Serious and provocative, the movie They Remain comes to the big screen looking for a horror fan based audience to carry the box-office. It has some good things going for it with its original storyline and a cast that can create unusual characters. While the film does hit these two hot buttons, lack of experience in the direction department and a low budget hurt the film somewhat. If you are a die-hard fan of terror flicks that put you in a trance and slap you at the end to wake you up, then this is your movie to see this weekend.
Keith (William Jackson Harper) and Jessica (Rebecca Henderson) arrive by chopper to a base in a large clearing set up to search for clues. Their job involves finding out if the cult that lived in the area only killed the victims that were identified following their police take down. Keith has been hired to set up cameras in a number of locations in the expansive forest located on the property now owned by the company. He has also been assigned to dig up anything that resembles human bones or other evidence.
Jessica is brilliant in the lab, but has not been tested in a field operation situation by the company. Her job is to identify the objects brought in by Keith and pass the information on to the firm. She has degrees in Biology, Genetics and Field Research and basically runs the operation from a prefab enclosure. Although she’s well educated her ability to be alone with another person for months may be a shortfall for her.
The cult being examined was a murderous group that would lure runaways, homeless, and street urchins to their encampment and would regularly kill one of them in their rituals. Director and writer Philip Gelatt does his best to keep the suspense going throughout the movie. His musical score filled with bumps and thumps does the trick. As they did back in the day, keep the audience on edge by creating an atmosphere of dread and Gelatt certainly does in They Remain.
Adding to his success is the camera work by Sean Kirby who has pointed his camera on 47 projects. His shots of the forest are magnificent grasping the magnitude of the large property. His tight shots capture the action and even when he pulls back everything is in focus changing violence at times into beauty.
As for the acting, both leads carry equal complements. Never breaking character, William Jackson Harper and Rebecca Henderson are at first businesslike and then daunting in their roles. Harper’s Keith feels like he has the forest completely canvased on camera, and he does. His “eyes in the woods” scan the area for him as he looks for clues that may solve the mystery of the cult’s victims. Harper has had a number of roles that include TV’s “The Good Place” as Chidi Anagonye and Evert in the movie Patterson.
His co-star Henderson gives a very good performance as Jessica the base operator who wants to see what’s outside their encampment. She starts to go into the woods without telling Keith to show her “worth” and comes up with a valuable clue. But, something has gotten to her and things are getting a bit weird.
The film has a major drawback that may bother action oriented filmgoers. The movie works on mystery and suspense and for that audiences have to bear with the long isolated camera shots, a slow developing storyline and strange music used to heightens suspense. But, hang in there because the payoff may make up for it. I’m not a big fan of the technique, but most horror fans should not have a problem with it.
They Remain has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains, violence, sex, nudity and language. The film works on a low budget, yet the camerawork looks very professional.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A well-acted and filmed movie. (2.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information
Cast: William Jackson Harper and Rebecca Henderson
Directed and written by: Philip Gelatt
Genre: Horror, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not rated, contains language, violence, sex and nudity
Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.
Release Date: March 2, 2018
Distributed by: Paladin
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
