Name: They Wait in Shadows
Genre: Horror
Released: 2026-05-12
Duration: 1 h 35 min
Rating: 4.7
Cast: Meghan Adara, Keeley-Jo Jupp, Charlie Bentley

A really strong and effective psychological genre effort

After their mother's death, sisters return to their family home to sort through her belongings and try to reconnect their relationship, but the more they stay at the house, they come to believe that the spirits they conjured up with a Ouija board years earlier have returned and are haunting them.

Overall, this was a rather fun if slightly flawed genre effort. Among the better factors to be had here is the fun setup in place that manages to bring everything together in a great way, so that the sisters are not only quite sympathetic but also get the storyline going quite nicely. The early scenes here, bringing them together back to her mother's house to begin going through everything she had left, which brings them into contact with the Ouija board left behind that they used to escape the abusive home-life they encountered as kids and drove them apart as a result, set this up rather nicely. The fact that they have to learn how to be civil and respectable with each other, hanging out and talking about what they've been going through in the time apart, trying to hang out as sisters, and look to create a bond again as they go through the leftover items in the house gives the film a nice starting point by making the relationship feel normal and natural over time so that they're immensely sympathetic as a result. That makes the times when they're interacting with the demonic spirit tormenting them come off rather well by contrasting against the fun build-up. Going back and forth in time to show them as kids setting up the haunting when they play with the board game, the scenes involving them going about their lives, but getting caught up in the hallucinatory visions regarding the deformed spirits appearing, and bringing up the trauma each one shares from what happened, are quite chilling. With one constantly attacked for her appearance while the other is trying to get past the abusive history she shares, these bring about some great moments of the spirit playing off each of their traumatic memories and getting some really strong moments here. Seeing them being attacked and targeted in this blackened environment with these gruesome yet colorful deformed demonic entities constantly trying to reignite their repressed histories is a lot of fun as it sets into the twisted, unexpected finale, giving this a lot to like overall. There are a few small issues here that bring this down. The main issue on display with this one is the rather sluggish pacing that keeps the film moving at a steady but measured tempo that might not be agreeable with most out there. There's a lot to like about the main setup with the sisters being drawn back into each other's lives and trying to prepare for the next stage of their lives together, but it's all handled at a somewhat slow-going tempo that makes the film feel longer than it really is. With the interactions going for a more psychological tone, where it's infrequent but effective when it happens, that leaves the main focus here on their relationship, so there's a chance that this might make things feel far more drawn-out than they are. As well, the fact that the demonic spirits don't seem to have any kind of end goal in mind with their hauntings, simply causing hallucinations and dreams more than anything, without much purpose beyond the taunting and tormenting nature presented, makes the scenes feel somewhat jarring under this setup. Combined with the obvious low budget on display, these manage to lower this one slightly.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

The horror genre features stories that aim to elicit fear, suspense, and a sense of dread in its audience. Horror stories often explore themes related to the unknown, the supernatural, and the macabre, and they frequently evoke strong emotional reactions such as anxiety, terror, and unease.

Two sisters returning to their family home after their mother's death, only to confront the monsters they accidentally conjured with a Ouija board.

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They Wait in Shadows

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