Theatrical Review of The Strangers

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This review of "The Strangers" contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

"The Strangers" is a perfect example of the current problem with horror movies: the need to humanize the "bad guys." With the recent reimagining of "Halloween," not to mention the latest installment in the "Saw" series…and the latter "Nightmare on Elm Street" flicks and a dozen other recent and classic horror films, writers tend to give our masked killers a backstory, a reason for being the way they are. It is to the film´s great advantage, then, when the end credits begin to roll, we´re not left with antagonists abused as children, born into backwoods families or having experienced any other type of trauma.

When Kristen McKay and James Hoyt (Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman) retreat to his parents house following a wedding-and presumably a fight-they are soon stalked by three masked strangers.

I´m shocked at that simple log line. Really, I am. There is nothing more to "The Strangers." No deep relationship between Kristen and James. No exploration of their lives and not even a fleshing out of the problem between them. We´re dropped into the story, blood spatters, Tyler yells and then the credits roll. Quite simple. Maybe a bit simpler than it really needed to be, but there´s a welcome ease to the story we don´t get anymore. The characters aren´t forced to jump through hoops, nor is their agony prolonged unnecessarily. At the moment we´re ready to be done with the events, they actually end.

That´s why the movie works so incredibly well. No fluff, no muss. Just a big mess. Armed with a small cast (despite eight credited speaking parts, only two have any meaningful dialogue) and only one location, writer/director Bryan Bertino crafts a story in which we feel trapped right along with Kristen and James. There is a scene played in the trailer showcasing the masked male figure watching Kristen in the kitchen, completely unbeknownst to her. The fact is, despite knowing full well Kristen isn´t going to die this early in the film, the lack of a score and an unbroken scene allows the tension to build. We know the intruder is in the house. But at this point, she doesn´t…prompting a couple screams from my particular audience.

Neither Speedman or Tyler is exceptional in their parts individually, yet together they form a convincing pair. In particular, Tyler appears a bit stiff and flat for the majority of the running time, as if she doesn´t quite grasp the gravity of her situation. Every word she says is in near-monotone while she vacillates between a terrified and serene facial expression. Speedman is more animated, owing to the fact as the male he feels responsible for her safety. If anything, he´s the one who becomes the most unhinged until the climax of the production. (He does shoot a presumed brother, so it´s not entirely out of line.)

"The Strangers" turns out to be a smart horror film, too. Not sarcastic as was the trend in the 1990s after "Scream" hit the screen. It's not a morality play, akin to "Saw." It's pure blood and screaming. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. The audience is able to run, so to speak, with both main characters as they whittle away their options for escape. Phones, cars, weapons, radios...they don't make a whole lot of mistakes trying to stay alive, which turns out to be a plus for the audience. Sure, a stray door is kept open and the two separate near the end of the film, though, on the whole, moments of formulaic stupidity are few and far between.

Shot almost entirely with handheld camera, Bertino keeps us off kilter for nearly the full 90 minute running time. Early on, before the terror starts, the shot selection is almost entirely closeups designed to make us more intimate with our protagonists. It works, leading us to want (and expect, more on that in a minute) them to survive. By pushing us into the middle of their disintegrating relationship, a question pops into our minds. Can their night get any worse? When the camera takes a couple steps backward, it allows us to see the broader picture, such as the one I mentioned with one of the strangers watching Kristen.

The technique also doubles as a cooling off point for the relationship drama. When all the focus is on a relatively inconsequential issue in real life, there is a feeling of living under a microscope or, in this case, with the cameras pushed into your face. With time-no matter how little-the problem isn't so bad anymore, leading to a gradual distance growing. Each scene ratchets the intensity ever so slightly through a distinct lack of a score or the relative sparseness of the scene. In actuality, the camera doesn't show us nearly as much as we think it does. Sure, there's blood and a particularly nasty gun shot wound, yet the camera doesn't revel in these acts. Bertino doesn't much care for slathering the audience in the grotesque as much as he does in playing with our minds.

And it works to such an extent I hope there is no sequel, that we can be left with a feeling of unease and mild fear coming home to a dark house by ourselves. Any further adventures of the masked strangers would lead, ultimately, to explaining who they are and why they do what they do. The three are much more of a psychological menace if we don't know. However, the ending seems to all but ensure a sequel is forthcoming. "It'll be easier next time." Next time indeed.

"The Strangers" manages to be creepier, scarier, more terrifying and less bloody than most other horror movies out there. It's comparable to last year's "Vacancy" in that respect. Allegedly inspired by true events, it rates a 7 out of 10. The lack of clear motivations (aside from a mumbled reply I'm not sure anyone in the theater heard...is it "Because you're a whore" or "Because you're home"?) helps immensely, as does the claustrophobic feeling, not to mention a smart script and equally smart characters-with one or two minor exceptions.

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