The Strangers

An unacknowledged Hollywood remake of the French horror movie ‘Them’ –  in which a couple in a remote holiday home are terrorised by a trio of nocturnal attackers – this suspense film by first-time writer-director Bryan Bertino initially squeezes some surprisingly effective scares out of familiar elements. Sadly, the scenario quickly becomes attenuated and unbelievable.

Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, having fallen out over a refused marriage proposal, spy barely glimpsed figures in Kewpie doll, Scarecrow and Betty Boop masks looming out of shadows – and the banging, frightening and chasing starts.

Tyler looks suitably vulnerable throughout; Speedman is hamstrung by his character’s penchant for dumb, self-endangering behaviour. It all goes utterly pear-shaped when Speedman’s pal turns up before dawn, while the ‘Funny Games’-derived coda vainly strives for an intellectual weight that the film has not earned.