SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: WES CRAVEN PRESENTS: THEY

"WES CRAVEN PRESENTS: THEY"
(2002) (Laura Regan, Marc Blucas) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Moderate	Mild	Extreme	None

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Extreme	Extreme	None	Heavy

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	Mild	Moderate	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Horror: Various young adults must deal with their childhood "night terrors" that have returned and now plague their waking hours.

PLOT:

Julia Lund (LAURA REGAN) is a young woman studying to get her masters in psychology. She has a caring boyfriend in Paul (MARC BLUCAS) and seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Her world is turned upside down, however, when a childhood friend, Billy (JON ABRAHAMS), desperately needs to meet her.

He talks about the "night terrors" that both experienced when they were kids and that they're back for him. He says that crying babies and flickering lights are sure signs that "they" are nearby and that she should be careful. Before she can find out anything more, he kills himself in front of her.

At his funeral, she meets his former college friends Sam (ETHAN EMBRY) and Terry (DAGMARA DOMINCZYK) who inform Julia that they also experienced night terrors as kids and are doing so again. After a bizarre and frightening incident on the road at night, Julia is scared by what's occurring, but Paul thinks it's all in her head.

Accordingly, Julia goes back to see child psychologist Dr. Booth (JAY BRAZEAU) who initially treated her for her night terrors some twenty years ago. He thinks her visions and encounters are just manifestation of the tremendous stress she's been under. She wants to believe him, but the additional creepy encounters that she, Sam and Terry have eventually lead her to believe that "they" are after them. From that point on, the three try to deal with the creepy and increasingly dangerous supernatural occurrences.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're into creepy horror films, they probably will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For terror/violence, sexual content and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: LAURA REGAN plays a graduate student who finds that her childhood nightmares have returned in physical form to haunt her while she's awake and drive her to the point of insanity. She uses some profanity and has sex with Paul.
MARC BLUCAS plays her paramedic boyfriend who starts to doubt her sanity when her stories progressively seem more unbelievable. He uses some profanity, sleeps with her and is a bit inebriated in one scene.
ETHAN EMBRY plays a former college friend of Billy's who smokes and becomes obsessed with the night terrors that have returned to plague him.
DAGMARA DOMINCZYK plays his roommate who also must deal with the return of the night terrors.
JON ABRAHAMS plays a childhood friend of Julia's who briefly uses strong profanity and then commits suicide due to being plagued by the night terrors.
JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.; MARC BLUCAS plays her paramedic boyfriend who starts to doubt her sanity when her stories progressively seem more unbelievable. He uses some profanity, sleeps with her and is a bit inebriated in one scene.
ETHAN EMBRY plays a former college friend of Billy's who smokes and becomes obsessed with the night terrors that have returned to plague him.
DAGMARA DOMINCZYK plays his roommate who also must deal with the return of the night terrors.
JON ABRAHAMS plays a childhood friend of Julia's who briefly uses strong profanity and then commits suicide due to being plagued by the night terrors.
JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.; ETHAN EMBRY plays a former college friend of Billy's who smokes and becomes obsessed with the night terrors that have returned to plague him.
DAGMARA DOMINCZYK plays his roommate who also must deal with the return of the night terrors.
JON ABRAHAMS plays a childhood friend of Julia's who briefly uses strong profanity and then commits suicide due to being plagued by the night terrors.
JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.; DAGMARA DOMINCZYK plays his roommate who also must deal with the return of the night terrors.
JON ABRAHAMS plays a childhood friend of Julia's who briefly uses strong profanity and then commits suicide due to being plagued by the night terrors.
JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.; JON ABRAHAMS plays a childhood friend of Julia's who briefly uses strong profanity and then commits suicide due to being plagued by the night terrors.
JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.; JAY BRAZEAU plays the child psychologist who treated Julia as a child and is now trying to help her through her ordeal.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a quick look at the content found in this horror film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 use of the "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also present. A couple is twice seen fooling around (passionate kissing, etc.) and we then see them after they've had sex (with brief and partial nudity). That woman is also seen in various stages of undress.

Various scenes are designed to spook and/or scare the viewer and those with low tolerance levels for creepy and supernatural style material as well as many jump scenes might find much of the film as rather intense. Some of that material involves mostly unseen monstrous creatures grabbing and attacking various people (although we don't know what happens to them). In addition, a person commits suicide (via a gun) just off camera and we see the blood splatter onto another person's face.

Various characters smoke or drink, with one of the latter saying he and others are intoxicated. A few scenes involve information about characters and family members who are dead, but there isn't a great deal of focus on that.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, several instances of that occur in different points of the movie (from a thunderstorm at night, various faulty lights, and sunlight shining through a fan).

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Julia and Paul have drinks in a bar where others also drink.
Paul's roommates drink beer.
Some people have drinks at a wake.
Julia says that Billy sounded like he was on something again, but Sam says that it was Prozac.
We see Paul drinking with his roommates and he says he's intoxicated when Julia asks if he's drunk.

BLOOD/GORE: We see a dried wound on Billy's hand.
Blood splatters onto Julia's face when a person commits suicide in front of her. We then see some blood running down from the dead guy.
Terry has a wound similar to Billy's on her leg, and we later see that Sam has one on his chest.
We see some dried blood in a diary.
Laura suddenly finds a wound at her hairline and starts picking at it (a bit bloody with some drops of blood falling into a sink), eventually pulling a large and bloody splinter-like item from it.
Julia forces herself to vomit (we see it come from her mouth) to get rid of whatever Paul gave her to help her relax.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: A person calls Julia to meet him and then commits suicide in front of her.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Jump Scenes" may also be unnerving, suspenseful or scary to some viewers. In addition, scary, ominous or suspenseful music accompanies the following.
We see a young boy in bed at night during a loud and bright thunderstorm. He's scared by it and what he imagines is in his room and thus yells out to his mother. She reassures him that nothing is there and then leaves after a few moments. He then sees shadows and other things and we see that the closet door is partially open. We then see the shadow of the bedroom door closing across him. We then see beads of water moving up the outside window and the boy then sees a partial image of something in his closet. He then goes under his covers where his flashlight goes out as he hears something moving around in his room. The sounds stop and he slowly looks out, but something then suddenly grabs him and yanks him under the bed.
A ringing phone awakens Julia and there are weird sounds coming out of it when she answers it. She then goes looking for Paul, finds a running shower and then sees something horrific when she opens the medicine cabinet. She reaches into the membrane-laden cave and gooey black stuff is all over her hand when she pulls it out. It then suddenly contracts and crushes her fingers. She screams and something is in the room. It turns out to be Paul, but she's seeing something else.
As Julia drives down a deserted road at night, her truck begins to act weird and some monstrous creature runs across the road and then onto her hood. Her truck goes out of control and then won't start. She gets out to look under the hood, but her flashlight dies and she hears various odd sounds in the nearby swamp (we occasionally see the shape of something in the shadows). She gets back into the truck and someone (who's supposed to be dead) is in her truck with her. She scrambles out and a large truck nearly hits her (but it then appears that this was just part of her imagination).
Julia is down in some dimly lit basement area looking through boxes when we see something move behind her. She then slowly looks around and then runs into someone.
Terry hears something in the elevator shaft that leads into her and Sam's loft. The elevator then comes to her floor and she hears more sounds that eventually lead her to a vent shaft. She sticks her head inside and sees a rat, but there's the sound of something else inside there and she tries to light a lighter as something moves closer to her. It suddenly races at her.
We see old surveillance footage of Julia as a child screaming at something we don't see, but which obviously disturbs her (no sound).
Julia looks through an iconology book that shows old drawings of monsters and other beings terrorizing people.
Terry suddenly finds herself alone in an indoor swimming pool at night. After hearing something moving around, the lights in the pool go out as do the overhead ones, leaving her in a very dark pool room. We then see something in the pool with her and she panics to get out (with the point of view of whatever is in there with her coming at her). She gets out of the pool and eventually goes through a door into another room. She then hears more sounds and something is suddenly there, she screams and it jumps on her (but we only get a glimpse of the alien type creature).
Sam hears something in his place and his lights start to burst. He then panics and tries to get out as we see the image of something in his room. He then hears something outside his door and looks through the peephole to see something in the hallway that quickly races at the door. He can't open any windows and eventually jumps into the elevator that falls and lurches about. He then crawls out and something grabs and yanks him back under the elevator car.
Laura goes to look inside a closet but the light doesn't work. She slowly spreads some clothes and a monster suddenly jumps out at her.
Laura suddenly finds a wound at her hairline and starts picking at it (a bit bloody with some drops of blood falling into a sink), eventually pulling a large and bloody splinter-like item from it.
Laura goes down into a deserted subway station late at night and then finds herself locked in after closing. She boards the last train, but it stops in the middle of the tunnel and then turns out its lights. She exits the train and starts to walk down the tracks, but the station lights also go out. She then starts to hear noises in the tunnel.
We see monsters crawling around behind Laura in the dark and they suddenly jump on her, pull her along and paw at her. They disappear and she runs after a train that eventually pulls away from her. She hears more sounds and makes her way into another tunnel where we hear more monster sounds. She then races toward an approaching train but jumps out of the way just in time. A creature then pins her against the wall and tries to pull her down into a tunnel. She then tries to climb up a ladder to get out of the tunnel, but we see something approaching and then grabbing her (she screams through the ordeal). The creatures are then all over her, pawing her face and pulling her along (all shown in quick edits).
A man doesn't see Laura and thus can't help her get out of a membrane-laden cave of some sort.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handgun: Used to commit suicide (we don't see the impact, but do see blood splatter onto another person).

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Freaked out," "Idiots" and "You scared the hell out of me."
A person calls Julia to meet him and then commits suicide in front of her.

JUMP SCENES: Something suddenly grabs a boy.
Black stuff suddenly squirts up from a bathroom sink drain when Julia looks down inside it.
A monstrous creature suddenly leaps onto Julia's hood.
A spark under the hood startles Julia.
Julia turns and someone (who's supposed to be dead) is in her truck with her.
A man suddenly surprises Julia.
Something suddenly jumps at Terry who has her head in a vent shaft.
The sudden sound of a ringing phone might startle some viewers.
Something suddenly grabs Sam and yanks him beneath an elevator car.
Laura goes to look inside a closet but the light doesn't work. She slowly spreads some clothes and a monster suddenly jumps out at her.
A monster breaks through some glass.
A creature jumps on Laura.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 1 "f" word, 2 "s" words, 2 damns, 2 hells, 2 uses each of "Jesus" and "My God" and 1 use each of "Oh God" and "Swear to God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: We see Julia in her sports bra when she gets undressed.
Julia shows some cleavage while playing pool.
Paul takes Julia into his bedroom, closes the door and the two passionately kiss while standing and clothed. She then pushes him down onto the bed, lies on top of him and they kiss some more (and she shows more cleavage). He then starts to unzip her dress, but a phone call interrupts them (we see her bra strap across her back).
We see Julia in what look like small boxers.
We see classic style statues that show bare breasts.
The camera pans down Terry's body in her one piece bathing suit as she showers before getting into the pool.
We see Julia in just a wet towel after she gets out of a bath.
Julia stands in her bra and panties and has Paul check her for any strange marks (he doesn't find any but says he doesn't mind looking). She gets dressed, but the two then passionately kiss and he lowers her top to reveal her in her bra again (it's suggested that additional fooling around or sex follows). A bit later, we see her on top of him in bed and see her bare back as she rolls off. She then gets up and we see her bare back again as well as a brief glimpse of the side of her bare breast.

SMOKING: Sam smokes around 4 times, while some miscellaneous people also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Terry states that when she was 5, she saw her sister drown in a lake.
We hear that Laura's father committed suicide when she was young.
When asked, a little girl states that her mom is in Heaven.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Paranoid delusions.
Childhood nightmares and fears.
Suicide.

VIOLENCE: Something suddenly grabs a young boy and yanks him under a bed.
A person shoots himself to commit suicide (we don't see the impact, but do see blood splatter onto another person).
Julia reaches into the membrane-laden cave on the other side of a medicine cabinet and gooey black stuff is all over her hand when she pulls it out. It then suddenly contracts and crushes her fingers. She screams as something is in the room and she knocks over various things while flailing at Paul.
Sam breaks a window while trying to get out of his place.
Monsters grab, paw and pull Laura along.
A monster breaks through some glass.
A creature jumps on Laura.

Reviewed November 27, 2002 / Posted November 27, 2002

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