I actually really liked this movie, but the pacing is agonizingly slow at times. The main character is someone who has experienced the loss of her child and blames herself for it, and as a result, she pushes everyone away. Unfortunately, she also pushes the audience away. It's like you have to drag the story out of her. This could be the fault of the way this was directed, written, the lead actor's choices, or the editing of the final product, or some combination of them - I'm honestly not sure, but it happened over and over again. During one of the last scenes (don't worry, no spoilers), the lead literally has a phone to her mouth and almost seems to refuse to deliver the next line, drawing it out way, way, WAY too long. There's an art to dramatic pauses. This movie doesn't get it right. But I give it a 6/10 for premise, atmosphere, and an interesting take on the whole "person who sees dead people" / medium idea. I would love to see this recut. It could be a really decent movie.
41 Reviews
What might have been...
haskel-7295119 February 2022
This could have been excellent. Is it familiar and derivative? Yes, but original enough to be compelling. Unfortunately, it could have really used a better editor - a 2 plus hour runtime makes it drag. It suffers from sluggish pacing and a trim of at least 20 unnecessary minutes would have helped that. Then there's the random "oh look, we're artists" oddball camera angles at inopportune times that scream "amateurs" instead of artists. Still watchable, but in more capable hands it could have been really memorable.
What wasted potential!
jamosmonk28 February 2022
The idea of the movies plot is decent. The special effects are decent. There are 3 main faults. The acting is just not good, however it could have been overlooked if not for the next two issues. The pacing is needlessly slow and drawn out. It ruins the tension it could be using. The editing is not good. Whether that harmed the pacing or vice versa...This would be a passable movie if the pace was tightened up and slightly better acting was coaxed out of the actors. The child actors outshine the leads.smh. This looks like it could've been the first rough draft for the Sixth Sense before it was nailed down.
Very misleading synopsis
ryanpascall12 April 2022
I came into this expecting a horror based on the synopsis but all I got was a sad film of a woman dealing with grief while occasionally a glass moves.
Boring, trite and (frankly) depressing this was not what I expected or wanted and, while Michelle Krusiec's acting was great, it couldn't carry this film for me.
Boring, trite and (frankly) depressing this was not what I expected or wanted and, while Michelle Krusiec's acting was great, it couldn't carry this film for me.
Pass
gab-6759919 February 2022
The actress in this was just not one you could relate to or one that was even interesting. Acting abilities where overlapped with the how long this movie was. Fast-forward and you would still not miss much. So if you like long movies with not much going on in between then this is you movie.
I see dead people. . . again!
spinoff7526 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Directors/writers aren't aware of The Sixth Sense of Shyamalan? They basically copied the movie. Instead of a child and a shrink they have a child service social worker who sees ghosts with a traumatic past (son's death) as the kid's mother (grandma's death). 3 characters in 1! Also the Vang Brothers "creativity" put some violent ghosts, suicidal ghosts, adviser ghosts. . . Meh! It's not Michelle Krusiec's fault, she did what she could. The trouble is the wannabe screenplay. Period.
Better than I anticipated
amytude20 February 2022
Look, this isn't anything new and revolutionary. You've seen similar in a dozen other movies
But , for a shudder original made for their service horror flick , it's a hell of a lot better than I figured it would be.
I was interested enough to want to stick around and unravel things
The acting was not exceptional, but it was decent enough. The " twist" wasn't anything I didn't see coming. In fact I saw it awhile back but figured that was too simplistic so I second guessed myself into some crazy complicated ideas. Nope. Not sixth sense haha
It's a good time killer with a good creepy vibe. Nothing you'll be telling your friends about , but a good way to spend an evening relaxing.
But , for a shudder original made for their service horror flick , it's a hell of a lot better than I figured it would be.
I was interested enough to want to stick around and unravel things
The acting was not exceptional, but it was decent enough. The " twist" wasn't anything I didn't see coming. In fact I saw it awhile back but figured that was too simplistic so I second guessed myself into some crazy complicated ideas. Nope. Not sixth sense haha
It's a good time killer with a good creepy vibe. Nothing you'll be telling your friends about , but a good way to spend an evening relaxing.
What could have been...
fatblue26 February 2022
They Live in the Grey is fine. I liked the casting, and some of the story. It's derivative of several other horror movies but never reaches the heights it could have. The direction and cinematography seemed equal to a television show like NCIS or CSI. The scares don't scare, the characters aren't ones I am compelled to find out more about.
Most depressing horror movie
duckman_07920 February 2022
Heavily flawed movie. But, some of the ideas and scenes stood out enough to make me want to see this movie again one day. Just look past things like the husband's partner looking more like a homless Charles Manson than a police officer. And, I'd actually believe in ghosts before I'd believe that a civil servant CPS worker can be fired on the spot without any warning. But with elements of 6th Sense and some of the life after death and ghost scenes, it's worth watching.
Could have been good...
martlarrivee19 February 2022
... but the movie suffers from bad acting and average cinematography. I don't want to be mean, but the main actress as the personality of a fish, it's like looking at a blank page. Some nice ideas, but when a movie relies so much on the mood, you need stellar acting and direction. Otherwise nothing carries the weight of the subject matter.
Spooky, scary, beautiful.
JaneBingley18 February 2022
For the first time since ever, I get a horror movie that is scary, well acted and with a beautiful story, and its not a slowburn! Amazing! This is so good, you care for the people involved and the horrors they go through.
Based on their mobile phones, this has to be set in present day. Because the police officer (the husband) has a new iPhone. However, both the two women have old, tiny flip phones, from the early 2000. And everything else (most cars, kitchen appliances, houses, clothes) look at least 20 years old.
I did not see the twist coming, but maybe you will :) I almost didn't watch this, because of the tacky cover. It reminded me of some B-movie from years ago. Very happy that my curiosity won over my prejudice.
Based on their mobile phones, this has to be set in present day. Because the police officer (the husband) has a new iPhone. However, both the two women have old, tiny flip phones, from the early 2000. And everything else (most cars, kitchen appliances, houses, clothes) look at least 20 years old.
I did not see the twist coming, but maybe you will :) I almost didn't watch this, because of the tacky cover. It reminded me of some B-movie from years ago. Very happy that my curiosity won over my prejudice.
Not terrible
markomundsen21 February 2022
Snoozefest of epic proportions...
paul_haakonsen24 March 2022
Initially I was lured in to watching "They Live in the Grey" given the movie's cover, but also because it was a horror/thriller that I hadn't already seen. And yeah, I did find the movie's cover rather interesting. So of course I opted to sit down and watch what writers and directors Abel Vang and Burlee Vang had to offer.
And as it turned out, then writers and directors Abel Vang and Burlee Vang didn't have a whole lot to offer. This movie is unfathomably slow paced. So slow and uneventful, in fact, that I was good and ready to give up on the ordeal a mere 35 minutes into the ordeal. The movie just utterly lacked momentum, and nothing worthwhile was happening in the insanely slow narrative.
Sure, actress Michelle Krusiec was doing a great job in portraying the troubled case worker Claire Yang, but come on, she virtually had nothing to work with in terms of a proper script and also had the pacing of the movie working against her.
This movie entirely fell short of entertaining me. It was simply too slow paced and too uneventful to provide me with any sense of entertainment or enjoyment. So "They Live in the Grey" is not a movie I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.
For a horror/thriller then "They Live in the Grey" just didn't deliver anything worthwhile and brought nothing interesting to the genre.
My rating of "They Live in the Grey" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars, and that is based on the production value and Michelle Krusiec's performance solely.
And as it turned out, then writers and directors Abel Vang and Burlee Vang didn't have a whole lot to offer. This movie is unfathomably slow paced. So slow and uneventful, in fact, that I was good and ready to give up on the ordeal a mere 35 minutes into the ordeal. The movie just utterly lacked momentum, and nothing worthwhile was happening in the insanely slow narrative.
Sure, actress Michelle Krusiec was doing a great job in portraying the troubled case worker Claire Yang, but come on, she virtually had nothing to work with in terms of a proper script and also had the pacing of the movie working against her.
This movie entirely fell short of entertaining me. It was simply too slow paced and too uneventful to provide me with any sense of entertainment or enjoyment. So "They Live in the Grey" is not a movie I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.
For a horror/thriller then "They Live in the Grey" just didn't deliver anything worthwhile and brought nothing interesting to the genre.
My rating of "They Live in the Grey" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars, and that is based on the production value and Michelle Krusiec's performance solely.
Boring
cinemagick27 February 2022
Extremely boring. Can't believe people like this get funding while hundreds of actually talented filmmakers wallow in obscurity. Anyway, this film is horrible. Weak narrative. Another movie with lazy structure masquerading as avant-garde. Nothing special or interesting.
I just couldn't get through it.
FreakyDarling14 March 2022
I really had hopes because of the description and the first actors listed. All the actors did well for what they were given. Honestly what I could get through was decent enough, but it drags on. Literally at the half way mark I stopped. I couldn't take the length of time they took for a lot of the scenes. I do try to finish most of what I watch, but when I saw it still had a whole other hour to it, I called it quits. And I've watched swill such as Terror Toons. That was years ago and a learning lesson that led to the reason for my inability to finish this movie.
It's not Bad, just longer than it needs to be.
teamcannon66 March 2022
I could be wrong but this film is suffering from a lack of editing. It feels like it's intentional. Trying to be more psychological in its pacing, but it's actually just taking a really long time to achieve something that it doesn't achieve. It's not bad, it's just treating the story as if it's wholly original in concept. It's not. The first hour can be summed up in 20 minutes max. If it started from there, Probably a 6.5 (7)/10.
Slow burner
christinecortes21 February 2022
Bad knock off of The Sixth Sense
kasmayo-8417628 February 2022
Mediocre Supernatural Horror
svenknight-6029817 February 2022
Just a terrible film.
frankblack-799611 April 2022
Great Ghost Story
twelve-house-books17 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This one should be on your shelf of Great Ghost Stories with I Am Dina, The Others, I Am A Ghost, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and The Sixth Sense. A social worker who is a closet clairvoyant takes a case that nearly gets her killed, and all along we get to see the various ghosts that she can see--some pretty disturbing. Beautifully acted, and stunningly shot with unique angles and perspectives.
Something different
natalietoi9 June 2022
Close...
BandSAboutMovies18 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Directed and written by brothers Avel and Burlee Vang (Bedeviled), this film is about Claire Yang (Michelle Krusiec) a social worker checking in on the case of Sophie Lang (Madelyn Grace) and her parents Audrey (Ellen Wroe) and Giles (J. R. Cacia). Yet Claire's life may be even tenser than those of her clients, as she lost her son Lucas in a hit and run accident and the aftermath broke up her marriage to Peter (Ken Kirby). Oh yeah - she also sleeps in her closet because she keeps seeing visions after that traumatic event.
Those visions increase when she visits the Yang family, so she steps away from their case. Yet Sophie keeps getting bruises that her family claims are supernatural. She's taken away from her parents, so Claire steps in to help. She attempts to contact the spirit - a woman in white - from the Lang home, but has an out of body experience and passes out. This costs her her job and she turns to her husband after finding some closure over the death of Lucas. Yet when she comes back home, the woman in white is there and informs her that she was trying to protect Sophie from Audrey. That's when she rushes back to the Lang home in the hopes of saving everyone.
They Live In the Grey is decent yet really feels like it could have been trimmed down somewhat. At almost two hours long, it feels like it can't decide whether it wants to scare you or have an extended conversation. With some tighter editing, I feel that this would have been a better film, but I'd love to know the intentions of the filmmakers.
Those visions increase when she visits the Yang family, so she steps away from their case. Yet Sophie keeps getting bruises that her family claims are supernatural. She's taken away from her parents, so Claire steps in to help. She attempts to contact the spirit - a woman in white - from the Lang home, but has an out of body experience and passes out. This costs her her job and she turns to her husband after finding some closure over the death of Lucas. Yet when she comes back home, the woman in white is there and informs her that she was trying to protect Sophie from Audrey. That's when she rushes back to the Lang home in the hopes of saving everyone.
They Live In the Grey is decent yet really feels like it could have been trimmed down somewhat. At almost two hours long, it feels like it can't decide whether it wants to scare you or have an extended conversation. With some tighter editing, I feel that this would have been a better film, but I'd love to know the intentions of the filmmakers.
A lesson in abysmal film editing
eternitycomplex27 August 2023
Want a quick lesson in how to take an otherwise competent film and flush it down the toilet with bad editing? THIS IS IT.
I don't know if the editor or directors deserve the blame. Enough coverage should be shot that an editor can sculpt the film to a watchable pace.
Almost every single shot in this movie exists on screen 2-3x longer than it should. Every single shot becomes a form of torture for a the progressively more disinterested viewer.
Oh but "the tone" you say, "the TONE". The tone of this film is boring. A director needs to work exceptionally hard to create characters and intriguing situations that would warrant the long, drawn out shots this film asks the audience to tolerate.
What a shame because scattered throughout the film are some truly memorable and unnerving horror moments. Ruined by the fact that the creative forces either couldn't or wouldn't trim the fat and edit it down to a reasonable 1hr30m run time.
I don't know if the editor or directors deserve the blame. Enough coverage should be shot that an editor can sculpt the film to a watchable pace.
Almost every single shot in this movie exists on screen 2-3x longer than it should. Every single shot becomes a form of torture for a the progressively more disinterested viewer.
Oh but "the tone" you say, "the TONE". The tone of this film is boring. A director needs to work exceptionally hard to create characters and intriguing situations that would warrant the long, drawn out shots this film asks the audience to tolerate.
What a shame because scattered throughout the film are some truly memorable and unnerving horror moments. Ruined by the fact that the creative forces either couldn't or wouldn't trim the fat and edit it down to a reasonable 1hr30m run time.
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