They Wait

Don't get me wrong, I love The Ring, The Grudge, and most J-Horror movies with the jerky movement ghosts and tales of revenge.

However this movie seemed to be able to communicate the same concepts that make the Asian ghost stories so intriguing without resorting to all the same clichés. And when they do decide to throw in a jump scene, it is usually not where you expect it or completely out of nowhere.

It is a simple story that has been told over and over, but this adds and Asian twist with concepts such as Hungry Ghost Month and Spirit Money without alienating a western audience.

Overall the story is pretty predictable and that is the only downside to this movie. Once you figure out what is going on, it's pretty much a "which road will they take to the end" as opposed to a surprise around each corner. The acting is pretty decent for this type of flick. The kid actually does a good job - never know how they will do in these.

I would recommend this if you want to introduce some of the elements of a good Asian horror story without all the oddness that is directly copied in some of the other remakes. Many of the concepts of the genre are there without the kabuki inspired movements.

Oh no, they didn't let them rest. And now they have awakened. Or something of the sort. They used all the clichés of the genre: Chinese obscure habits, disturbed bones, demons that take a child hostage while the mother must perform some sort of task while no one is helping except "the old sage". Also the usual scene that begins in a way and ends in blood or scary deformed faces or other things like that. Don't forget the sudden loud violin sounds and sudden movements.

Yes, you have seen it before. And as long as you will watch this kind of recycled junk, you will continue seeing it. My advice is to boycott such farces and make way for real movies.

I have reviewed this under another name. I saw it again today and am as impressed with it now as I was on first viewing. Jamie King and family return to North America after living in China. Her young son falls ill and apparently is possessed by a vengeful spirit. As she seeks to find a way to save him, King begins to unravel an unspeakable mystery involving Asians working in a nearby sweatshop. To say more would be to give it away. This is a terrific little ghost movie/crime flick with plenty of scary images and some moments that will make you jump right out of your seat. Some Chinese folklore is woven into the plot, although I do not know if is the real thing or not. Highly recommended. It pops up on cable once in awhile.

I'm not sure how I discovered this little gem but I'm very glad I did. This is a fantastic original story with a creepy moody atmosphere, fair to middling(tho not brilliant) acting and nice cinematography. The kid portraying the youngster is particularly good as well as being cute as a button, which makes things all the more creepy in certain parts of the movie. Unfortunately the actor playing his mother is very wooden which is a shame as she is central to the movie. There is definitely a lack of chemistry between her and the other characters which again undermines the quality of the movie.

On the plus side it has a great original story - this is so important and a bit of a rarity these days. The editing, direction and camera work is top notch and they don't resort to any fancy or pretentious camera tricks. This has it's down side as it could have benefited from at least a little more creativity in the camera work but on balance I'd rather have straight forward visuals than obvious cliché camera tricks. Also worth noting is the special effects which are done extremely well and the, at times, brilliant set pieces. One scene involving a lady vomiting stands out and my favourite was the awesome but all-too-brief appearance of the "guardian". If I have one real criticism of the movie it would be that it needed more scenes like that. I also appreciated the unique revenge sequences.

This is hugely under-rated and unfairly slammed in these reviews. Yes there are better horror &/or ghost stories in existence but this one is definitely one of the better produced and more original of the also- rans. It's also clearly aimed at a family audience as opposed to "adult" so it has dialogue that seems a little unrealistic at times & suffers because of it. But that can easily be over-looked.

Steering well clear of typical clichés and delivering enough shivers & scares to satisfy, this movie is perfect for anyone who enjoys creepy spook flicks. If you're looking for slasher/torture porn and the like you won't find it here. But if you're looking for an atmospheric and entertaining movie for the family to watch this is one of the better ones.

I was also interested in the back story (relating to an animal welfare issue I wont disclose so as not to spoil the story) and impressed that it incorporated an issue that I have a personal interest in. I wish they'd made a little more of that sub-plot but that's just my own interests. Mostly I was pleased to see it being raised in the movie - even as a bit of an aside.

Grab this one and some popcorn & beverages and gather the family round this Halloween.

PS This movie is guaranteed 100% Shaky-cam Free!

Seeing THEY WAIT at the Vancouver Festival, people were screaming at the scares, and the audience broke out into applause after a tense, white-knuckle 89 minutes. THEY WAIT leaps into action with a highly engaging first half, and then escalates quickly into a harrowing and riveting second part. Surprisingly strong performance from Jaime King and excellent turns by the rest of the cast. THEY WAIT - quite frankly - really does have blockbuster theatrical hit written all over it as another commentator has said, and has remarked the only legitimate print journalist to review it so far; everything, from the visuals to the performances, seems to be operating at a Hollywood movie level, far beyond its budget and seemingly nothing like the usual unpopular and noncommercial Canadian film disasters. Does this film mark the return to the days when Canadian films like SCANNERS or PORKY'S could take the box office crown away from the Hollywood studios? People applauding at the end, swarming around the lobby talking about how good it was -- that tells you everything you need to know about the reception to the film by an audience. With a decent release and a good ad campaign, this will be a hit. Though not perfect -- there is a certain clunkiness to a flashback sequence, for example -- the film is a revelation in doing what it sets out to do. It bangs virtually every mark. Director Ernie Barbarash has grown leaps and bounds from his previous efforts with the mediocre to dull low-rent CUBE ZERO and has hit the Hollywood Standard here. This film shines and looks and sounds terrific.

Paul Kael @ rotten tomatoes