Them

Get Out of His House! Us? or Them!!! Jordan Peele's signature and inspiration can be felt from miles around and if you liked previous films in a similar vein, Them will not disappoint you. I usually have a problem with horror series as the horror side tends to be neglected, and Them is mostly social drama, but thankfully the drama works well enough that I'm not annoyed or bored, and certainly in the field of horror-drama series Them is one of the best that has come along in years. The horror scenes rely on quality rather than quantity, there aren’t many regular scares, mostly the standard one or two horror scenes per episode, but Vera and the Jewish Priest are impressive, and I rank the scene on the bus among the most atmospheric. The digression in episode 5 is nasty, reminiscing of hixploitation flicks, or the scene with the dancers, which strongly reminds of Suspiria. The first-class technical aspect is definitely impressive, the acting great, especially the children are excellent and it boggles my mind how a 15 year old girl can play emotions better than any actor. I enjoyed the sheriff a lot, for the fact that he was an unknown actor, he stole most of his scenes. I also liked the atmosphere and the pervasive stuffiness. The series keeps a decent pace (except for episode 9, I rank it among the worst). I found the 7th episode downright shocking and the best. Cons: I was expecting more wildness in the finale, the ghosts go away in the second half of the series and it's a shame that the scenes from the school were sparse, because they were very intense. 8/10. (13/04/2021)

The first season is excellent, a nice mix of horror and social drama with a touch of Jordan Peele. The second season is completely different and may disappoint a lot of people. It’s much more crime drama with elements of the supernatural, and there is much less horror than expected, but when I step back from that I still found it very fitting. It's reminiscent of the best serial killer hunting crime dramas with a nice 90's vibe, a gritty Los Angeles setting full of gangs, nasty murders, honorable mentions to Bundy, the Night Stalker, Son of Sam and more, an attractive main character to root for. The short episodes also make it nicely paced and I really enjoyed all the detective work. I enjoyed a lot the line of the eternally rejected actor who found a liking for serial killers and inhabited the role perfectly, to the point of being totally absorbed. The horror ending was directed by Ti West himself and it's satisfying. 7/10. (05/05/2024)