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The Strangers (2008)
Director: Bryan Bertino
Movie review
From Time Out New York
To paraphrase H.P. Lovecraft, terror comes from the anticipation of intense fear, while horror is what happens when such promises are delivered upon. Writer-director Bryan Bertino’s debut demonstrates a true talent for staging the former; this based-on-true-events potboiler about a couple being stalked shreds your central nervous system with an impressively professional poise.
After blatantly lifting the baritone intro from the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Bertino sets the scene: James (Speedman) and Kristen (Tyler) are spending the night in his parents’ remote country house. Cue odd noises, cut phone lines and the sudden appearance of a hulking masked figure (his introduction, done with complete silence, is a peerless example of suspense through economy). Soon, two more killers show up. And then the screaming starts.
Bertino understands the effectiveness of withholding release while ratcheting up the tension, and the way he patiently engineers this nightmarish ordeal is gloriously grueling. It’s the horror part that he hasn’t yet mastered; once escape options are eliminated, the film reverts to the stock vocabulary of slasher flicks and merely becomes Funny Games with a straight face. Bertino’s cat-and-mouse chase is genuinely terrifying. If the director learns how to make what happens once the mouse is caught just as interesting, he’ll have a long, prosperous future ahead of him.
Author: David Fear
Time Out New York Issue 661: May 29 -June 4,2008
User reviews of this film
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- Trudes said...
- Posted on Mar 14 2009 10:48 Good movie, very suspenseful, and not too much gore... Joe is obviously an imbecile
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- sherelle said...
- Posted on Mar 10 2009 17:22 I adored this film. Its everything a horror movie should be, creepy, suspensful and very true to life. The most frightening thing about this movie is that it could actually happen, theres no cheesy CGI effects and it does not rely on gore. Its shows you that the one place in the world you feel safe may not be as safe as you think
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- Hector Abel said...
- Posted on Nov 11 2008 19:13 I can seeit over and over again.Liv Tyler is perfect.Scott Speedman is not in Tylers league,but soon he will.Shocking!
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- Matt said...
- Posted on Sep 11 2008 17:14 What the hell is Joe talking about? He obviously has no imagination! I spent the whole film glued to the edge of my seat. It was everything a suspenseful horror film should be, full of jumps, jolts and scares as well as bags of atmosphere. The creepy country tunes on the record player were a particularly effective touch I thought. Plus at less than an hour and a half, it doesn't outstay its' welcome. Yeah it might not be original, but as a nerve shredding chiller it does the job.
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- Joe said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 19:46 This absolutely the worst film I have ever seen. Please do not waste your time. There is no plot so do not be fooled by the misleading review above. You will watch two people freaked out by noises be caught with no resistance whatsoever. They will be tied to a chair and each stabbed with a knife that's it. A senseless random murder. As bad as The Ruins movie was, it smokes this. I guarantee you will be disappointed.
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- Cynthia Tinney said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 10:47 Just when you think you have seen it all...The Strangers appear. Brilliantly suspensful and truely an insightful delve into the pshche where the innermost terror anyone might experience is faced, unleashing our most primal fears, unsuspected and random home invasion. Why? "Because you were home!"
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Cast & crew
Director: Bryan Bertino
Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton full cast
Rated: R
Duration: 90 mins
US Release: May 30 2008
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