Welcome to The Attic, based on real events.

Last week I mentioned the French-Romanian horror film, Them, in passing but I wasn’t able to get into very much detail. This movie deserves its own post for so many reasons, but the biggest one is because it succeeds where so many fail: it actually freaks me out. Yes it is a foreign film, so there are subtitles but as I’ve said before, when the movie is scary enough, you hardly notice you’re reading. And let’s be honest, no one loves horror for the amazing dialogue. Being the first foreign film I ever watched, Them will probably always hold a special place in my heart but that doesn’t diminish the sheer brilliance that resides in this movie’s every move.

If you’ve seen the half-decent The Strangers, starring Liv Tyler, then you’ve seen the American knock-off of Them. But don’t take that to mean that if you’ve seen the remake, you have no use for the real one. What they have in common is a couple that is in a house in the country, completely alone until intruders begin to terrify them, and they are both based “on real events.” That is where the similarities end. What The Strangers failed to replicate is the sheer tension and uneasy atmosphere that Them effortlessly pulled off.

This movie is paced perfectly, and pulls you in very quickly yet gently. So smoothly that before you know it the film has a death grip on you and refuses to let go. You forget you’re reading, and you forget you’re watching a movie. One of the things I love most about all of the foreign horror films I’ve seen is how natural they feel. They’re not overly produced or overacted. You could swear you’re watching normal people in their daily lives, so it is a lot easier to get lost in the scenes and care about what happens to these characters. Them builds the tension to crazy heights, without use of fake jump-scares, shrieking music, or any gore whatsoever.

There is one last aspect to this movie that takes it from just scary to fucking disturbing, but I won’t spoil that here. All I will say is that just when you think you know everything about the story, there is one last piece of information that slaps you across the face and leaves you shocked. You won’t just flip the movie off as soon as the credits roll. I guarantee you will sit there in stunned silence, trying to comprehend the horrific nature of what you just watched. Not in terms of blood and guts, because as I said there is VERY little gore at all, and what blood you do see isn’t “used” in any way. Oh no, the horror will come solely from being disturbed at the final reveal of what was going on all along, and why. I can’t recommend this movie enough. And that very last scene… WOW. Just go watch it, now. Thank me later.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess