Ils (2006)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

David Moreau
Xavier Palud

Writers:

David Moreau (writer)
Xavier Palud (writer)

Release Date:

20 April 2006 (South Korea)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The film that terrified Europe has come to America

Plot:

Lucas and Clementine live peacefully in their isolated country house, but one night they wake up to strange noise... they're not alone... and a group of hooded assailants begin to terrorize them throughout the night.

Plot Keywords:

Panties | Teenager | Kid Killer | School Teacher | Cigarette

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Olivia Bonamy	...	Clémentine
Michaël Cohen	...	Lucas
Adriana Mocca	...	Ilona (as Adriana Moca)
Maria Roman	...	Sanda
Camelia Maxim	...	Maria
Alexandru Boghiu	...	L'enfant
Emanuel Stefanuc	...	Adolescent n°1
Horia Ioan	...	Adolescent n°2
Stefan Cornic	...	Adolescent n°3
George Iulian	...	Adolescent n°4

Directed by
David Moreau
Xavier Palud

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Moreau		writer
Xavier Palud		writer

Produced by
Richard Grandpierre	....	producer
Bogdan Moncea	....	line producer
Vlad Paunescu	....	co-producer

Original Music by
René-Marc Bini

Cinematography by
Axel Cosnefroy

Film Editing by
Nicolas Sarkissian

Casting by
Floriela Grapini
Guillaume Moulin

Set Decoration by
Alexandra Botoi Tudorache

Costume Design by
Elisabeth Mehu

Makeup Department
Lidia Constantin	....	key hair stylist
Lidia Ivanov	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Cristian Bostanescu	....	executive in charge of production
Nicolas Dancel	....	unit manager
Elena Valeanu	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oana Ene	....	second assistant director
Franck Vestiel	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Germain Boulay	....	supervising sound editor
Yannick Boulot	....	sound recordist
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
François-Joseph Hors	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marion Lorthioir	....	post-synchronisation
Thomas Pietrucci	....	sound re-recording boom operator
Serge Rouquairol	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Ciurlin Melania	....	special makeup effects
Ionel Popa	....	prosthetic and makeup effect

Visual Effects by
Christophe Lucotte	....	color grader

Stunts
Dicu Aurel	....	stunt rigger
Mihaela Elena Oros	....	stunt double
Vasilescu Valentin	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Florin Mihalache	....	electrician

Transportation Department
Octav Tudor	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Andreea Iordache	....	location manager
Ruxandra Popescu	....	production accountant
Pierre Selinger	....	production attorney
Oana Topliceanu	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Eskwad
• Studio Canal (co-production)
• Castel Film Romania (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Ciné Cinémas (participation)

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metrodome Distribution (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Slowhand Cinema Releasing (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dark Sky Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Dark Sky Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• MPI Home Video
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Metrodome Distribution (2006) (UK) (all media)

Other Companies

• Castel Film Romania  production facilities

Also Known As:

Ils - Them (UK)
Them (USA)
Ekeinoi (Greece) [el]
Eles (Portugal) [pt]
Ellos (Spain) [es]
Onlar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Spiel oder stirb (Germany) (Pay-TV title) [de]
Them (Germany) [de]
Uhka (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and terror.

Runtime:

France:77 min

Country:

France | Romania

Language:

French | Romanian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 (with warning) | South Korea:15 | USA:R | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Eskwad

Trivia:

According to director David Moreau star Olivia Bonamy suffered from claustrophobia and much of her performance as she crawled through the narrow tunnels was the result of her genuine fear of the tight spaces.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Clementine drives to the house a crew member (most likely cameraman) is visible on the car glass.

Quotes:

Child: We just want to play with you... won't you play with us?

Tense as hell...

...but in the end you realize this is something you'll only watch once or perhaps twice. It's a perfect cinema experience however.

The sound work works really well in a theater. There is clearly a very eager and talented sound designer and editor responsible for creating most of the tension. Every single creak and footstep is perfectly placed for the best scares. The plot is the "weakest" part, but it's nothing you'll care about. The best thing is that it mercifully steers clear of all "jump" scenes we know and hate from American scary movies.

After the first act, lightning starts to come in more and more and almost replaces sound as the tension-maker. This is also done extremely well. Actually, this is probably one of the most well- made horror movies in a long time. Everything plays out perfectly; lightning, sound, camera-work(modern, but not annoyingly so) editing and cinematography.

Definitely worth watching for the technical aspects alone, but more so for the tension and the scares.