The film opens with three Chinese men out hunting in some large-treed British Columbian forest. One of the hunters is treated to the unusual site of a tree which bleeds and backing up, ends up caught in his own bear trap. There may be a wee bit of plot telegraphing going on in the opening sequence. Jump back 50 years to a lush credit sequence (and make no mistake, the lighting and interior cinematography on display throughout is very, very good) has human bones being sterilized, meticulously packaged and shipped back to Shanghai.

The film then settles down with a Canadian family living in Shanghai. Jason is the nephew of Chinese business owners who immigrated to Vancouver in the 1940s and ran successful import/export and tailoring business. He has taken his white wife and 5 year old son out to Shanghai in his business pursuits that have gone on longer than expected. When he gets word that his Guardian (and owner of the family business) has passed on, it’s time for the family to head back to Vancouver for the funeral. Immediately after the funeral both Sarah and Sammy start to see ghosts around the family residence and factory. A ghost looking like it walked out of Miike’s Imprint scares Sammy enough to put him in a coma. And mom must figure out the supernatural story with the help of the local pharmacist with the occasional tidbit investigation reporting passed along from vet character actor and fan-favourite Michael Biehn (although someone explain to me what favours Micheal Biehn owed the filmmakers here, as he has two brief expositional walk-ons which don’t amount to much, leaving his presence pretty much a casting red herring). It is nice to see director Ernie Barbarash (Cube Zero) has attempted to combine North American ghost story trappings with Asian visual elements to make something that is not a remake.

Jamie King, perhaps best known for her small role in Sin City, credibly plays the mother out to save her son from peril. She makes a solid impression here, even as the script more or less lets her run around chasing plot points (the notable exception being a dinner with Aunt Mei (Chang Pei Pei)). All of the acting and technical elements in the film are quite top notch, but not spirited (heh.) in any unsettling way. Everything merely moves along to the inevitable explanation of the whole affair and quickie wrap up. When your picture looks this good, yet sound cues drive most of the tension – that is a major problem. I supposed They Wait is a pleasant enough diversion for folks who are not to picky about their genre entertainments and want the scary moments painstakingly telegraphed. It hints at many elements that could have gone in more subversive and interesting directions with a more involved screenplay. While the film doesn't achieve the lofty heights of Ginger Snaps or Dumplings, I still look forward to see what Barbarash and team could do with a better screenplay.