The Strangers Review
“Creeeeppppyyyy”
There are definetely situations I know I’d never want to be in. Sometimes those situations arise in movies and it makes the connection to the flick that much more. The Strangers is not a new story or situation by any means, but it does represent a terrifying possibility: What if help weren’t a phone call away? In this generation where cell-phones, texting, laptops etc. help keep us connected 24/7, is there anything more frightening to know that you may not be able to? Scream used the concept of cell phones to it’s advantage. The Strangers uses cell-phones as extensions of the people who can’t use them and to how lost we are without them.
Ok so that’s pretty critical and maybe a little hefty in the analysis. The Strangers is an above average horror movie that is truely creepy. From first time director Bryan Bertino, this movie looks and feels like a poor mans Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Which is a compliment, not a detraction. From the moment the movie starts, you care about the characters and what will happen to them from their little back story. I like that there isn’t much exposition, but enough to know you should care. There’s a history and clearly something at stake. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman do this in the little screen time dedicated to the topic at a wonderful rate.
Which brings me to the next exciting point. Once shit starts hitting the fan, it does so at a break neck pace, never really allowing the viewer to feel safe or take a deep breath. Our heroes always seem to be one step behind the heartless villains. Speaking of the villains they are pretty well done. They lack just the right amount of emotion and mess with the heroes enough to know something about them without them having to say a line. Tonally, visually and conceptually the movie is very well executed and certainly scary.
Which brings me to it’s detractions. Like many horror movies of this generation, there is a sense of “Why would you do that?” when watching the heroes. There are many moments in the movie where it seemed that they were doing what they were doing for the sake of making the situation more frightening as opposed to what a logical decision would be. Of course these moments mean you’re following the story, but also take you out of it for a moment as some of the situations seem written for that reason.
Other than that, The Strangers doesn’t try too hard to be scary and that’s what ends up making it scary. It doesn’t depend on gore or indestructible villains to be what it is. Ultimately, The Strangers is a very creepy movie and definitely worth checking out. I’m giving this flick a very solid 8 out of 10 Bones for being creepy, visually impressive and overall a good first effort for Bryan Bertino. Let’s just hope theres not any bad sequels.
RATING: 