Featured Review: THE STRANGERS

THE STRANGERS



Starring- Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton, Gemma Ward


Directed by Bryan Bertino


Grade: A-







"Why are you doing this to us?"
"Because you were home."

In the past decade, horror and thriller films have gotten a bad reputation. Producers greenlight films that can be specially edited into one of three mass-produced sub-genres; the PG-13 teen slasher (Prom Night, House Of Wax et al), the gruesome elaborate death (Saw, Hostel, et al), and the supernatural Japanese remake (The Eye, The Ring, et al). The Strangers is the first wide release film to hit theatres in quite awhile that doesn't fit into any of these categories, and almost by default is entertaining because of it.

There is little plot or motive for the actions that are seen on screen. We learn that Kristin McKay (Lord Of The Rings' Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Underworld's Scott Speedman) have some sort of serious relationship, but it's going through a rough time. They're more or less awkwardly stuck at James' secluded woods house for the night, and that's where things go terribly wrong.

Moviegoers who want everything answered in the who, what, when, where, and why won't be happy with the outcome of The Strangers. But the truth of the matter is, quite a few home invasions are just random attacks. Does it really make a difference who they are? Would you want to find out one of them is a long lost ex-lover or some asinine information like that? Towards the end I rooted for them not to reveal any motive.

A few instances fall flat, and can be predicted. But compared to many films in the aforementioned subgenres, director Bryan Bertino does his earnest not to submit to the same lazy style of filmmaking that horror directors these days get into. Almost all of his 'scare' tactics rely purely on appearances and dread, rather than the popular 'jump cut'. Considering this is his first writing and directing credit, his mistakes can be forgiven with the things he did right.

While Tyler and Speedman don't give us enough reason to truly care about their characters, their acting conveys enough realism to stay interested and not hate them either. Throw in a nice little random cameo by Glenn Howerton (of hilarious It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia fame), and The Strangers becomes less about star power and just about crafting a solid and unpretenious little horror film that doesn't want to follow the same rules.

Tyler's role (and Speedman's for that matter) isn't much more than being a helpless victim, but even then they're smart enough to at least have a shot to survive realistically. Some of Tyler's screaming fits elicited laughter from the audience, but it's hard to imagine someone NOT screaming when they're being invaded by 'masked strangers'. At least there were some nice touches, such as Tyler's throat defensively clenching when she was startled by the outside noises.

The very, very end was a bit of a cop out, and frankly might've been the worst part of the film. Though it felt like it could've been tacked on to appease the test audiences after such a heavy feeling of dread the entire movie, even still it was better than a vast majority of horror film endings from the past decade.

The Strangers will definitely not enter the pantheon of classic horror films looking back, but will most likely be regarded as a solid, underrated one. At least in the face of the terrible state of affairs horror films are in right now, The Strangers should be a springboard for director Bertino's career, and a film that the teenagers on weekend nights should see before any other in the horror sub-genre. But assuming The Strangers disappoint at the box office, Hollywood will continue to make cut-and-paste, slice-and-dice films.

Now that's scary.