The film's most potent claim to success is its lengthy and cleverly edited stretches of spookiness, which it tends to extend to almost breaking point, keeping us in heightened suspense.
Comment
08/07/08
The Strangers (2008)
44
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:63
Rotten:79
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: The Strangers provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
US Box Office: $52,534,295
Synopsis: For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and... [More]
Reviews for The Strangers
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticThe cumulative effect of unexpected knocks at the door, creaking floors, shadows, noises and strange happenings is a heart-pounding experience
08/07/08
Top CriticBertino, who comes off as more of a veteran behind the camera than a rookie, gives the film its own identity by slowly building up the action instead of jumping into everything in a hurry.
05/30/08
For most of its length, this is a grippingly unpleasant picture of barbaric, gratuitous evil, stealthier and scarier than Funny Games, to which it bears a slight resemblance.
08/29/08
This movie is far from great, but it did scare the heck out of me quite a few times. I have to give it props for that.
06/06/08
An effectively grim, exceedingly well-made horror thriller.
10/18/08
Really scary. A 10 on the "creepy" scale.
05/29/08
The Strangers may not be perfect but it's easy to believe that Bertino's next few will be. It's that great a debut.
05/30/08
Though we always know where things are going, the film still frightens from moment to moment.
05/30/08
A good-looking, sophisticated, if somewhat pointless addition to the slasher-horror genre.
08/29/08
The Strangers is still entertaining but, just so you know, Them came up with a sharper, more disturbing way to finish things off.
05/30/08
A fine throwback, and one filled with moments of real suspense. In spite of its rushed, awkward ending, I'd take this any day over the Saw movies, and all that came in their wake.
06/03/08
Clearly influenced by slashers such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Last House On The Left, there’s a decent sense of claustrophobia in the first hour.
08/29/08
Bertino’s cat-and-mouse chase is genuinely terrifying. If the director learns how to make what happens once the mouse is caught just as interesting, he’ll have a long, prosperous future ahead of him.
05/29/08
The Strangers has been saddled with an increasingly uneven sensibility that ultimately dulls the movie's overall impact.
05/29/08
It's all efficiently nerve-jangling, with Tyler and Speedman credibly registering every hue of panic.
05/29/08
Top CriticAn immensely creepy thriller, one that plays fair with the audience, treats its characters with unusual intelligence for the genre, and is all the more effective because the minimalist plot is kept spare and straightforward.
05/29/08
An old-school spooker spun from the blood splatter on a wall, a nearby record player scratching an oldie, a CB radio in the garage, a creaky swing set in the backyard.
05/27/08
Bertino has created a seriously harrowing cautionary tale that's sure to be remembered the next time you're left in a house by yourself.
05/29/08
Every silence, pause and sudden noise startles -- and the results, frankly, are more frightening than the graphic torture scenes in movies like Hostel and Saw.
05/30/08
Latest News for The Strangers
August 28, 2008:
Rogue Eager to Meet More Strangers 
Rogue Pictures has greenlighted a sequel to the Liv Tyler horror movie "The Strangers," and hired the original's writer/director, Bryan Bertino, to pen the script. More...
June 05, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Black vs. Sandler in Comedy Showdown
Two big doses of comedy from a pair of Hollywood's funniest men will hit the multiplexes across North America on Friday in a fierce battle for the number one spot. For family... More...
May 29, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Sex in the Multiplex All Weekend Long
This weekend a quartet of New York City gals will try to boot Indiana Jones out of the number one spot at the North American box office as the much-hyped comedy Sex and the City... More...
May 29, 2008:
Critical Consensus: Sex and the City Will Please Fans
This week at the movies, we've got love and commerce (Sex and the City: The Movie, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall) and romantic getaways gone wrong (The... More...
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