The Strangers (2008) Movie Review

The Strangers is a film released in May 2008 in the vein of a classic slasher/horror flick. It made a killing (no pun intended) at the box office, and has gone on to sell and rent pretty well.

Supposedly, it is based on "true events", a classic gimmick in horror movies since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. From the beginning, it is clear that this one is based off of the 1960's Charles Manson murders. These took place when Manson's cult, who thought he was the second coming of Jesus Christ, were directed by him to go to affluent homes in California and kill its owners, for no other reason than sparking a new world order and "the second coming's" rise to power. This is, however, a pretty loose base. The film takes place in 2005, and the victims of the real murders weren't terrorized for hours beforehand. Some of the disturbing elements of the actual crime and the movie are pretty similar though.

The movie itself refreshes some pretty well used tools in the process of horror movies. The plot: a couple returning to an isolated summer home after relationship problems is terrorized by three masked murderers. I must admit, the feeling of the film is genuinely creepy. The location picked was excellent. The home itself feels like one a friend, family member, or yourself could have lived in.

The acting is decent, too. The film stars Liv Tyler (who does pretty well compared to some other recent scream queens) and Scott Speedman. Although in classic horror style their acting is hard to justify some of the incompentent decisions they make.

As the story unfolds, director Bryan Bertino pulls out some interesting things from his bag of tricks. He does well in giving the audience a few fresh scares. Additionaly, he has a knack for getting you to constantly scan behind the actors, waiting in tense anticipation for the next glimpse of the masked assailants. The sound production of this film was very good. The music really does its part in adding to the suspense, and the old record player the couple plays in the house makes some of the events pretty ironic. Also aside from the music the sound effects overall freak out not only the characters in the movie, but the viewers as well.

All in all, don't go looking for deep, intense psychological horror. This at its deepest level just a jumpy terror flick. It's a great date movie (if your date is into that kind of thing, of course) but don't expect to be seeing much of it at this year's Academy Awards Ceremony.