The Strangers - Opfernacht

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.

Girlfriend made me watch this with her... now im single,

The music is the best part of the movie. I loved the 80s themed soundtrack, especially during the pool scene. The movie slowly ramps up tension and when it hits full bore it never stops. Its relenting. The characters do stupid things of course, but that's par for the course for these movies. In the end you do care enough to want them to survive . I admit the film doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but what it does bring it does really well. I'd recommend to fans of the slasher genre and of the original movie.

I would say I am normally with the majority as far as ratings go, but I guess not with this one... I was expecting it to be pretty mid to trash, but I actually quite liked it. It had this kinda throwback 80s slasher vibe that I honestly dug.

I think so many people were expecting it to be the same brand of good as the first one, and it wasn't. I feel like there were a few too many direct parallels that ended up making it feel derivative... but it really was a completely different kind of movie than the original and entertaining in its own right and as a stand alone.

Loved the acting from the parents, kids were fine. The daughter wasn't amazing but got better as the movie went along. The play with lighting and shots were effective, the sfx were not bad and the soundtrack was fun. The pool scene really stuck out to me, from the moment those lights came on till it was over... I was there for it.

I honestly think I could have rounded up to a 7 if the story was just a little more developed, maybe a recast for the daughter and the ending was better... wasn't in love with the ending.

I don't think this movie deserves all the scathing reviews... And I don't know since when people were so offended by the idea of suspension of disbelief, especially in a slasher. I give it a 6.5 rounding down to a 6, would recommend.

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