The Strangers - Opfernacht

If you like your horror films to have the main characters do every stupid thing possible then watch this.

Definitely worth a watch. The direction, the soundtrack, the dread and twists all make this a very thrilling watch underrated for sure!

"The Strangers: Prey at Night" is another unoriginal and stupid slasher, with a storyline that is on the shelf of any mediocre screenwriter ready to be reprocessed and usually said "based on true events". The most impressive is that even this type of storyline is able to produce good and scary low-budget slashers, such as the French-Romanian "Ils" ("Them" - 2006) or the Austrian "Funny Games" (1997) by Michael Haneke. Both films are tense and make the viewer nervous with the frightening atmospheres. The cruelty in "Funny Games" is impressively cold and therefore horrifying.

In "The Strangers: Prey at Night", there is no character development or motive and the situations are stupid with many cliches. The family splits in the beginning, aware that their relatives have been slaughtered, instead of immediately driving to the police station. The father sees what happened to his wife, but does not shoot the killer. The survivors have many chances to leave the camping area and to possess weapon, but are surprised in the most clichés situations. The police officer has his throat cut in another typical clichés, when the good girl believes that is safe. Advice when most needed is least heeded, but do not spend your time watching this movie. There are much better options in the genre. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Os Estranhos: Caçada Noturna" ("The Strangers: Prey at Night")

Ten years ago as an impressionable teenager, I saw "The Strangers" at a midnight showing with one of my best friends. To date, it stands as the most taut moviegoing experience of my life. After nearly a decade of production hell, the sequel-"The Strangers: Prey at Night" has finally come out of the woodwork. This followup has the same trio of villains pursuing victims in cat-and-mouse games, but this time it's an entire family staying at a deserted resort who are the target.

Perhaps I'm biased because I truly love the original film, but I found "Prey at Night" to be a significant letdown as a followup to Bryan Bertino's 2008 film, which was a masterful exercise in tension. I was skeptical of a sequel even being possible given how well Bertino exercised his formula in the first film-what else could really be done? "Prey at Night" essentially takes the formula of the first film, dresses it in de rigeur '80s style (complete with an exclusive '80s soundtrack), and amplifies the gore. It's mostly in good fun-but it's also completely devoid of suspense, tension, and unease.

There are a few sequences that are masterfully-executed-including a protracted sequence in a neon-lit swimming pool, and a mother-daughter attack in a trailer- but the in-between that stitches these better scenes together is repetitive and predictable, and the cinematography often gives the feel of a made-for-TV movie. The characters are also an issue in that they feel too much like stock characters; the lead being a chain-smoking bratty teenage girl running around in a Ramones t-shirt, followed by her likable brother, and two hip parents who are in the process of carting little-miss-trouble off to boarding school. In spite of the contrived characters, the acting is fairly good from all involved, including the actors portraying the three strangers.

There are a few moments of true tragedy and true catharsis in the film which are well-orchestrated, but I cannot help but compare "Prey at Night" to its predecessor. This sequel is a very different film that has its hits, but it frankly has more misses. As a frivolous run-of-the-mill slasher, it's rather enjoyable, but it lacks the emotional gravitas that made the first film so arresting and nerve-shredding. 5/10.

Why do I listen to you, people? You are all wrong about this one and I didn't watch it before because I was stupid enough to believe in reviews and other people's tastes.

It's a completely different film than the first one and the set-up is a bit rough, I will give you that. Now...as soon as the family arrives at that camp, holy moly! I know I am a horror unapologetic fan, so I know that I got lots of references/homage that probably others didn't. However, even forgetting that, have you seen that camera movement? The music? The atmosphere? The fear? The acting? The jump scares? How does it play with darkness and light?

Tense as hell, this film never lets you breathe in the last 40 minutes, always playing with high stakes that make you believe that anyone can die. The pool scene and the police car scene alone are enough to recommend this movie every day of my life.