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The Strangers

(2008) Horror - Rated R

Directed by: Bryan Bertino

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman

Overview: Three masked assailants terrorize a young couple in a remote suburban home.

RATINGS:

  • The Strangers

    Three masked assailants terrorize a young couple (Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman) in a remote suburban home.

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    Reviews

    REELZ REVIEW
    "The Strangers is a one-trick pony. And though for a while it makes for a good ride, it ultimately wears itself..."  [more]
    — Thomas Leupp

    User Comments and Video Reviews

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    • midge16

      06/19/08 07:03 AM
      terrible, stupid, never recomend it.
      Review Rating: +1
      Characters remaining: Submit Cancel

    • Thomas Leupp

      ReelzChannel.com, May 30, 2008


      The Strangers is a one-trick pony. And though for a while it makes for a good ride, it ultimately wears itself out well before the finish line.


      It's been a long time coming for Bryan Bertino's home-invasion horror flick The Strangers. Shot way back in late 2006, the movie sat on the shelf for what seemed like an eternity as it awaited a firm release date. In the meantime, two films with similar concepts, Vacancy and Funny Games, came and went, Speedman and Tylerrobbing The Strangers of much of its novelty. Which is a shame, because the movie isn't actually half-bad.


      The premise of The Strangers is simple yet effective: An attractive young couple, James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler), drive out to the countryside for a short getaway at a secluded family vacation home. Initially meant to be a celebratory occasion, the night has been rendered bittersweet by a rejected marriage proposal and the ensuing anxiety that it causes. The couple's tension quickly turns to terror, however, when a mysterious girl knocks on their door at four in the morning, asking for someone named Tamara.


      Thus begins a seemingly random -- yet well-coordinated -- campaign of harassment by three masked strangers. They begin somewhat innocently, banging on the front door and rattling the windows, gradually escalating their game of psychological torture until it becomes apparent to James and Kristen that their masked assailants don't intend for them to live through the night. With their lines of communication cut and their only means of transportation destroyed, they attempt to devise a plan to escape before time runs out.


      The Strangers' concept is a genuinely terrifying one, especially for those of us who grew up in the relatively sheltered confines of the suburbs, but it ultimately Not getting awayloses its momentum after a while. While the first half of the film is really scary -- in a psychological, Hitchcockian sort of way -- the scares wear thin when it becomes apparent that the story has nowhere to go.


      I found myself actually hoping for some kind of plot twist -- just to change things up and inject some new energy into the storyline. Writer/director Bertino didn't necessarily need to go all M. Night Shyamalan on us, but it would have been nice if he saved a few tricks up his sleeve for the third act. But he remains stubbornly committed to his original formula. The attacks are genuinely random; we never learn much about the The Strangers' villains other than the fact that two of them are women and the other is apparently asthmatic.


      The producers of The Strangers must have recognized this, as the movie sprints to the finish line with a running time of barely 80 minutes. Sadly, it runs out of gas well before the closing credits.


      ReelzChannel Rating:  6


      Disagree? Let me know at tleupp@reelzchannel.com

  • 21 photos. Click to enlarge.

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  • Crew

    Director Bryan Bertino
    Producer Doug Davison
    Producer Roy Lee
    Producer Nathan Kahane
    Executive Producer Kelli Konop
    Executive Producer Joe Drake
    Executive Producer Sonny Mallhi
    Executive Producer Trevor Macy
    Executive Producer Marc D. Evans
    Executive Producer Marc Evans

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MOVIE NEWS

Monday, June 2

Friday, May 30

  • The Strangers Review
    Up for a little unholy fun after the family-friendly Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Spacemen?

    We first got a look at The Strangers way back in July of 2007 at Comic-Con and it kind of took us by surprise. We see an awful lot of horror movies here at ReelzChannel.com and very few are anything more than generic copycats of the latest horror trend. But The Strangers looked like it might have some potential to deliver legitimate, old-time scares instead of the torture porn bloodlust that has gotten so popular recently.

    After endless delays, The Strangers finally hits screens today. So does it live up to the ultra-creepy trailer that first got fans pumped? Thomas Leupp has the full Strangers review to help you make your weekend viewing decision.

    Posted 05/30/2008 by Jeff

    Related: Liv Tyler | The Strangers

Tuesday, April 22

Tuesday, March 11

  • Catch a glimpse of The Strangers

    You can make it Liv!!!Home-invasion horror flicks seem to be all the rage these days, with recent movies like Vacancy, 1408 and the upcoming Funny Games all earning their scares by tapping into that seemingly universal fear of being trapped in a house and terrorized by psychotic strangers.

    The latest offering, appropriately enough, is Bryan Bertino's long-delayed The Strangers, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a young couple who fall prey to three unkown assailants while staying at a vacation home. After lingering in limbo for far too long, the flick finally got a release date: May 30th, 2008.

    The teaser trailer for The Strangers debuted today online. Check it out over at Yahoo! Movies.

    Sources: Universal Pictures, thestrangers.net


    Posted 03/11/2008 by Thomas

    Related: Liv Tyler | Scott Speedman | Bryan Bertino | The Strangers

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