User reviews

...and to put it shortly, it's not as intriguing as Pitch Black but far more enjoyable than Lantana on the other hand.

yes it's true, this is only B-grade low-budget suspense thriller where nothing is as it appears to be (speaking of immediate succession of events) but nonetheless I really liked Radha Mitchell in her role, I really liked the humble setup and I really liked the ending where the story bends into a full circle (well, almost).

maybe it's not an art film of the year with heart-breaking scenes where father and son meet after years of nerve-wrecking separation or something but it's quite enjoyable if you give it a chance. I did and wasn't disappointed.

7/10

In an abandoned secondary road, Beth (Radha Mitchell) owns a diner and a motel inherited from her father. Every day she needs to walk on a lonely road from the hotel to the diner. One day, when she opens her diner, the starving and moneyless Jack Barrett (Barry Watson) arrives, and she serves a free meal to him. Soon three surfers - Peter (Josh Lucas), who is the leader, Stephen (Johnny Blick) and Roger (Eryn Wilson) - arrive at the diner and Jack hides himself in the kitchen. The trio asks for meal and Peter is nice with Beth. When they leave the place, Beth talks to Jack and takes him to a room in her motel. She finds that he is stabbed on the belly and drives him to her only friend in town, Dr. Eric Leonard (Steven Ray). She does not want to call the local Sheriff Bryce (Kevin Anderson), who raped her in the past, but when Dr. Leonard records a strange message in her answering machine, she calls Bryce and asks him to investigate his clinic. Bryce sees a notice saying that the clinic will be closed for a few days, and he does not enter the clinic. Beth meets Peter and asks him to go with her to the clinic, where they see blood everywhere and Dr. Leonard and Jack missing. When she sees Jack, he tells her that Peter and his friends killed Dr. Leonard and will kill them. Who is telling the truth?

"When Strangers Appear" (2001) is still a good thriller when revisited more than twenty-years later. The screenplay keeps Beth and the viewer without knowing who is telling the truth and the content of the CD. Despite the low budget, the film by Scott Reynolds is great since the cast is excellent. The music score is also top-notch. After the credits, there is a disappointing footage that I have seen only today. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Quando Estranhos Chegam" ("When Strangers Arrive")

In contrast to the other comment written about this film, I actually like this film a lot. In my opinion, it is well acted and the lack of background music in the film helps create a tense atmosphere which will keep you on the edge of your seat. This atmosphere is added to by the way that the film has been made in a small area, due to it's low budget, making it feel quite claustrophobic. The plot of the film never seems quite clear and has many twists and turns within it, making you change you opinion constantly as to who is on whose side. All in all, this is a very good psychological thriller which will keep you thinking all the way through the film and on the edge of your seat at the same time. I'd give this an 8.5 out of 10 as I enjoyed it however it hasn't got the best plot in the world and won't be suited to everyone's tastes.

WHEN STRANGERS APPEAR is a very good film, with a taut storyline, excellent acting, and terrific atmosphere. Unfortunately all of that goes out the window for what amounts to an overblown, over-the-top fight at a gas station with -- get this -- gasoline spilling all over the place like a geyser. This, mind you, while characters who are cut and bleeding are FIGHTING INSIDE THE GEYSER, getting "gas" all over the.

Had it not been for the final 10 minutes, where it just seems as if the filmmaker just simply lost interest in the movie and just decided to end it because he was too lazy to continue on, WHEN STRANGERS APPEAR could have been so much better.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie as well as reviews of other films from around the world)

It's extremely manipulative, some scenes make little sense, character development is weak, absurd coincidences abound, and the ending leaves the audience hanging cruelly. Nevertheless, "When Strangers Appear" keeps moving along and does maintain interest. It's just a little too cute for it's own good, and in the final analysis acceptable entertainment but nothing more. One last point, none of the characters are likable, including the heroine. If you want to watch a much better twisty movie which at least makes sense, and is far more entertaining, I highly recommend "Clay Pidgeons", with Jaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn. - MERK

I thought the trailer for this looked interesting. But sometimes there's a reason why you haven't heard much about a movie.

In the case of When Strangers Appear, it was possibly because you could drive a fair-size SUV through the holes in the plot. In fact the likable leads, sassy tough-girl waitress Radha Mitchell and blow-in weakling waif Barry Watson do well to steer clear of the yawning chasms multiplying around them as the film progresses.

Watson's broke and a bit broken but it still takes him a while to awaken Mitchell's protective instincts. When a gang of bad boys turn up at the diner and prove demanding customers, does she believe the cute guy with the greasy hair who claims they're out to get him? Or is he a little unhinged, paranoid and prone to making up stories?

At first promisingly intriguing, Mitchell's dilemma holds the attention as you try to work out with her whom she can trust, if anyone. Affairs are complicated by the fact that the put-upon heroine in the one-horse town has fallen foul of the local police representative in the past so is wary of turning to him for help.

With circumstances conspiring to isolate her, your sympathies are all with the actress, who's probably wishing she'd exercised more of her character's natural suspicion when offered the part in the first place.

It's a watchable enough psychological thriller that passes the time admirably until you start to think about it a bit and ask yourself those niggling 'why' questions. You know, 'But hey, why didn't they …?' Or 'Wait a minute though, why didn't he …?' Then everything falls apart … It's a shame though because, with a little extra effort, it could have been a contender.

I'm a fan of psychological thrillers. A big fan. I'm also a person that dislikes clichés and scenarios that are overused (most often in this type of movie.) I believe this movie had a lot of promise in the beginning, then when you got to know Radha Mitchell a little better, something about her really bugged me. I think she's capable of better. She overacted her attitude. Her kind, sweet face leaves you feeling betrayed. Why couldn't they give that girl a little more personality and (considering her personal story, which is very fuzzy at best) a little move savvy sense? Josh Lucas was *brilliant* in this movie. I think he honestly was the best of the bunch. His character's weirdness was so believable.

Likewise, I enjoyed watching Barry Watson. I hope that his future roles give him a little more "meat" to act from. I honestly believe he played this role the best he possibly could have. There just wasn't a whole lot there to draw from.

Overall, I was left with a feeling of slightly having wasted my time at the end, because the end of this movie was a huge blank. It left me with a feeling that the movie was not the same one I started watching so long ago... too long to get to that empty ending. I honestly wish they would have at least told what was on the CD. Big bummer.

When Strangers Appear wasn't marketed very well to say the least - the trailer makes it out to be another Scream clone - and that's a real shame as this little thriller is an excellent film that really deserves to be more seen! New Zealand born director Scott Reynolds previously made the decent psychological thriller 'The Ugly', but with this film he really upped the bar. The beauty of When Strangers Appear is the fact that for most of the film, the audience never really knows what is going on, and that is exactly how a mystery thriller should be! The film starts off as we follow Beth to work. It seems like an ordinary (boring) day, until a strange drifter walks in. After giving him breakfast, he disappears when three surfers turn up. He claims that the surfers are following him and are also the reason for his stab wound. However, the trio of surfers have a very different story, as it transpires that the stranger appears to be a dangerous psychopath. After a shocking turn of events, Beth finds herself in the middle of an extremely dangerous situation.

This film works thanks to the way that Scott Reynolds builds the atmosphere and tension. The central character, Beth, is very easy to feel for; while the supporting cast are all mysterious enough to generate interest themselves. The film is topped off by a whole host of brilliantly tense situations that help to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The bathroom scene is the biggest standout in this respect, and is positively nail biting! The isolated setting compliments the story excellently, and helps to build intrigue in its own right. The plot builds nicely throughout, and there's never a shortage of things happening. The fact that the film only features a handful of characters is certainly to its benefit too as it means that the film never loses its focus and this ensures that it's always easy to buy into the plot. It's true that When Strangers Appear isn't very substantial overall, but as a thriller it serves it's purpose well all the way up until the explosive ending and I see no reason why this film wont be enjoyed by anyone who takes the time to watch it. Very much recommended!

Beth (Radha Mitchell) runs a roadside diner next to a desolate highway. Jack Barrett (Barry Watson) shows up out of nowhere in a dirty car with a surf board on top. Peter (Josh Lucas) and two other guys show up looking for the beach. Jack hides from them claiming they're going to kill him and her.

I like the empty roadside diner. I wouldn't mind if the movie stayed there as a minimalist psychological thriller. The movie loses a little something by moving on. It gets muddled and confused by adding too much stuff. I lose some patience by the time of the McGuffin CD. The other thing is that this is noticeably not Oregon. It would even be cooler to set this in New Zealand. The third thing is that this movie needs to take place at night. That would increase the intensity by half. I like the general indie mystery thriller vibe. However it tries to do so many twisty thrills that I don't think they all work.

"When Strangers Appear" is a B-movie suspense/thriller flick which is little more than one long string of obvious stalk/scream/run/relax contrivances. This kinetic flick is all about three guys who may be psycho and one other guy who may be psycho running around like rats in a maze looking for a babe (Mitchell) who has something they want. In spite of all the obvious flaws from poor character development to an incorrect spelling of an anti-psychotic drug on a pill bottle, "WSA" does manage nominal no-brainer excitement, builds to a crescendo, and smirks at you at the end. Okay for couch potatoes in the mood for some nail biting escapism. (C)

The only reason I rented this was because I saw that Radha Mitchell was in it, and I loved her in "High Art." This movie is great! It is suspenseful and very well made, I don't understand why it never became a cult hit. It seems like an Australian film and strangely enough, it has a kind of "Mad Max" feel to it, where it's totally low budget but looks great. The script is great, the acting is great, just rent it, you will love it. But don't try to find out what it's about in advance - it's better to just go in with no idea.

WHEN STRANGERS APPEAR is a by-the-numbers wannabe thriller with aspirations to BLOOD SIMPLE but without a single frame of originality. The audience I watched this with hooted loudly at the on-screen shenanigans and past the midway mark were loudly screaming `spot the cliche!' at the screen. The script is turgid and thrilless, the acting ranges from ham to turkey and the director treats the audience like idiots by trying to get away with some of the stupidest lapses in logic ever witnessed. I honestly can't think of a single positive thing to say about this film which seems to be a home-movie. I can recommend watching it with a group of friends, some beers and a large sack of rotten tomatoes to hurl at the screen.

Wow...I tell you what I really liked this movie when i saw it. I was sitting home watching lifetime and this happened to come on. I was so enthralled by this movie i couldn't turn away from it. I love Josh Lucas in this movie. I had always been a huge fan of him, like it Sweet Home Alabama. But in this movie you got to see him act in a different way, he actually got to take on a darker roll. I didn't think that it would work but it totally did! This movie was full of twists and turns. Reading the other comments everyone says that they didn't like the ending but i thought that the ending was pretty good. How they made it switch on and on from person to person. It was a little bit hard to follow but in the end it made it all that much more worth it. I would definitely recommend this movie!

The people who have written most of these comments are disappointed of the ending. I say that the ending takes the film a step higher! You don't have to analyze everything and you don't have to come up with meanings that you believe is the idea of the film and then hate them. At least it won't make anyone happier. There is no background music in this film, as I recall, and there are very few people. That sets the mood, and it's a pretty frightening one. Pressuring even. The filming is great, or so I think anyway. My best tip for those who are going to see this movie is that you shouldn't have expectations. This film won't give you all the answers you perhaps will be looking for but it gives you a feeling of something, and if you ask me it's just what films are for - Making you think and/OR making you feel something. In this case, the mood. Beautiful. Top score.

Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT waste any minutes of your life on this movie! And SHAME on all of the people who rated it 9 stars lol what a sham! You have been warned!

far to be great, it is a correct homework.and, for me at least, memorable for few tricks who are useful for create more than sketches of characters but realistic images of different types. the rules of thriller are respected, the story has many twins, the music represents inspired frame for story, the atmosphere of a small place in front with danger is plausible and Radha Mitchell does more than a good role. the basic virtue - the use of many clichés from genre in wise manner. and, in same measure, the science to explore ambiguity in smart manner. short, a decent thriller. maybe, little more. because it gives more than violence and tension, blood or innocent victims. but a story and not bad characters.

"When Strangers Appear" is problematic in many ways. It is the kind of movie after which a viewer often feels duped. The plot is secondary to the action. Characters are introduced for the sole purpose of confusing the viewer. I enjoy suspense movies, but this offering hardly lives up to the movie part of that formula. It is nothing but a vehicle for shocking-if unexplained and probably unexplainable-imagery. Of course, these scenes don't really advance the story as such, which is actually a superficial structure laid on top of a series of cheap cliffhangers. This movie is not absurdist (Pasolini would twirl in his grave if that label were ever applied to this picture) but just absurd. I can't believe a producer gave this script the green light.

In 1997, Scott Reynolds made an impressive writing and directing debut with "The Ugly", although his story was a bit too shallow and his direction a bit overly flashy. This time, with his compelling, perspective-shifting script and taut direction, he achieves moments of true brilliance - so many, in fact, that it's hard to pick just one (the little girl who witnesses a violent struggle but doesn't understand it? The sink that may not hold the weight of a man? The killer silently stalking his victim in the toilets, using an admittedly old trick?). This man could very well develop into the Hitchcock of the next generation - the movie even has its own McGuffin to propel the plot (the computer disk). The first half is essentially a mystery, with plenty of twists; when the truth becomes (somewhat) clear, the movie becomes a full-blown thriller, and it offers one absolutely astounding suspense sequence after another. Don't miss it. (***)

Here in Spain this movie didn't make it to the cinemas, so I watched it a few days ago on TV. I think they broadcasted it because of the recent popularity of Radha Mitchell and Josh Lucas; other way it doesn't make sense to buy such a poor low-class thriller which it looks like a second rate TV-movie.

A girl which owns a motel and a road restaurant gets involve into some spy-related intrigue with those "strangers" from the title (the fact is that we never get to know what's all about) although she has nothing to do with it. Poor story, poorly showed, and the actors are nothing to write home about (anyway they didn't had the right stuff to develop their talent).

If you like Radha Mitchell (I confess she's one of the most beautiful actresses at present time) give it a chance, 'cause she's on 99% of the stills, but if you like nice thrillers you shouldn't like this one.

*My rate: 3/10