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Like most art, this film seems to be as much a reflection of the audience as it is a message apart. In some way, this might be interpreted as a modern story about the dawn of subjective consciousness. In another, it could merely be pointing out how we really do not fully understand the world we have created for ourselves, and how trying to do so becomes an exercise in futility. Some might just see it as a meaningless piece of existential banality. Each interpretation is probably correct in reflecting the interpreter's view of the movie. All that aside, the production values were excellent, the pacing was even, and the acting was generally well done. There is no powerful story to carry the viewer through the roughly ninety minutes. It is more like interpretive dance than ballet. As such, character development was practically non-existent. It was very hard to get invested even in the main character, Daniel, who played a pawn in a poorly defined game.

Some say art is something that creates emotion without agenda, be it love or hate, excitement or numbing, joy or disgust. 'Them' seemed to provoke frustration in the way the Assistant and her brother, Sleepwalker, acted upon Daniel, who was more like a project than a person. The Assistant, Rebecca Calienda, had some particularly compelling moments, well shot, but was relegated to an excessive amount of voice-over narrative. The Sleepwalker, played by Alex Reece, could be easily mistaken for a James Marsden performance. There may be a small lesson about the ineffectiveness of immense power, but that just might be me.

If my review does not seem to tell you anything, you probably will not want to watch the movie.

The COVID-19 pandemic cast an ugly pale across 2020, a year ending on a lockdown note. If you are unfortunate enough to be spending Christmas alone, you have my sympathy and a suggestion. Watch 'Surviving Christmas' on some streaming service (e.g., Amazon Prime), and you might feel better about being in lockdown. Aptly titled, this feature film starts Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, and others ad-libbing their way through a storyline that makes a Saturday Night Live skit feel like Dickens' Christmas Carol. Mr. Affleck's performance may explain why Jennifer Garner left him. The story is often crude, at times barely lewd, almost always rude, and lamely tries at the very last minute to slap on a happy ending like lipstick on a pig. In other words, the perfect 2020 Christmas Story, damn it!

I know, both 'Comic Book' and 'Film' seem out of date, but this movie may be the index case for the 21st century version of merging both. Ragnarok seemed to capture the cocky adolescence of traditional comic books while delivering the big screen visuals one expects from a theater film. The acting was slightly better than most superhero films, too. Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange cameo was well done. Chris Hemsworth was much funnier than in Ghostbusters. Even Kate Blanchett's character showed some texture and pathos in spite of her limited appearances. Humor was well placed, and special effects were first class. The music and sound effects were both better orchestrated and less intrusive that usual.

On the unseemly side, Anthony Hopkins did seem to phone in his limited role, Mark Ruffalo seemed to have been dragged into his role, and Karl Urban seemed underused. As for the plot, this is a comic book story.

BTW, stay for all the credits.