The Strangers (2008)

Best movie of this year hands down!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Unfortunately I fell into the latter. I am late to the party having never watched it before but wanted to get an idea of what it was about before seeing The Strangers: Prey at Night. I honestly couldn't get on board with the two, miserable main characters and the pace, intended to build suspense; just built boredom in me. When the killers did make their prescence known it still didn't really amount to much. The main chunk of the film I watched in 2x speed just to get it over with quickly. Everything seems to happen slowly, solid 10-20 second shots of the sad female character standing at the porch. Another 30 seconds of the downtrodden male character breathing heavily and creeping to the obviously battered car. Maybe the scenes didn't last that long but I just got so bored throughout it felt like forever. Many would have turned off I guess but I wanted to get to the end in case the sequel had any ties.When it did finally reach its dull climax I almost felt happy for the couple. They apparently lived such sad and somber lives that it felt like they were being put out of their misery. An act of mercy from the killers to both the couple and the audience putting and end to their lives and this film.

This movie is astonishing. There is this constant creepy mood throughout the show that keeps you on your toes of what will happen next. This movie completely leaves the whole "pop-out scares" to get you freaked out and rather preys on you by using multiple tiny little details that make your hair stand up. This constant use of paranoia is what makes the movie a classic. The characters are somewhat likeable. You will likely end up cheering for them but you won't have strong feelings when you see them suffer because the movie doesn't spend a whole whack of time developing them before the killers come into the picture. Just enough to make you feel a minor connection.What this horror movie does well is build up the tension. In most movies, we see the tension get built up for about twenty minutes then you have a big scare which releases the tension. Then builds it back up and so on. The Strangers doesn't give you that break. It continues to build up and up and up and you get more freaked out and paranoid, anticipating the end. It works in such a beautiful way that you don't feel ripped off when you don't see any actual killing.Now I know it is against the rules but I feel obligated to stand up for this film since I see it is getting unfair critique. Many people are giving it dangerously low ratings because the characters did not behave logically in certain situations...People mess up on everyday things. I'm sure if you throw in three killers in a stressful situation, they aren't thinking about every detail but rather acting on pure adrenaline. people gave this a rating of 1 star because the guy took off his jacket which had the bullets in it...I mean, I forget my car keys half the time and that is on a good day and without mass murderers trying to stab me with pointy objects so I don't think giving this low ratings because the characters made some poor decision justifies the entirety of this film. If you are looking for blood, guts, people dying left and right, this is not the film for you. If you want a creepy show that will make your hair stand up and have you shouting at the screen, then watch this!

A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants. The Strangers is a film that despite it's flaws it's still an intense horror flick with some good perfomances from Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman but also some intense scenes like the one where Liv's character is drinking water and the killer is behind her creeping but there's also some over the top jump scares like the one in the end and it needed a bit more tension at times but i admired what the director wanted to do and the actors did a great job and overall it was an enjoyable thriller. (7.5/10)

It's wrong for me to watch this at night with the lights off and the windows open. The story is frightening, mainly because the story is realistic. It's one of human's biggest fears: to be invaded. That's why locks are invented.The story starts uninteresting. After a wedding reception they attended, a beautiful couple goes home, located at the middle of nowhere. Some dialogues here and there, flashbacks on why they're both upset. And then the tension starts with a knock, Liv Tyler's character is alone, she's vulnerable and frightened. You can feel the suspense, the tension, your heart racing because of the unknown.That's it, it's pretty suspenseful, really. On other aspects, this film is average. The characterization is not very good, but then, in movies like this, the filmmakers do not give much thought about characters as they focus more on the suspense and frightening parts. The story is too simple and quite unimaginative. Yes, it's suspenseful, especially at the beginning. But that's it. No "I didn't see that coming" moments. There are also overused elements in horror films that are used here, especially at the climax scenes, making the movie quite predictable and tiresome at some parts. The ending is not very good.Well, I can say that The Strangers did not fail to terrify me, at least for a while. But it's not really a memorable one. Try watching this in the dark at 2 am.