the silence and the mud that is slowly and methodically being flung towards the car. The silence strikes again and she is strangled from behind by some unknown character in the back passenger seat. We don't see these characters referenced again throughout the whole film. They're purely there to start the ball rolling.There are two other characters in the movie: Clementine and Lucas. : a young couple who have recently moved to the area. We see Clementine drive past the crashed car from the previous night as she makes her way home – a very clever, subtle way to set the time frame for the movie.The directors do something very clever over the next few scenes; they make you really like these characters. You see them bond in their new home, romantic evenings. You learn to understand their relationship.The horror for this young couple starts one night when their car gets taken. This is then immediately followed by a string of events. The power goes. The phone lines are down. The terror begins. The couple are now being hunted in their own home. It is clear to see the scenes are heavily influenced by the classics. There are lingering shots down the long hallways of the house - very reminiscent of shots from 'The Shining'. There are scenes where Clementine is running through the attic of the house through large pieces of insulation and plastic – mirroring the famous scene from 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' when they're running through the meat cooler. The location scouts did a fantastic job on finding the house. The setting is dynamic – plain walls, lots of doors, hiding places. It's perfect for this sort of movie.When Lucas gets hurt it becomes Clementine's mission to find a way out. Cue the epic-style hide and seek scenario in the attic that I referenced earlier. Then the chase continues outside the house and into the woods that surround them. Now it's just a desperate attempt for her and injured Lucas to escape and find help. What comes next is incredibly creepy.We were on the edge of our seats throughout the whole film. It was frightfully tense and well worth a watch. Unlike most horrors, the ending is pure brilliance. Reading the blurb I was expecting a disappointing 'Panic Room' type storyline. It was the opposite. A fantastic twist and a great plot line throughout. Oh, and I forgot to say… it's based on true events. *shudder*http://gruffhouse.blogspot.co.uk/