The Strangers

Review by Sean Lynch

There is nothing scarier than random acts of violence.

At least with slasher movies, we know the killer is a monster. In the Saw movies, we knew there was a moral reason behind the killings.

With The Ring, it was supernatural and out of our control.

With Hostel, we know it's because some people just have too much money, time and severely warped power issues.

But with The Strangers, there is simply no explanation - and that is the scariest thought of all.

In his feature film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted one hell of an intense and downright creepy horror flick.

The film opens up with a voice over one octave lower than Barry White's, framing the film's fictional events within the disturbing real world statistic that:

"The film you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the F.B.I. there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year.

"On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend's wedding reception and returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known."

The movie starts midway through a romantic ordeal, with champagne and candlelight going to waste. A night that should have been one of celebration, but sometimes relationships don't work out that way.

For Kirsten (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) the remaining hours of the morning are expected to be grueling - how do you sleep in the same romantic room as the woman who "isn't ready" to marry you.

That was their idea of horror... Until a 4:00am knock on the door and a haunting voice asked "Is Tamara here?".

Despite what the trailer suggests, this is no ordinary horror flick. In fact, you would be hard pressed to even consider it "horror" as opposed to out and out "thriller". There is barely a speck of blood here. This is the psychological torture equivalent of the physical torture audiences endured throughout Hostel. Not just harking back to the days of what you don't see, but adding to that the fear of what you don't know as well as what you do know.

The Strangers is gut-wrenchingly gripping from the get-go. There is something disturbing about knowing the fate of the films' lead characters from the very beginning that is so heart-breaking and nerve-wracking.

You know what's coming, you just don't know how, why or when.

And therein lies the fear, the morbid notion of being one step ahead of the doomed protagonists.

The cast deliver some layered performances here (special credit must go to Aussie girl Gemma Ward in her debut Hollywood performance, who is often heard but not seen), but the real star of the show is the intensity and eerie suspense crafted by director Brian Bertino through simple wide angle shots and use of innocent songs rotating on a record player.

Rumour has it that the film is inspired, in part, by a game Charles Manson's gang would often play, in which they would go into peoples houses and move their belongings around the house while the owners slept mere metres away. The film is successful in conveying that disturbing sense of emotionless ramdominity from the events that unfold.

One of the most genuinely creepy and scary films released in the last decade, which will ensure you double check the door is locked when you get home from the cinema, The Strangers proves you don't need a big budget to be deliver big scares.

Outstandingly disturbing.

4.5 out of 5

The Strangers
Australian release: 14th August, 2008
Official Site: The Strangers
Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward
Director: Bryan Bertino