The Strangers is the kind of horror film that slowly creeps into your head and will make you get up in the middle of the night to check the locks on your doors. It is a movie that builds the tension slowly and never really lets go.
Much of the film’s suspense come from the way writer/director Bryan Bertino keeps the majority of the scares off screen in the early goings of the movie. Rather than have a slashing away at people, Bertino keeps the film simple with loud knocks on the doors, and glances of the killers in the windows or background shots.
While this method gets old towards the end of the film, it works wonderfully in the early moments and really helps build the scares.
Similar in theme to Michael Haneke's 2007 film Funny Games, but with a much darker horror feel, The Strangers has a pretty straight forward plot and that always terrifying brand “Inspired by True Events.”
Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) return to Hoyt’s family house in the country after attending a friend’s wedding reception. It is late at night, and the couple starts the film off already emotionally drained.
It appears James thought the wedding would be the perfect place to pop the big question to Kristen, but she shot him down. Now they simply want to get through the night and James is going to split for a while for them to get their heads together.
They are talking about where they go next when there is a loud knock at the door (which has no peep hole to see who is knocking!). A voice from the other side asks “Is Tamara here?” After dismissing the girl, James leaves to get Kristen some cigarettes and the torment begins.
From that point on, the film is a pressure cooker. Three people (dawning mask you wouldn’t think spooky, but come across very good on film) slowly play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the couple that escalates from loud noises and messages on the walls to bloody death and torture.
The killers are virtually silent in their torment and remain behind their masks (with the exception of the woman who knocks on the door at the beginning). Perhaps the most chilling part of the film comes from their explanation for why they are on their killing spree – because the couple was home.
The movie takes several twists and turns, and I don’t want to spoil anything in this review. It has one of those love or hate endings, and I personally loved it.
Bertino made sure the film maintained a dark and sinister tone throughout the movie, and everything seems to be done to help sell the reality of the film.
Everything from the house to the furniture and props inside the home seem like something you would find in any home. Bertino’s use of a normal looking home with average props, dark natural lighting, and production colors helps make this film a little more scary.
Unlike some Hollywood slasher horror films, The Strangers feels real which makes it a little more frightening and really helps it get in your head. There is a sense that in today’s world this could really happen, and Bertino exploits that feeling to its full potential.
While I really enjoyed The Strangers, there are some problems with the film (mostly pacing issues) that did make it drag for me and I was ready for the end by the time it arrived. The killers torment the couple for what seems an eternity.
The banging on the walls and standing in shadows gets a bit old towards the end of the film, and you find yourself wishing they would just kill the people. Of course, this feeling matches what the couple is going through and their wish that the killers would just get it over with and stop the games.
The Blu-ray release of the film looks excellent with the 1080p high-definition picture the dark tones and browns really work to sell the natural lighting, and the details come across extremely sharp.
The sound is also a big plus for the Blu-ray release. The film uses loud boom knocks on the door or other off camera noises to create the atmosphere, and the Blu-ray helps those sounds set the mood – especially the eerie whispering of “Is Tamara here?”.
Sadly, the release is a little light on special features. There are two deleted scenes which don’t really add much to the movie, and a “making of” feature “The Elements of Terror.”
The feature is interesting to watch and has interviews with the cast and creators of the film. They discuss how the concept came about, its journey to screen, how important it was to get the house looking right, and how some of the effects involved were created.
The release also features the BD-Live: My Scenes Sharing where you can create your own movie clips to share with others. This is a feature some fans of Blu-ray and the film will enjoy.
Even with the faults, I really enjoyed The Strangers and felt it did an excellent job of slowly creeping into your head and haunting you for hours after you watch it.
The idea of someone breaking into your home and torturing you for hours for no reason is chilling. Bertino takes that concept and creates a film that is filled with a slow paced tension that provides more than a few jumps before it is finished.
The Strangers [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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