The Strangers is a deadly dull experience in boredom, strangled by two cinematic stumbling blocks -- one external and one of its own unfortunate making.
The Strangers (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:63
Rotten:79
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: The Strangers provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films.
Theatrical Release:May 30, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $52,534,295
Synopsis: For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and... For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation home in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted by the sound of a heavy knock at the door. They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we watch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger. Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and much of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and ready to push a chair against your own front door. [More]
Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks
Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton, Alex Fisher, Peter Clayton-Luce
Director: Bryan Bertino
Director: Bryan Bertino
Screenwriter: Bryan Bertino
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Nathan Kahane
Composer: Tomandandy
Studio: Rogue Pictures
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Reviews for The Strangers
...a grab-bag of nifty widescreen compositions and sound design stingers, with nothing on its mind besides its own virtuosity.
There are enough flaws on display in "The Strangers" to keep it from ever generating the necessary suspense to prevent viewers from noticing those flaws in the first place.
A film to unnerve us enough to either buy some extra deadbolts or kill the next bastard who walks across our lawn.
Proves well executed simplicity sometimes can be more effective than bombast, blood and things that go boom.
The Strangers has been saddled with an increasingly uneven sensibility that ultimately dulls the movie's overall impact.
The Strangers is full of cheap scares and unoriginality but does contain an ending that is worthy of a stomach ache beyond belief.
Yes, OK, bad things happen to good people. Consider the message received... about seven movies ago.
Bertino has created a seriously harrowing cautionary tale that's sure to be remembered the next time you're left in a house by yourself.
As an exercise in controlled mayhem, horror movies don't get much scarier.
..riddled with continuity errors...stupid victim behavior cliches...and inconsistencies...begins with its heroine's 911 call but has no viable way of incorporating that call into its own unfolding logic.
It's an outstanding example of the horror/suspense genre, made with a refreshing approach. But it contains elements so creaky and pathetic you want to scream.
Is Hollywood so disconnected from its past and bankrupt of ideas that it doesn't even know this movie is a screaming cliché?
An immensely creepy thriller, one that plays fair with the audience, treats its characters with unusual intelligence for the genre, and is all the more effective because the minimalist plot is kept spare and straightforward.
It's all efficiently nerve-jangling, with Tyler and Speedman credibly registering every hue of panic.
Ultimately, it's an invitation best refused. 'The Strangers' offers a few memorable scares, but it is less chilling in its simplicity than numbing in its banality.
Latest News for The Strangers
August 28, 2008:
Rogue Eager to Meet More Strangers ![]()
Rogue Pictures has greenlighted a sequel to the Liv Tyler horror movie "The Strangers," and hired the original's writer/director, Bryan Bertino, to pen the script. More...
June 05, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Black vs. Sandler in Comedy Showdown
Two big doses of comedy from a pair of Hollywood's funniest men will hit the multiplexes across North America on Friday in a fierce battle for the number one spot. For family... More...
May 29, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Sex in the Multiplex All Weekend Long
This weekend a quartet of New York City gals will try to boot Indiana Jones out of the number one spot at the North American box office as the much-hyped comedy Sex and the City... More...
May 29, 2008:
Critical Consensus: Sex and the City Will Please Fans
This week at the movies, we've got love and commerce (Sex and the City: The Movie, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall) and romantic getaways gone wrong (The... More...
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