Ils



Ils (Them in English) is a 2006 French horror film set in a remote country setting of Romania.

Clémentine (Olivia Bonamy) is a French teacher who has recently moved to Romania with her partner Lucas (Michael Cohen). One night, they hear strange noises and investigate. From there, it gets worse. It turns out that

Ils was well received for maintaining excellent tension throughout (the film only lasts for around 75 minutes, but this is not to its detriment) and for being a scary film without the use of much gore. Most of the scares are of the Nothing Is Scarier variety, with the intruders often just tormenting the couple For the Evulz. The film is also notable for having relatively little dialogue. It's not a feature which has too much attention called to it, but this is a film that people who shy away from subtitled films could manage quite well.

Not to be confused with Them, a 1950s creature feature, They, a thriller from the early 2000s, or the 2008 horror film The Strangers, which has a similar premise.

Tropes used in this film:

 * Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Justified/Averted/Played Straight, whether they are mere sewers (played straight) storm drains (justified, as they need to be larger to allow greater flow of water) or maintenance tunnels underneath a highway (averted, as they are meant to be accessible to people.)
 * Bloodless Carnage: For the film, anyway. Despite being terrifying, the film is almost completely goreless. What is shown is very subtle, and not Squick-inducing at all.
 * Danger Takes a Backseat: Happens in the prologue.
 * Eye Scream:
 * Foreshadowing: Quite a bit, including the shot of Lucas turning off a TV, which has the hallway reflected in the screen, while the program has  running past the area the reflection covers. Also, see Fridge Brilliance below.
 * Fridge Brilliance: For most of the film the Hell Is That Noise sound is not immediately identifiable. But after The Reveal, and the shot showing what makes the sound,  it becomes apparent that the sound is Foreshadowing The Reveal.
 * Hope Spot: In the form of
 * Hot Teacher: Clémentine.
 * Idiot Ball: Averted. The characters don't seem to even own one. They do all the right things, but their tormenters are just very good at being one-step ahead.
 * It Got Worse: If Clémentine thought getting her car stolen was bad...
 * Nothing Is Scarier: The intruder's main method of torment.
 * The Reveal:
 * Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Played straight.
 * It Got Worse: If Clémentine thought getting her car stolen was bad...
 * Nothing Is Scarier: The intruder's main method of torment.
 * The Reveal:
 * Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Played straight.
 * The Reveal:
 * Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Played straight.