The Strangers (2008)
Average Rating: 5/10
Reviews Counted: 150
Fresh: 68 | Rotten: 82
The Strangers provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films.
Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 17
The Strangers provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 294,157
My Rating
Movie Info
A suburban couple returning to their semi-secluded house after attending a wedding finds their lives suddenly thrown into chaos with the arrival of three malevolent, masked strangers in director Bryan Bertino's tense tale of survival. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as the couple forced to resort to violence they never thought themselves capable of as they struggle for their lives, and model-turned-actress Gemma Ward continues her transition from the catwalk to the silver screen as one of the
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Cast
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Liv Tyler
Kristen McKay -
Scott Speedman
James Hoyt -
Gemma Ward
Dollface -
Kip Weeks
Man in the Mask -
Laura Margolis
Pin-Up Girl -
Glenn Howerton
Mike -
Alex Fisher
Mormon Boy #1 -
Peter Clayton-Luce
Mormon Boy #2
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All Critics (153) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (82) | DVD (17)
The Strangers has a couple of scares, but it's not anywhere near as frightening as advertised. The creepy folks of the title are more fumbling than fiendish.
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.
At least it's short.
A sadistic, unmotivated home-invasion flick.
Don't let the attractive cast, the slick look or the 'inspired by true events' nonsense mislead you. The Strangers is a despicable and mean-spirited practical joke.
Top CriticKind of like what The Shining might be if you took out the ESP. And the ghosts. And the chilling atmosphere. So call it The Sucking.
Just get comfortable, sit back and smile at the slaughter - unlike Funny Games, at least this is bloodshed you can enjoy.
Writer-director Bertino just wants to scare our pants off, and succeeds admirably.
There?s no better feet-on-the-seat execution for the home-invasion genre than this. "The Strangers" twists the knife with scenes lasting a beat longer than normal to maximize dread and sound design excavating a hole in your cortex and nestling there.
Nothing gets the old heart pumping like the fear of home invasion, but you wouldn't know it by The Strangers, an utterly pointless portrait of domestic terror.
Grinding and suffocating
Bryan Bertino's psycho-thriller gets the job done for nearly two-thirds of its length. But when it shows its hand, it folds.
An extremely effective claustrophobic horror picture that starts slow but ultimately provides us with plenty of suspense all the way through to its very dark ending.
I can't say the new ending is any worse than what you already saw in the theaters from a violence standpoint, but the brief addition seems a little more satisfying.
An effectively grim, exceedingly well-made horror thriller.
Nerve-jangling horror flick that wrings maximum scares out of its simple premise, thanks to strong direction and superb performances from Speedman and Tyler.
You have to admit, it's a unique approach to a horror film, though not ultimately a fulfilling one.
A retread of just about every home-invasion movie of the past 50 years mixed with elements of torture porn and chick-flick romance.
When the film is this effective, it's hard to complain.
[A] cheapo, shaky-cam knockoff of a horror film from foreign shores.
Audience Reviews for The Strangers
Super Reviewer
Sure, the idea of this film might not be the most original but in horror these days not so many ideas are. Still with a fresh approach and genuinely effective use of sound effects and music by Tomandandy, The Strangers manages to pull off some truly scary moments and nail biting tension. There are some shock scares along the way but mostly this film trust more of it's quiet moments.
Masked villains is also nothing new in the world of horror but somehow Bertino has managed to make his masked trio feel scary as hell here. These villains are like cats playing with their prey and the most disturbing moment comes when the masks come off. That is when this film reaches it's cruel climax which will haunt viewers for a long time after the end credits has rolled.
Bertino is a talent to watch and it is interesting to se what he comes up next. The Strangers is one of the better horror films in past ten years and should be seen by any horror fan.
Super Reviewer
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- Kristen McKay: There's someone out there.
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- James Hoyt: I haven't heard a dog bark, a car pass, nothing.
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- James Hoyt: Im going to open the door and i just want you to run, okay.
- Man in the Mask: [starts busting door down with axe]
- Kristen McKay: Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
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- Dollface: Your gonna die.
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- Kristen McKay: Why are you doing this to us?
- Dollface: Because you were home.
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- Kristen McKay: He was wearing a mask...
- James Hoyt: What like a ski mask?
- Kristen McKay: I don't know? A fucking mask!
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| to everyone asking why this movie is getting wrote off | 4 months ago | 0 |
Latest News on The Strangers
August 28, 2008:
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