The Strangers (2008)

Not interested in watching people get chopped to bits. Too much like real life. Hate the blonde in the film.

I hated it when I first saw it but when I saw it a second time at home and alone, it was terrifying. I think it's worse now because so many people have lost their fucking minds and the scenario seems more plausible.

I was really disappointed in this movie. I had heard how good it was, and wanted to see it for years. It was… okay… if a bit grim for me (and I love suspense thrillers/horror). But the ending was a big “Huh? That’s it?”

I saw this with my best friend at a midnight showing the day of its release in 2008. I remember it vividly. Our high school graduation practice was the following morning. We were the only people in the theater, and this movie scared the shit out of both of us. The first 40 minutes are maybe the most frightening I've ever seen in a film, and, to this day, it remains the most intense theatergoing experience I've ever had. It truly rattled me.

I have revisited it over the years many times, and I still enjoy it immensely. The antics do get a bit repetitive as they draw on during the second act, and you do have to suspend disbelief at a couple of crucial moments, but I still think it's a fantastic movie. I think it is probably more effective if you've ever lived in the country, or somewhere desolate. I grew up in the woods in Oregon, so the premise really resonated with me—the thought of being alone in your home, miles from other people, and someone infiltrating it without your knowledge—it's absolutely terrifying.

Scream Factory released a Blu-ray edition of it a few years ago which I instantly bought, and the UK-based company Second Sight released another edition a year or so ago, which I ordered online. The Second Sight release was nice because it included an interview with Liv Tyler, who is always lovely. Her memories of making the movie were very positive. There is also a very in-depth interview with the director, Bryan Bertino (who, by the way, is hot as fuck). He seems like an interesting guy.

Also, does anyone remember how great the trailer was for this movie? Talk about making a trailer the right way:

I didn't even notice OP posted the trailer—pardon my ignorance

R5 Not a problem. I agree the trailer is very effective, it scares me even more than film does.

That CREEPY AS FUCK FOLK LIKE MUSIC really makes the film scarier. SO CREEPY!

I prefer You're Next when it comes to home invasion movies. I think the couple in The Strangers didn't work hard enough to stay alive.

It was too noisy. Banging on doors. Liv Tyler screaming.

I liked Vacancy which came out a year earlier. Kate Beckinsale and Owen Wilson are a couple on the outs who get stranded and stay at a sleazy motel. Kate acts like a real cunt to Owen.

Big surprise. It didn't seem like acting.

R7 I always got a kick out of the fact that they put Joanna Newsom on the record player—as if some new Urban Outfitters vinyl would be just lying around amongst a bunch of dusty '60s albums at the old family vacation house. Still, though, the use of the song was very effective, so I understand the creative decision to use it. It definitely added to the creepy factor. I am guessing Bertino was/is a Joanna Newsom fan.

Joanna Newsom—whose voice I cannot stand and whose music I do not enjoy—is a real musician. A *musician’s musician* if you know what I mean.

That’s all I got.

I saw this on a weekend away with my ex-boyfriend. My sister had organsied this gorgeous, old house at the top of a hill in a remote beach town. The house had lots of windows and a sprawling garden surrounded by gum trees. We cooked dinner, poured ourselves generous glasses of vodka and orange and then put this film on.

Oh. My. God.

I cried like a little bitch, and couldn't sleep all night, even with all the knives from the kitchen under my pillow. My ex thought I was being pathetic, and I probably was.

I was also convinced he was going to propose that weekend. I casually brought it up, he laughed and said he had no thoughts about marriage whatsoever, and I threw one of my biggest, hissiest fits ever and slept in a seperate bedroom for the rest of the trip.

TLDR: I hate this film because it terrfied me, and it reminds me of the time I acted like a bitchy little Mary!

[quote] I cried like a little bitch, and couldn't sleep all night, even with all the knives from the kitchen under my pillow. My ex thought I was being pathetic, and I probably was.

Yikes. Are you a woman?

I certainly acted like one at that point in my life. I think it was a combination of too much vodka, feeling really loved up and certain that I was on a proposal trip, and being in a quiet, dark house in the middle of nowhere.

I very much enjoyed it. I got to see it ahead of its home video release in a hotel room. I watched with the lights off. It's psychological terror.

R11 I absolutely love her. Her music is stunning and unique. There is absolutely no one like her. Her first album in particular is pure magic. I still scratch my head over her marriage to Andy Samberg. She could be a cunt, but she does seem pretty nice in interviews. She came from a world that is foreign to most people—a privileged upper-class (both parents doctors) bohemian, hippy dippy Northern California upbringing. The harp is certainly not an instrument for peasants. It is about as extra as you can get.

R8 you beat me to it. I was going to recommend You're Next as well.

Was the sequel any good?

I don't understand why anyone enjoys torture porn.

R18- I loved the sequel. Critics trashed it.

It was very different but it had some great production elements/design- a killer soundtrack.

Decent cast too.

R20 I just finished watching it. It wasn’t bad, I’d rate it a 7/10. It was a lot more brutal than the first film.

[quote]I prefer You're Next when it comes to home invasion movies.

You're Next and The Collector are two of my favorite new takes on the genre.

R19 I don't know if "The Strangers" qualifies as "torture porn." There is barely any blood in it at all. Most of the scares and discomfort come from "bump in the night"-sort of scenarios. It is most certainly not in the ranks of films like "Hostel" or "Martyrs". Overall, it's a very downbeat, quiet film. The scene where the masked man enters the frame and stares at Liv Tyler from the hallway is genius.

[quote] Her music is stunning and unique.

Bitch, please.

R20, don't forget Luis Pullman.

It’s one of four or five genuinely frightening American movies made since the year 2000. Strange that the director has done so little since.

Hey, OP:

Is Tamara home?

Reply 9, "Vacancy" is terrifyingly believable. Continuous, heart racing action, as well.

And because it scared me shitless I give it five stars.

I made the mistake of watching this back to back with the US version of Funny Games . I couldn’t shake off the feeling of paranoia and dread for about a week.

I saw this with my ex-boyfriend in the theaters. This model Gemma was in it who was hot at the time. I thought it was good, but I was really annoyed with the ending. We had seen Funny Games around this time as well, another ending that frustrated me. I think this was a remake of a French film with the same premise. I need to see this again. The trailer was amazing and I think I would appreciate it more. It's definitely a ride that feels like there is no release.

This movie highlighted why I'd never want to live in any rural or suburban areas with huge distances between residences and public facilities. I feel much safer in dense cities, not to mention all the conveniences with urban amenities within walking distance.

That trailer wasn't scary at all. Who was the guy in bandages? Does Liv Tyler and that guy get killed?

I liked Liv Tyler in this movie. She was very down to earth and believable. It's been a long time since I watched this movie, but I recall getting a bit choked up at the ending - those of you who have seen it will know what I'm talking about. It's a solid home invasion flick, but the marketing claims that it was based on a true story were a major stretch... it was *very* loosely based on it.

[quote]Strange that the director has done so little since.

Most everything he's done since has landed with a thud, but if you like The Strangers, you'll probably like the rest of his stuff. Mockingbird, his follow-up to The Strangers, had the same eerie vibe. His most recent film, The Dark and the Wicked, was really good.

[quote]but the marketing claims that it was based on a true story were a major stretch... it was *very* loosely based on it.

From what the director said, The Strangers drew inspiration from three things: The Keddie murders, a childhood incident where he and his sister were home alone in their isolated house and a stranger came knocking, and Helter Skelter. Bertino has been accused of ripping off the French film Ils (Them), which was released two years before and takes place in rural Romania, with a very similar setup. When called on this people connected to The Strangers claimed it hadn't ripped off Ils, but drew inspiration from the same notorious home invasion case in Romania. But way back when on the old IMDB message boards, some Romanian posters said there was no such well-known case of home invasion in their country at that time...

I have a high capacity for horror, suspense, violence, gore in films but this one unsettled me. I watched it when living in a big house out in the country with eight exterior doors, no neighbors in sight, and none close enough to hear a scream. It was the only time I ever felt creeped out in a place that was otherwise nothing but calm and tranquil.

The family in The Strangers 2 make so many incredibly stupid decisions. I did enjoy the last 30 minutes or so.

I liked the simple answer to why they were doing this - "because you were home" (in the trailer, not a spoiler). That's what makes it so scary. Agree to everyone about the rural setting. Not into it at all. Everything bad seems to happen in rural areas (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, etc). I'd rather live in an inner city neighborhood than a gorgeous farmhouse in the middle of nowhere if I were living by myself.

I didn't even know there was a sequel. There doesn't seem to be a need for one. I'll check out the trailer.

The sequel is currently on Netflix.

Thanks, R38. I'll check it out!

If you like "The Strangers", I recommend a quasi LGBT themed (focus on the L), French horror film called "High Tension". It had my jaw on the floor and it has the rural, farmhouse setting. Very interesting and clever film making for this genre. I am a fan of Alexander Aja.

R36 it's not a horror movie if someone doesn't make some stupid decisions 😄

Nah. They had a gun. They could have sat in the house waiting for the intruders to enter and shot them. Stupidest movie ever.

This is one of my favorite horror movies ever. It doesn't get much better when it comes to the feeling of dread and isolation. I've watched this with so-called "fearless" friends who were equally frightened. It's definitely one you have to experience with the lights off and a good surround sound system.

As a person that lives in a rural area, I can tell that you particularly these days, people are armed to the teeth so if so much as pulled into the wrong driveway, you're liable to be greeted with a gun in the doorway. I knew an older woman living in a DC suburb who unwittingly walked in on a home invasion and was nearly beat to death by her attackers and *that* kind of shit is scary. So while "The Strangers" has holes in the plot big enough to drive a truck through, it does make you think about the randomness of crime & that often times people aren't intentionally targeted - they're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[quote]I don't understand why anyone enjoys torture porn.

The thing that we all fear from horror fans is that they're experiencing sadistic gratification from seeing people terrorized and harmed and rehearsing in their minds their own plans for real life crime. That's kind of a specialized audience, though. Most people watch horror because they want to experience the dark side of existence from a safe place and see how brave they can be.