{"id":1716962,"date":"2022-10-30T06:30:18","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T10:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1716962"},"modified":"2022-10-30T09:19:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T13:19:09","slug":"wes-craven-presents-they-works-best-for-one-kind-of-horror-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wes-craven-presents-they-works-best-for-one-kind-of-horror-fan\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWes Craven Presents: They\u201d Works Best for One Kind of Horror Fan"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwes-craven-presents-they-works-best-for-one-kind-of-horror-fan%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1716962&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/wes-crave-they-film-review-2002-2.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><strong>Robert Harmon\u2019s \u201cThey\u201d (2002) is also known as \u201cWes Craven Presents \u2018They\u2019\u201d on the poster and trailers, but only referenced once as such in the end credits.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Why does this matter? The Craven name was the main reason many went to see it.<\/p>\n<p>We get a great opening, with a child actor uttering the words, \u201cBut Mom\u2026(scary whisper) they come for me when it\u2019s dark.\u201d The opening scene is sensational and taps into our childhood fears.<\/p>\n<p>The story picks up 19 Years Later, as we meet Julia, played by Laura Regan. She\u2019s afraid of the dark and meets a group of likeminded young adults.<\/p>\n<p>It goes back to the something I\u2019ve been telling students in my horror films classes for years: it\u2019s never really a fear of the dark, but a fear of what might be in the dark with you.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, the \u201cthey\u201d of the title are slithering, insect-like beasties that devour their victims. On the other hand, we never get a good look at them, as the screenplay, written by Brendan Hood, keeps the threat vague most of the way.<\/p>\n<p>It works.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/it-movie-review-2017\/\">\u201cIT\u201d (2017)<\/a> allowed everyone to openly admit that they are afraid of clowns. This, on the other hand, is one of the best films I\u2019ve ever seen about being afraid of the dark. However, if you\u2019re not afraid of the dark and never have been, then this will play twice as silly as it already does.<\/p>\n<p>An hour in, a character says, \u201cThis is ridiculous.\u201d Actually, by that point, it is way past ridiculous.<\/p>\n<p>As a horror film about being afraid of the dark, it\u2019s better than the similar, out-at-around-the same-time \u201cDarkness Falls,\u201d \u201cBoogeyman\u201d and \u201cDarkness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Made in the age of PG-13 horror, where intensity ruled but violence was either deleted or eclipsed in pixels, \u201cThey\u201d is something of a sleeper. A handful of scenes will guarantee a serious case of the creeps.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/halloween-iii-season-of-the-witch-review\/\"><strong>RELATED: HOW \u2018HALLOWEEN III\u2019 TOOK THE FRANCHISE\u2019S BIGGEST RISK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Regan\u2019s career didn\u2019t take off after \u201cThey\u201d played in theaters, but I really like her in this. Interestingly enough, Regan later played Agatha the psychic in the TV series based on \u201cMinority Report\u201d (the role was played by Samantha Morton in the film).<\/p>\n<p>It helps that Ethan Embry and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jodellemicah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scream queen Jodelle Ferland<\/a> is in this, too, though the acting is at the service of the mood and visuals.<\/p>\n<p>Craven may have been the bait to lure mainstream horror fans, but longtime genre buffs recognized the director, as Harmon\u2019s \u201cThe Hitcher\u201d (1986), his directorial debut, has never lost its ability to disturb.<\/p>\n<p>Harmon is exceptional at mood and atmosphere. \u201cThey\u201d was his second horror film (in between came the 1993 Van Damme stretch, \u201cNowhere to Run\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Harmon is currently a favorite of Tom Selleck, as he collaborated with the actor in \u201cIke: Countdown to D-Day,\u201d eight Jesse Stone TV movies and 20 episodes of \u201cBlue Bloods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u201d reportedly experienced a tortured post-production period, as was the case with many Dimension and Miramax films of the era. The few that remember \u201cThey\u201d likely recall how it (like \u201cSoul Survivors\u201d and too many others) had reports of cut scenes and alternate versions. It helps that the stunning visuals maintain their power, because we never get a clear look at the monster(s).<\/p>\n<p>Of the films that had Craven\u2019s name on them but had no input from the director, this is better than \u201cWes Craven Presents Dracula 2000,\u201d \u201cWishmaster,\u201d \u201cFeast\u201d and \u201cCarnival of Souls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u201d doesn\u2019t hold up once you turn all the lights in the house on but, while you\u2019re watching it, alone in the dark, it\u2019s scary and nightmarish.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also humorless, with a slow midsection, loaded with exposition but no real explanation. It has the dark gloss of an Adrian Lyne movie but needed the brilliance and focus of Lyne\u2019s \u201cJacob\u2019s Ladder\u201d (1990) to fully salvage it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u201d is logic-free and only to be taken seriously like a dream described upon waking. Yet, its\u2019 also jolting and intense enough to work on the level of a campfire scare story.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a swimming pool scene that tries hard but can\u2019t compete with \u201cCat People\u201d (either version). Likewise, the trapped-in-a-subway station is well done but not up to the one in \u201cJacob\u2019s Ladder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the third act, it plays like a \u201cNightmare on Elm St.\u201d sequel without Freddy Krueger, but, instead, an unknown, insect-like threat. Thankfully, the wilder \u201cThey\u201d gets, the better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FAST FACT: The \u201cWes Craven\u201d label had mixed results at the box office. \u201cThey\u201d earned $12 million in 2002, while \u201cDracula 2000\u201d brought in $33 million. \u201cWishmaster\u201d generated $15 million in 1997.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This explores how mental illness can be a shared trait among siblings and how our childhood fears don\u2019t always leave us, which is heavy fodder for a teen horror film.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, are the creatures plaguing Julia vague because they\u2019re more the phantoms plaguing her mind via lack of sleep? Reports from the troubled production suggest the monsters had a rich backstory that didn\u2019t make the final cut.<\/p>\n<p>There were reportedly multiple endings shot (including one that reportedly mimicked the conclusion of \u201cThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari\u201d) but the one they went with was clearly the strongest. In fact, that last scene is unexpected, cruel and powerful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u201d doesn\u2019t fizzle out, it ends with a knockout capper and punchline. As nightmares go, this is akin to that feeling where you know you\u2019re safe when you wake up, but shudder as you recell the details to those willing to listen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u201d may not linger in the daytime but in the dark of our dreams, it\u2019s pretty scary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert Harmon\u2019s \u201cThey\u201d (2002) is also known as \u201cWes Craven Presents \u2018They\u2019\u201d on the poster and trailers, but only referenced once as such in the end credits. Why does this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1716965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1716962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1716962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1716962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1716962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1716965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1716962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1716962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1716962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}