Them

Another Jordan Peele thing and another division of people into "crap" and "great" camps. The trailer promised an intense horror show, making Them perhaps one of the most anticipated things of 2021. Personally, I have to say that I have quite mixed feelings after watching it, because part of me wants to give it the best rating out of love for Peele and his excellent work, but the other part of me still feels that Them is inconsistent; I'm not entirely happy with the resulting genre mix, and I believe the idea could have been conceived better. Peele's intervention literally oozes out of some scenes, but for me this is not another Us or Get Out. The series starts off as a dense, atmospheric and uncomfortable social racial drama with some pretty crappy white characters. As it progresses it turns into a psychological journey into the minds of the characters and beyond their demons, and then becomes a full-on haunted house ghost story at the end. The problem is that the combination of all these elements isn't well balanced, and so passages are more likely to be divided by genre, rather than the genres being blended into the final idea the creators intended. I still see the final image as rather slightly positive, and the impression of racial intolerance that has been lingering with blacks all my life is decent in the end, but there was something missing from perfection, and when I compare it to the feeling after Us and Get Out, it's not as resonant or strong. Then again, the last episode was a bit of a mess for me, making it a weaker four stars from my perspective. (15.04.2021)

I’m thrilled, immediately after watching the last episode, I checked Rotten Tomatoes to see what critics and audiences were saying about this brand new horror masterpiece; and what a show of idiocy on all fronts. White assholes are bothered that it's another film/series about racism, black assholes are bothered that it exploits "black trauma" for genre entertainment (and that most of the hired directors dared not to be black), and professional critics are bothered that it's more a full-blown genre piece than thoughtful social commentary. The world has turned to shit. Shut up, for God's sake, and enjoy a beautifully made horror show, because that’s what THEM is: rough, fierce, sharp, unpleasant and terrifying. I have a few quibbles about the script (for example, Betts's plot line goes awkwardly awry at the end), but the abundance of directorial ideas and the amazing execution keep it safely afloat. One of the best genres pieces in recent years. (10.04.2021)

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)