Reviewed by Rhianna Pratchett
Stars Jamie King, Terry Chen, Henry O, Regan Oey, Pei-pei Cheng | Written by Trevor Markwart
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 85 minutes | Directed by Ernie Barbarash
Straight out of success at the Toronto International Film Festival, They Wait has the strong feel of an Asian horror remade for a Western audience. But in fact it is an original story of a mixed race family — Sarah, the western mother (King), Jason, the Asian father and Sam, the westernised Asian son — who, after three years living in Shanghai, head home to a Chinese community in North America for a funeral.
On their return, Sam starts seeing ghost and demons and suddenly falls ill during the last days of the Chinese ‘hungry ghost’ month. This culminates in Sarah finding out that she only has a day left, to save her son from vengeful spirits. Spirits that she can now see too. The small cast are very strong. King’s performance certainly bodes well for The Spirit and Regan Oey as young Sam is both extremely good and aching adorable. An Asian Haley Joel Osment. The visuals are slickly done and provide just the right balance of jumpy and creepy.
Rather than full-out horror (although there are a few gory moments) this is much more of a traditional ghost story. It’s also reminiscent of Maria Bello and Sean Bean’s 2005 move The Dark, although it’s a stronger film in every respect. They Wait weaves in Chinese mythology, spiritualism and the past problems of the Chinese immigrant community in the US, very skilfully and provides a genuinely spooky tale.
EXTRAS ** Just the theatrical trailer, and interviews with cast and crew.