Clem and Lucas are a French couple living out in the Romanian countryside. One night, while they are sleeping Clem is awakened by a strange noise so her and Lucas go to investigate. They see someone driving their car away and soon a series of noises, phone calls and lights start to terrorize them, forcing them to leave the house to try and find help.

One major thing Ils got right, and I mean really, really right, was the dark. So often in horror movies the dark looks like one of two things. Either it’s dark outside but you can tell there are lights set up somewhere, giving everything a spot-lit look or it’s so dark you can’t tell what the heck is going on. Here, you could see everything without any telltale lights or shadows, giving you the feeling of being right there in the midst of all the terror.

The second major thing done right is the location. The couple have recently moved into an old mansion out in the middle of a woody nowhere. The house is enormous, much more than two people need and you can see where someone could stalk you throughout without you being the wiser. Hell the attic alone could house five different serial killers without any of them knowing the others were there. Plus they were remodeling so there was thick sheets of (murder) plastic hanging everywhere already.

I was skipping along merrily through the whole movie until we discover exactly who “them” are. Sure, I get how it could happen and I even understand how fear can trip you up but the actions of our protagonists after learning who was after them bugged me a little. I think more confidence should have been restored with the knowledge.

The actors were believable, I bought that they were terrified and felt hopeless. The sound effects, score and cinematography were all excellent as well. This was a beautifully crafted film full of tension and atmosphere. With a run time of only 77 minutes there isn’t a second wasted. Ils is a very strong, very scary movie that I would recommend to anyone.