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The Strangers

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The Strangers (2008)

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Reviews Counted:142

Fresh:63

Rotten:79

Average Rating:4.9/10

Consensus: The Strangers provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence/terror and language.

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:29-08-2008

Synopsis: For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and... For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation home in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted by the sound of a heavy knock at the door. They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we watch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger. Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and much of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and ready to push a chair against your own front door. [More]

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton, Alex Fisher, Peter Clayton-Luce

Director: Bryan Bertino

Director: Bryan Bertino
Screenwriter: Bryan Bertino
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Nathan Kahane
Composer: Tomandandy
Studio: Rogue Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for The Strangers

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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A lean, effective little exercise in scares. It offers nothing new but is perfect for breaking the ice on a first date.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 2 Comments
08/29/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's no denying that The Strangers fulfils its limited objective of showing nasty things happening to defenceless people. For some audiences that may be enough - but not for me or, I hope, for you.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 6 Comments
08/29/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Clearly influenced by slashers such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Last House On The Left, there’s a decent sense of claustrophobia in the first hour.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/29/08
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

As a simple exercise in tension and dread, this is a gripping hour at the multiplex - it's just a pity that it goes on for a further 20 minutes.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/29/08
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An effective, scary emotional work-out, but perhaps you can have too much paranoid despair.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment 1 Comment
08/29/08
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Messy, intermittently effective ordeal horror.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/29/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For most of its length, this is a grippingly unpleasant picture of barbaric, gratuitous evil, stealthier and scarier than Funny Games, to which it bears a slight resemblance.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
08/29/08
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

so well made, so moody and tense, that its emptiness can almost be overlooked - but if you want something a little more than a po-faced thrill ride, best look elsewhere

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
08/28/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies

An effectively grim, exceedingly well-made horror thriller.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Screen International

After building a jangling sense of terror, Bertino doesn't take it anywhere.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/07/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Delayed by over a year, but don’t let that fool you: this may be lightweight, but it knows what goes bump in the night.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
08/29/08
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

Inevitably, the cat and mouse game goes on too long and the tension dies a slow death. A bit like Liv’s career.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 3 Comments
08/29/08
Sun Online

Bertino does not try to understand his strangers. His primary interest is what happens - the details of crime - as if the film were a dramatised tabloid.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment 2 Comments
08/28/08
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

A good-looking, sophisticated, if somewhat pointless addition to the slasher-horror genre.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/29/08
Charlotte O'Sullivan
Charlotte O'Sullivan
This is London

This suspense film by first-time writer-director Bryan Bertino initially squeezes some surprisingly effective scares out of familiar elements. Sadly, the scenario quickly becomes attenuated and unbelievable.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 2 Comments
08/29/08
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The usual stupidness ensues. “Stay here darling with the axe-wielding psychos while I go and get help,” says Speedman. Ugh.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 2 Comments
08/29/08
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lean, mean and razor-edged, this nasty little home-invasion thriller drags you by your white knuckles on a horror chill-ride while flicking its middle finger at Funny Games. Prepare to be scared something rotten.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/29/08
Matt Mueller
Matt Mueller
Total Film

Nerve-jangling horror flick that wrings maximum scares out of its simple premise, thanks to strong direction and superb performances from Speedman and Tyler.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/18/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The momentum Bertino builds up over the course of the movie is deflated by an ending that doesn't match the rest of the film.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
05/29/08
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

A mediocre scare show that just happened to have one of the best trailers of recent times. At two minutes, The Strangers is terrifying; at eighty-five, it's lackluster.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 1 Comment
05/30/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Strangers

August 28, 2008: Rogue Eager to Meet More Strangers Opens in new window
Rogue Pictures has greenlighted a sequel to the Liv Tyler horror movie "The Strangers," and hired the original's writer/director, Bryan Bertino, to pen the script. More...

June 05, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Black vs. Sandler in Comedy Showdown
Two big doses of comedy from a pair of Hollywood's funniest men will hit the multiplexes across North America on Friday in a fierce battle for the number one spot. For family... More...

May 29, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Sex in the Multiplex All Weekend Long
This weekend a quartet of New York City gals will try to boot Indiana Jones out of the number one spot at the North American box office as the much-hyped comedy Sex and the City... More...

May 29, 2008: Critical Consensus: Sex and the City Will Please Fans
This week at the movies, we've got love and commerce (Sex and the City: The Movie, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall) and romantic getaways gone wrong (The... More...

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