Michelle Krusiec plays Claire, a social worker who is also clairvoyant, a "gift" that has her constantly on edge. She is plagued by visions in her own home, where she lives alone after separating from her husband (Ken Kirby), and also feels very much weighed down by the grief of losing her only child. When tasked with evaluating the home life of a young girl (Sophie, played by Madelyn Grace) who has been developing lots of bruises and scratches, Claire soon sees a woman (Mercedes Manning) who may well be a spirit causing the problems. Despite Sophie's parents (played by Ellen Wroe and Bernard Bullen) being aware of their problem, it's not the kind of thing that most people can accept, or believe, which means that they may still see their child taken away by the Child Protection Service.
Written and directed by Abel and Burlee Vang (who were last behind the camera for the silly, and fairly average, Bedeviled), They Live In The Grey is quite a step up for the film-making duo. It's well put together, the acting is excellent throughout, and it tries to mix some standard jump scares with a sense of melancholy throughout, especially when we see flashbacks to Claire's happiness before tragedy strikes.
Sadly, this is also a bit too derivative, and the runtime (just a shade over two hours) doesn't help. I am sure you can already figure out the modern cinematic works that this calls to mind, which saves me from naming a couple of them, but that wouldn't be so bad if the third act felt stronger. Knowing what the movie is aiming for, however, makes things a bit predictable and disappointingly neat and tidy.
Krusiec is very good in the main role, able to convey the sense that she is struggling to help people while constantly having to evaluate her surroundings and keep track of what is real and what isn't. Grace puts in another decent performance, already impressing me with her range displayed in this and Don't Breathe 2. Wroe and Bullen do well to avoid going too big with their performances, especially considering one or two of the main scenes that they're involved in. Kirby delivers a decent supporting turn, Manning is an enjoyable spirit, and there are some more good moments that feature the likes of Kevin Indio Copeland and Krystle Martin.
There are more positives worth mentioning. The music by David Williams is a very appropriate accompaniment to the visuals. There's some crisp and lovely cinematography from Jimmy Jung Lu (although some moments are deliberately "murky" as characters struggle to stay away from potential frights). Nothing feels mishandled when it comes to the technical side of things.
I'd definitely recommend this to horror movie fans. Just be warned that you need to have a bit of patience with it, and you might not be happy at how familiar it feels at times. It's definitely well done though, and I think the main storyline and the well-staged scares outweigh the negatives.
7/10
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