The Strangers

The horror genre is probably the most perplexing genre in the cinematic medium, not because of its inherent qualities but because of the countless ways in which a movie stops being scary and starts rolling eyes. In a successful scary movie, one can expect a finite amount of characterisation mixed with tension and adequate construction of dense atmospheres and antagonists if there should be any. In The Strangers, such a sweet spot is achieved many times throughout, and it's during these moments that writer/director Bryan Bertino shows that he knows how to craft an eerie and downright scary experience to be part of. Yet too often does the film collapse under its own weight as laziness creeps in. Outside of Bertino's more refreshing techniques, he irritatingly resorts to tired clichés, dull narrative and predictable storytelling; it's a mixed bag of brilliantly executed originality and formulaic, cookie cutter banality.

Taking place for the most part in a single summer home, The Strangers is a claustrophobic nightmare that persists in its will to take that image of safety (home) and turn it into a confinement of horror. Through this general idea Bertino crafts an extremely effective way in which to engage the viewer; the warm comforting log cabin fireplace, the folk music, the backdrop of isolation and tranquil wilderness, all combining to create a sense of false security that always reeks of foreboding doom. Focusing the first twenty minutes on troubled couple Kristen McKay and James Hoyt, the script introduces us to the domestic heart of the story; a squabble and misunderstanding between two lovers. Not only does it add to the light hearted feel of the opening sequences but it develops the characters into heart-driven, fully empathetic beings, and when terror comes knocking at the door, we too are feeling the fear.

Unfortunately for all the good that the director does through the film's first act, the quality suddenly begins to dip shortly after the climax of tension has been reached. The second act of the story is much less coherent and more bumbling in its pace; there are genuine scares scattered throughout as a result of these freaky little visitors to the couple's cabin at four in the morning, yet the general structure and workings behind the scenes draw too much attention to themselves at key points. Everything from the screaming female tripping and breaking her ankle to the hereditary 'split up' of the pair for no logical reason but to satisfy the already developed structure frame are here, and it's irksome more than terrifying. Through this mix of studied technique and less than inspiring storytelling which too often puts structure ahead of natural storytelling, The Strangers feels satisfying in its ability to deliver horror, but simply doesn't do enough to cover up the glaring holes in its unconvincing façade.

As characters, Bertino neglects his three catalysts of fear to mere device-like movement only; they are facades and masks, and no real identity to them is ever given. This technique works well during the film's earlier moments when the director's aim is to scare out of their unknown presence, yet when the feature moves on and on and the three masks are exploited at every time to scare, their lack of motivation hurts the film's ability to sustain suspense. As protagonists, Kristen and James are of standard horror movie build; she is fragile and prone to screaming, and James, although a lot less macho than most male leads, is just as ill-fated to poor decision making. Individually, neither of them ever show any real sense of compelling attributes to cling onto, yet as a pair they at least share enough dynamics and chemistry to warrant the movie's key moments of characterisation.

Thankfully the movie doesn't end in a big bang and there is little in the way of cliché to be found leading up to it; it's unenlightening sure, but it's got enough conviction to carry off the film into positive light. This hollow note that finishes it all off is representative of the film as a whole, and of course Bertino's skills as a director of horror. Despite obvious flaws in storytelling, the majority of what is on display here is genuinely thrilling at its peaks and mildly compelling in its valleys. Through a startling score that punctuates the atmosphere poignantly and photography that captures the eeriness of these strangers' ominous presence, Bertino employs all the tricks in the book to deliver the scares, and while the whole product as a whole feels more like an exercise in technique, there's nevertheless plenty to behold regardless of any inconsistencies in narrative. Taken as a whole, The Strangers is a strong first attempt from newcomer writer/director Bryan Bertino who shows definite flair for crafting suspenseful scenes of terror and bringing out strong emotion from all his cast.

• A review by Jamie Robert Ward. For more reviews of all the latest movies please visit: http://www.invocus.net

Here we have a horror movie which sadly is much more laughable than scary. The characters are stupid. The story, not that there actually is much of a story, is stupid. There are no big scares to jolt you out of your seat. Really there's nothing to prevent you from yawning or flat-out dozing off. When the movie ended I was stunned to find out it was less than 90 minutes long. It seemed much longer. It honestly feels interminable. Please just let the killers put their victims out of their misery. Then we who have the misfortune to be watching can be put out of our misery as well.

So the setup is that a young couple, played by Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, are spending the night in some house out in the middle of nowhere. There's a knock on the door. A really, really loud knock. That's about the most chilling thing the movie has to offer, a loud knock on the door. Anyhow our young couple ends up being terrorized by three people in goofy masks. Everyone involved, goofy mask people and their potential victims, acts very stupidly. Our victims have apparently never seen any horror movies as, rather than wait in the house with the freaking shotgun they have, they decide to go running around outside in the dark. Because running around in the dark always ends well in these situations, no? Our silly mask people are very lucky that their prey are so stupid because they are quite stupid themselves. If anyone involved in this story had any working brain cells the whole thing would've been over in five minutes. And what a blessed relief that would have been. Instead it goes on and on, Liv Tyler just keeps screaming and the would-be killers just keep, well, standing there. They never really do anything. Ooh, look a guy with a bag on his face is standing in the corner! Scary, right? Nope, not really. There is no action, no drama, no tension. It's all very predictable right from the beginning, probably not helped by the fact the movie basically gives away its ending right at the start. We go through all the horror movie clichés as the movie limps meekly towards a thoroughly unsatisfying end. Boring, unoriginal, quite stupid. That's The Strangers in a nutshell.

We all know the plot: young couple, isolated vacation home, people in masks. Yet from the start of 'The Strangers' it's clear that this film is a different. In today's bloodthirsty society, horror films are often reduced to nothing more than gore-filled gross-out fests. While many young teens may rejoice at such films, many of us still long for original, suspenseful, and, yes, terrifying horror movies. 'The Strangers' came so close.

There is plenty here to recommend: Director Bryan Bertino shows himself to be a patient and smart director. Rather than going for just cheap thrills, he wisely builds tension up to near-breaking point. The feeling of suspense and dread that covers the whole film is classic. Both Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman do well in their leading roles, and the strangers themselves are things of pure terror... yet that's where the film loses some of its commendation. The strangers at times seem that they can't possibly be human because they are made to be almost supernatural in their abilities. They appear and disappear seemingly at will and instantly- a power the young couple probably wished they had but don't because they are, after all, HUMANS. It's a simple mistake used to give the audience one of those cheap thrills that were otherwise so wisely avoided. What makes it sad is that in every other aspect, 'The Strangers' is chillingly realistic and terrifyingly possible. Every time those strangers come and go like ghosts of some kind, it makes the audience sit back once more and say, 'Ah, well, it's just a movie." That's too bad.

Still, 'The Strangers' is much better than your average horror fare. It's at last a new movie that realizes what you don't show can be even more scary than what you do. Still, one hopes that Mr. Bertino can touch up the mistakes from this film and , and deliver a really great horror movie next time around. 7/10 stars! Jay Addison

The Strangers, follows a couple as they stay in a vacant vacation home after some relationship issues not realizing they will soon be fighting for their lives as three strangers are hunting them around the house to kill and terrorize. The film is pretty gruesome considering these were based on true events. This film is okay though keeps the suspense. The movie was a bit dragged and took a while for the killers to prey even though most scenes they could have killed the couple on the spot. Though, I guess that's just part of their game. I would recommend the film for those looking for a light thrill.

Kristen: "Why are you doing this to us?" Dollface: "Because you were home."-The Strangers

Like many, I went into this (knowing) the basics of the story. That being said, I found the first half of the film quite suspenseful and creepy by modern movie standards. The story begins by developing the relationship between it's two stars, then separating them and introducing the terror. This worked, and worked very well in it's ability to set up (and scare the hell out of) the viewers. Unfortunately, after we have established what is taking place, the story seems to slow to a simmer, and eventually fizzles out. The second half of the film is filled with horror movie cliché's and cheap scare tactics, almost to the point of boredom... It's a shame, because I haven't been a fan of slasher films since the eighties, and I REALLY wanted to "Like" this film.

My recommendation would be to watch the first half of the film, then go and sit by yourself in a cabin, somewhere in the woods. The effect would be much better, and the film would serve it's purpose.