Them ★★★½

FRENCH critics love certain foreign directors, including Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood and Roman Polanski.

But they especially love the late Alfred Hitchcock whose techniques continue to serve as a template for many thrillers.

Them, released in 2006, is a case in point; a nerve-jangling thriller full of Hitchcockian suspense where anything could come from anywhere at any time while still maintaining a grounding in reality.

This 77-minute film, directed and written by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, is based on actual events that occurred in Romania in 2002.

It starts with a very suspenseful opener with two women in a car by the side of a remote road at night. It’s masterfully done.

We then join a young French couple who are working in Romania and living in a stately country home.

But one night becomes a nightmare as they are forced to deal with trespassers.

Hitchcock was a master of maintaining suspense and anticipation within scenes and Them does this consistently, doing what horror film-makers can do best – show don’t tell.