Typically when written works are adapted to film, it is because of the truly phenomenal nature of the piece. Having watched They Remain but not read the short story on which it is based, I feel like something was missing in the adaptation process. The plot is intriguing–cults, isolation, hauntings, oh my!–but the resolution falls a bit short. William Jackson Harper, known for his role as Chidi in The Good Place, gives an exemplary performance that is one of the best I have seen from an actor in indie horror. Some of the dialogue, specifically from Rebecca Henderson’s character, feels forced and reminds me that I am indeed watching a scripted movie. However, the music and sound design, as well as the cinematography (specifically the framing), are amazingly artful and anxiety-inducing.
