Los extraños: cacería nocturna

Let me be clear I HATED The Strangers (2008) and certainly didn't expect them to make a sequel a full decade later.

I'm not entirely sure what it was about the first movie, but it just came across as entirely one sided devoid of purpose and basically plot torture porn and that did nothing for me.

This time around we see a family set up camp in a trailer park only to come under siege by the same three masked psychotics. Among them the stunning Christina Hendricks and former child star Bailee Madison.

Thankfully what we're presented with isn't so one sided and does have a plot. Sure the plot is the time honored generic slasher one but it's a plot all the same.

So what does it have going for it? Well for a start the soundtrack is great as is the score. It fits the movie perfectly and is refreshingly retro. Ontop of that we have some great cinematography, the movie certainly has style.

So it looks great, it sounds great and we have Hendricks on board. So what went wrong? Well other than it being generic, Hendricks isn't the big character you'd imagine so forget about her being the leading lady. To make matters worse it falls into many of the standard slasher pitfalls so we've seen the majority of it before.

This is a vast improvement over the first movie, but it's still just another slasher.

The Good:

Christina Hendricks

A few decent shots

Fitting soundtrack

The Bad:

Christina Hendricks is wasted

Generic stuff

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who awkwardly laughs when in pain

If they keep up with the improvements they might have an average movie eventually

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

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!

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