At a large, secluded house in the countryside, a teacher and her writer husband are terrorized by a group of hooded strangers. The couple attempt to seek shelter at home and away, but the strangers have different ideas.
I decided to give this a watch and post a review for it before the (suspiciously) similar 'The Strangers' was released here in the states. 'Ils,' along with a few other French films, have been the talk of the recent foreign horror market. 'Ils' doesn't stand up as high as some of the other more popular modern French horrors, like 'À l'intérieur' and 'Haute Tension,' but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy addition to the library of well made French horrors. The film, overall, is very suspenseful and exchanges a lot of tension for any kind of violence or gore (which is almost nonexistent). It's not a very original idea, and the technical aspects of the film, including the sparse script and average direction, aren't really anything new. But, the one thing I was pleasantly surprised (and pleased) with was the shocking revelation of the attackers. . . that was one of my favourite parts of the film, especially the almost surreal final shots of the film. To sum up, if you're looking to counteract some of the brutally violent recent French horrors and thrillers, this isn't a bad film to turn to.
Final verdict: 6.5/10.
I decided to give this a watch and post a review for it before the (suspiciously) similar 'The Strangers' was released here in the states. 'Ils,' along with a few other French films, have been the talk of the recent foreign horror market. 'Ils' doesn't stand up as high as some of the other more popular modern French horrors, like 'À l'intérieur' and 'Haute Tension,' but that doesn't mean it's not a worthy addition to the library of well made French horrors. The film, overall, is very suspenseful and exchanges a lot of tension for any kind of violence or gore (which is almost nonexistent). It's not a very original idea, and the technical aspects of the film, including the sparse script and average direction, aren't really anything new. But, the one thing I was pleasantly surprised (and pleased) with was the shocking revelation of the attackers. . . that was one of my favourite parts of the film, especially the almost surreal final shots of the film. To sum up, if you're looking to counteract some of the brutally violent recent French horrors and thrillers, this isn't a bad film to turn to.
Final verdict: 6.5/10.