Valkyrie Kerry and Brett Dyer
They Live in the Grey is a very heavily layered movie that intertwines a ghost story with a tale about loss. Claire Yang is a social worker estranged from her husband Peter following the tragic death of their son, the details of his death unfold steadily throughout the narrative. Claire sleeps in a cupboard to escape the gift bestowed on her, her ability to see spirits. These spirits appear vengeful and aggressive as Claire refuses to pursue any form of communication with them. At the opening of the film her visions are questionable in that she does not address them, and they appear to be a manifestation of her grief.
This movie is told through ongoing switches from current events to flashbacks which suggest that her gift predates her son’s death and may have been linked to it. Claire is given a new case, the case of Sophie Lang. As a social worker she is extremely lenient towards the parents, partially due to her own demons that have arisen from her son’s death. Sophie’s school repeatedly make reports to Child Protective Services as Sophie suffers multiple and ongoing wounds and offers poor excuses.
Claire attends the house and finds it to be haunted, she psychologically witnesses the presence of the ghost and physically experiences the activities of the poltergeist. Sophie is not forthcoming about her injuries but shows an awareness of the ghost’s presence as does the family.
As Claire delves deeper into the lives of the Langs she is forced to face her own guilt over her son’s death and accept the gift she has. The Lang family are not the desperate victims that they appear to be, Peter, Sophie’s father, had an affair whilst her mother was pregnant with her. The mother, Audrey, has not forgiven this transgression. The ghost seems to attack Audrey and Sophie, although appearances can be deceptive.
Claire, concerned that the family are being wrongly accused, steps out of the grey, the shadow of grief, fear, and shame, faces her own past and communicates with the spirits haunting her, including Sophie’s apparently malevolent ghost.
This is an extremely slow yet haunting film. The cautious pace is necessary to mislead the audience in preparation for what is a terrible twist ending, both in terms of Claire’s role in her son’s death and the truth about the Langs. The guilt Claire carries, the burden that torments her, is clear from the outset. The pacing allows the depth of this burden to unfold and be transferred directly to the viewer. Her guilt also impairs her perception, just as the Lang’s perception is impaired by the unwanted intrusion of the spirit.
They Live in the Grey steps into the realms of Japanese horror in which the true horror arises from the absent or neglectful parent and the haunting spirit is a manifestation of parental failure or inner turmoil. It can be likened to The Grudge, The Ring and Dark Water, the pacing and wide angled shots are most like the latter. It is worth noting that at times the wide images make viewing difficult and as such reduces potential for inciting fear.
Fans of The Sixth Sense will enjoy this movie, the protagonist’s complete inability to face the truth permeates throughout, alongside a plethora of troubled spirits who are simply calling for help. There are definitely some very creepy moments that will cause shivers and overall it is an acceptable film and it sets Claire up as a new Elise Rainier, but it does not have the impact of its Japanese counterpart, perhaps because at times it is a little too slow.