Review: The Strangers (2008)

Review Written By: Gaius Bolling

Release Date: May 30th, 2008 (in theaters) & October 21st, 2008 (on DVD) 

2008 has not been a great year for the horror genre. There have been many titles released this year that have certainly lowered the bar for the medium. Some of these mishaps have been One Missed Call, Prom Night, The Eye & Mirrors to name a few. This doesn't even include the barrage of cheaply made direct to DVD sequels (Joy Ride 2, Lost Boys: The Tribe & Pulse 2 spring to mind). Speaking as a true horror fan, even I almost gave up on a genre that I have loved since a child.

It is because of my diminishing faith that I must thank director Bryan Bertino for giving us "The Strangers". All signs pointed to this film being dead on arrival since the film finished shooting in early 2007 and was postponed twice before it's final release date on May 30, 2008. When a studio pushes a film back, for whatever reason, is never a good sign but "The Strangers" certainly bucked that trend. This a very simple, yet affective horror film that gets under your skin and doesn't let you out of its grasp until long after the credits have rolled. Needless to say, my faith has been restored a bit.

The premise presents itself from a it could happen to you perspective. It's 4:00 am when Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) arrive at his cabin in the woods. It has not been a good night for them - Kristen turned down his wedding proposal - but it's about to get much worse. As they're preparing for bed and trying to figure out how to bridge the gulf that has suddenly opened between them, there's a knock at the door. This is the first of many such interruptions of the still night, and it isn't long before harassment develops into something darker and more dangerous. The woods, normally empty and serene, now hold the promise of terror and death.

I think we all have a distinct fear of someone invading our sanctuary. We should feel safe in our homes and when that barrier is broken, then it leaves us open to feelings of vulnerability. "The Strangers" toys with this fear to great lengths. Bertino is a director who seems to know that less is more and the little scares he gives us during the initial harassment of the couple are startling. Banging on doors and hearing noises in the distance haven't been this scary in quite some time. The intruders in the film toy with the victims simply because they can and seem to take much pleasure in simply terrifying them before they make their attack. The methodical nature of their torment is what makes "The Strangers" truly work.

Bertino has many tricks up his sleeve that work and some seem to be paying homage to horror films of the past. One of the great aspects of John Carpenter's "Halloween" is that the audience would know about the impending danger long before some of the characters would. This same method is used several times in "The Strangers". We know long before they do that these people can get in and out of the house. There is a particularly eerie scene, that is shown in the films trailer, that shows one of them lurking in the background unbeknownst to the Liv Tyler character. Even though we know these things, however, Bertino frames scenes in a way that makes the viewer not feel safe. We're in this journey with them, and even though we know they're around, we do not know when something is coming.

If there is a weakness, it's character development. We care enough about the two central characters because they're likable enough, but the relationship struggles between them early on aren't that interesting. Also, even though this horror film is a cut above some of the more recent entries, it cannot escape the trappings of its characters doing very boneheaded things. There are several times when the lapses in judgement nearly take you out of the film but thankfully many of these moments are followed up with effective scares to distract the viewer from getting too upset.

Despite the character flaws, Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman do very good work in the film. I bought them as a couple and thought they produced decent enough chemistry to make me care about what happened to them in the end. Liv Tyler is particularly effective since I've been guilty of ignoring some of her earlier work and was pleasantly surprised by her work here. Since they are the only two characters with a bulk of the dialogue, I think they did a good job of carrying the film on their shoulders.

Now, about the DVD. I must say it's a crushing disappointment. The promotion of unrated material seems a bit much since only very little is added to warrant the unrated label. There is apparently a few seconds of added brutality towards the end of the film. Even more disappointing are the lack of extras. We get 2 deleted scenes that don't add much to the film and a short behind the scenes feature on the making of the film. I would have loved to heard a commentary from the director to see what inspired him in making this film, but alas no.

Despite the shortcomings of the DVD, I highly recommend "The Strangers" because it is one of the scariest films I've seen in awhile and I think if we throw our support behind good films in the genre then more of its kind can be made. I'm pretty sure the studio washed this release to DVD to take advantage of potential Halloween sales so I wouldn't be too surprised if we got a special edition somewhere down the line since this film was a surprise hit at the box office. If you have nothing else to do this Halloween season, give this film a look, you will not be disappointed.

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