They Wait (2007) Reviews

• Very Scary and Underrated Ghost Story

  claudio_carvalho2011-12-21

  Jason Tsai (Terry Chen), his wife Sarah (Jaime King) and their six year- old son Sam (Regan Oey) live in Shanghai and they need to travel to the Pacific Northwest in North America in the Hungry Ghost Month for the funeral of Jason's Uncle Raymond (Colin Foo). Raymond and Aunt Mei (Cheng Pei Pei) owned a family factory in the basement of their house, and Jason was raised by them. Further, Raymond founded a Benevolent Society fifty years ago and he was also known as The Bone Collector since he exhumed the bones of the immigrants and shipped them back to China. Sam begins to see spirits everywhere and a pharmacist (Henry O) feels that the boy and Sarah have sensitive souls and he advises that the Hungry Ghost Month is a dangerous period for people that can see spirits. He explains that angry ghosts can become demons and the realms of the living and the dead intercept and the dead can walk in the world of the living. Sarah and Aunt Mei do not like each other but they stay in her house. Sooner Sam mysteriously falls into a coma and the doctors can not find an answer for his problem. Sarah sees the ghost of a woman and finds a grave box in the former factory. She returns to see the pharmacist and he tells that the box belonged to a woman named Shen-Lu. Further, he tells that Sarah needs to go to the world of the dead to retrieve the soul of her beloved son. "They Wait" is a very scary and underrated ghost story, and one of the best I have seen this year. This DVD has been just released in Brazil and I had lower expectations based on the unfair IMDb User rating of 5.1. The screenplay is very well written with a complex ghost story. The special effects are excellent and in right doses. The scene when the stranger asks Sam if he likes ghost is one of the best I have ever seen in horror films. The beautiful Jaime King has great performance and I admire this actress very much since she is a survivor from heroin addiction. There are some minor mistakes in the edition that do not affect the final result. "They Wait", together with "Insidious" (2010), are the best horror films that I have seen this year. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Espíritos Famintos" ("Hungry Spirits")

• An Asian style ghost story without all the clichés

  Sabalon2008-05-27

  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.

• Scary stuff

  ctomvelu12011-03-12

  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.

• amazingly good

  parkville2010-06-30

  I am so accustomed to silly, poorly written and acted films on the SciFi channel it was an enormous surprise when this film aired last night. A bit too good of a surprise as I was so disturbed by a scare early in the film I ended up staying up entirely too late - too unhinged to go to bed and turn off the lights. I now know this wasn't made by the SciFi channel although I don't recall ever hearing of it before or seeing a theatrical release. Above average acting (the little boy and female lead are more than competent), an original plot and that scare toward the beginning of the film still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Really didn't see it coming - sounds as if it may be revealed in some trailer - DON'T WATCH THE TRAILER! Oh, and best of all, a real horror film, not that nauseating torture porn that passes as horror these days. Also - good cinematography and adequate special effects. There is so little decent horror made these days that isn't just played for laughs or the gross-out factor. Worth staying up to watch - I promise you won't desperately wish to get that 2 hours of your life back!

• Atmospheric thriller

  ctomvelu-12009-04-04

  Jaime Kinmg stars as a young mom in THEY WAIT, a murder mystery and ghost story rolled into one. She travels to the state from her home in Shaghai to attend a funeral. Weird things begin to happen almost immediately, including the son sliding into a trance-lie state and a mute young Chinese woman popping up and then disappearing again. Lovers of ghost movies, especially ones with a revenge plot, will figure out the plot early on, but they are likely to be surprised by the ultimate solution. We get a little Chinese folklore mixed in to spice things up. King is the only recognizable name in the cast, and appears in virtually every scene. She does a fine job as a harried mother trying to make sense of the many odd things that happen to her. The movie is atmospheric and occasionally scary. It is in the vein of THE OTHERS and SIXTH SENSE.