Billed as “Wes Craven Presents: They,” I was anxious to give this oldie a spin. Especially with Wes Craven’s name attached and after I read it was about several people who had experienced terrifying night terrors as children, which all of my children had also gone through. However, Wes Craven, it turns out, was merely an EP on the film and had nothing more to do with it, a fact that was quite apparent once I started watching.
So, a graduate student in Psychology named Julia (played by a terrible actress Laura Regan) is casually preparing to defend her dissertation when childhood friend Billy contacts her to discuss their mutual childhood night terrors. He tells her “They” have returned for him and her, because he’s having the terrors again and has been marked, and she will be next. Then he “makes a quick exit” right in front of her (that’s a euphemism, folks). At his funeral, Julia meets Sam and Terry, who are also night terror survivors Billy had sought out to befriend. The three of them try to make sense of the creepy, crazy writings they find in Billy’s journal, all while again experiencing night terrors which grow in frequency and horror. Meanwhile, Julia’s boyfriend Paul serves as the standard horror-movie-trope “voice of reason and disbelief,” as her life spins out of control. One by one, Terry, Sam, and Julia must face “They” and fight for their right to a peaceful night’s sleep. (Fun side note: this movie was featured in three of WatchMojo’s “bad ending” compilations: 2015, 2016, and 2017).
- Top Scare: Car Scene
- Heartbeats: 2 out of 5
- Gore Factor: 1 out of 5
- Scare Factor: 2 out of 5
- Recommended for: Ages 13 and up
