Whilst the likes of Netflix and Amazon hold most of their original films hostage on their platforms, Shudder allows their content to be more widely released. For the last few months Acorn Media International have been releasing Shudder titles on DVD, the most recent being They Live in the Grey.
Directed by Abel and Burlee Vang, They Live in the Grey tells the story of clairvoyant social worker Claire (Michelle Krusiec). When she is handed a new child protection case, a young girl called Sophie (Madelyn Grace – Don’t Breathe 2), she notices that the child is covered in scratches and bruises. Sophie says the injuries are from reckless skateboarding, but it’s not long before Claire senses that there is something else in her house… something sinister.
Claire is a character with far more layers to her than just being a social worker or clairvoyant. She is also battling with her own grief, having lost her son. Her anguish is made worse by her gift; the ghost of her son literally haunts her. The manifestation of her grief clouds her judgments and is preventing her from moving on with her life. Separated from her husband, Claire is struggling on every level possible. Whereas her work had once offered a respite from her pain, this new case causes more harm than good. Claire connects to Sophie immediately and the emotional investment stirs up feelings that she has been trying to quash.
Whilst Claire is swimming through her grief, attention shifts to Sophie and her household. It’s a toxic environment; her parents are always at each other’s throats. The dynamic of the family screams domestic abuse, but there is a supernatural element to the house. Scenes within the house are sheathed in malice and tension. A scene around the dinner table grasps the viewer in a vice-like grip before delivering a vicious shot of aggression.
These two stories interlace and weave around each other. The issue is that neither has a vast amount of meat on the bones. In most films this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but here, thanks to an elongated run time, the absence of more intricacy is felt hard. Long chunks of the film meander, wallowing in Claire’s melancholy without going anywhere. If the pace had been smoother, They Live in the Grey could have been something really special. As it stands though, the slow slog through its story drags the piece down. Not as great as it could be, but They Live in the Grey is made respectable by a couple of brilliantly intense sequences.
They Live in the Grey
Summary
They Live in the Grey is a rare left of centre miss for the Shudder juggernaut.
They Live in the Grey is available on DVD now.
