There's a New Horror Film on Netflix That Will Leave You Reeling

By Ryan Roschke

Netflix seems to have hit quite the sweet spot when it comes to the horror genre. Not only are there are plenty of exceptional scary flicks in the catalog, but recent months have yielded new arrivals packed with seriously good scares. Back in April, we got a dose of fresh terror from Hush, a cabin-in-the-woods feature with a deaf and mute heroine. May yielded six notable horror additions, and among them was a creepy new film called They Look Like People. The title alone is enough to draw some serious intrigue, but is the movie actually worth a watch? Let's break it down.

  1. The story is simple. Christian is just your average nice guy. He's trying to empower himself with confidence so he can kick more ass and maybe win the affection of his boss, Mara. An old friend, Wyatt, shows quite arbitrarily and asks to crash for a few days. The thing is, Wyatt has come to suspect that the world population is under siege and everyone around him is turning into a monster.
  2. The premise is terrifying. So, a little more on Wyatt's story. He — for quite some time, it seems — has been receiving late-night phone calls warning him of the impending end of the world. The monsters who are infiltrating society look like people, but they're not. Wyatt has a special sensitivity to these unearthly creatures; he can sense when someone has "turned." His goal is to save himself (and his friend Christian) before everything falls apart.
  3. The tension is unbearable. If the premise wasn't unsettling enough, a few sequences in the movie will have you crawling out of your skin. For one, Wyatt's disturbing dream sequences weave a consistent thread throughout the film, and let's just say his nightmares are enough to give you nightmares. In another scene, he contemplates suicide . . . with a nail gun. And of course, the ending will have you biting off each and every one of your fingernails. It's almost unendurable.
  4. The ending is ambiguous. Without giving too much away — though we're sure you can kind of figure out what happens — the ending is really, really up to interpretation. You can argue either side until the sun comes up, but you can't definitively say what really happens. That's kind of the beauty of the film and maybe the most horrifying part. Not knowing for sure is perfect and disturbing, all at once.