Part-psychological thriller, part-horror film, They is a story about childhood fears and what happens when those early demons suddenly return in adulthood.

Like Rosemary's Baby and Jacob's Ladder, this independent feature explores whether the terrifying evil that can haunt children and grownups alike exists in the external world or originates only from within the psyche.

As soon as he read Brendan Hood's spec script, producer Tom Engelman was intrigued by "issues about the little things in life that frighten you. The dark garage, the closet in your bedroom, the space under your bed," says Engleman. 

"It had all of these really interesting textures and very relatable little moments of fear and yet it didn't quite have the central idea to it," says Engelman.

As the script was being developed, that missing theme suddenly presented itself one evening when Engelman's own young son woke up screaming from a night terror. "This started to key off lots of interesting possibilities for me and the other people at Radar Pictures," he explains.

With the story coming together, the next task was finding the right director, which proved to be an easy choice. "Radar Pictures sought out Robert Harmon," says Engelman.

Harmon directed the cult classic The Hitcher in 1985 and the action thriller Nowhere to Run; and for television HBO's Gotti  (the Director's Guild of America, Emmy and Golden Globe award-nominated production) as well as The Crossing, A&E's Peabody award-winning historical drama.

"He directed The Hitcher, which is really amongst horror and thriller fans a classic. We felt he would bring to this picture a kind of intensity and seriousness that felt really appropriate."

Once Harmon signed on, a bigger challenge loomed. "There was an impending writer's strike and an impending actor's strike and we realised we had about six weeks to prep the movie," says Engelman. As they were finalising the financing, the team rushed to secure stages and a crew in Vancouver and, of course, find their cast.

First up, the lead role of Julia needed to be filled. "It was an exhaustive search in New York, LA, San Francisco, and Canada, and about three months into it we were getting pretty discouraged," says Engelman. "The part of Julia calls for someone who is of course beautiful, vulnerable, and someone you can relate to…so that when her whole life starts to come apart you feel something." Finally, lightening struck. "When Laura walked in the door we knew immediately she was right for the part," he explains.

Regan was equally smitten. Says the actress, "I really was attracted to Julia as a character. She is very smart. She is a graduate student. She is very driven and determined. I think she embodies what a lot of young women are today. You can be female and ambitious and career driven and highly educated and go after everything you want, but sensitive to things and sweet."

In addition to identifying with the role, Regan found the cast and crew to be fun, friendly, and supportive. Although much of the responsibility for telling the story rested on the young actresses shoulders, she took the challenge in stride. Says Marc Blucas, who plays Regan's romantic interest, "Laura anchors the film. This is her movie, much like Sigourney Weaver in Alien."

Regarding the role of Julia's rock-solid EMT boyfriend Paul, Engelman says, "We needed someone in the movie who could ask all the questions the audience wanted to." Blucas was an easy choice to play the rational disbeliever who stays on the sidelines of the action. "He really brought not only the skill he has as an actor, but also the charm and strong magnetism that he conveys in all his parts," explains Engelman.

For his part, Blucas certainly had no problem relating to the main theme of the story, since he distinctly remembers his own childhood need to keep the boogeyman away. "The closet had to be closed but my bedroom door had to be open and the hall light had to be on," says Blucas. "Your imagination is much scarier that anything that is in the world really."

Ethan Embry plays Sam, the young bohemian painter whose childhood fears have also returned.

The story appealed to Embry because "everyone can identify with having nightmares as a kid." 

Says Engelman, "As the fiery, artistic, outrageous, comical, brilliant, passionate character of Sam The Artist, Ethan brought so much vitality and energy to the production." About the finished product Embry hopes "people will leave this theater scared… I think the one thing people will be identifying most with in this film is that everybody has nightmares. There is really nothing you can do to control them. Your body is a slave to it."

One of the reasons Dagmara Dominczyk, who plays Sam's equally-haunted roommate Terry, found her part so compelling was because it was her first movie set in contemporary times and her first role in a thriller.

"What I loved about it was this wasn't just your typical scary movie-teenage horror flick," says Domininczyk. "It deals with inner turmoil which I think is the scariest kind of scary movie."

Additionally, the concept behind They fascinated her. "I think it is really interesting, the demons we have inside. The ones we choose to deal with and the ones that come after us because we denied them."

First instincts are often the most inspired and Harmon was indeed the right choice to direct.

"Working with Robert Harmon has really been a pleasure for all of us," says Engelman. "He knows exactly what he wants. He is intensely visual and he never wants to step over the line into something that feels too obvious. He gives this particular audience that goes to a movie like this tremendous credit for being bright."

Adds Regan, "Robert is a very generous director because he will always allow you to have your own interpretation of the scene." And Blucas agrees that working with Harmon was "such a joy. He lets you find your way as an actor and comes in and fine tunes you from there."

So, how will They affect viewers? "That feeling of sheer panic of things that seemed completely safe and familiar during the day all of a sudden becoming hostile and frightening, that is really the feeling I want the audience to experience," says Engelman.

"That sense of real childhood terror." He adds, "I hope that after people have seen this movie they never quite look at an open closet or a dark garage or the space under their bed the same."