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The Strangers

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The Strangers (2008)

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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... 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 James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation home in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted by the sound of a heavy knock at the door. They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we watch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger. Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and much of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and ready to push a chair against your own front door. [More]

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton, Alex Fisher, Peter Clayton-Luce

Director: Bryan Bertino

Director: Bryan Bertino
Screenwriter: Bryan Bertino
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Nathan Kahane
Composer: Tomandandy
Studio: Rogue Pictures

[See More Credits]

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1 - 4 of 5

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Reviews for The Strangers

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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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.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/07/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The cumulative effect of unexpected knocks at the door, creaking floors, shadows, noises and strange happenings is a heart-pounding experience

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/07/08
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

Don't let the attractive cast, the slick look or the 'inspired by true events' nonsense mislead you. The Strangers is a despicable and mean-spirited practical joke.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 13 Comments
06/02/08
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Inevitably, the cat and mouse game goes on too long and the tension dies a slow death. A bit like Liv’s career.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 3 Comments
08/29/08
Sun Online
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The good thing about the three masked intruders is that they stay masked. This saves their careers. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Scott Speedman. He reacts to every scary indignation as if he was being checked for fleas.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment 2 Comments
05/31/08
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

The Strangers is one of those inane fright fests that relies upon the victimizers being omniscient and omnipresent while the victims are complete morons.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment 2 Comments
05/28/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

At least it's short.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/18/08
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

no edge, no originality, no subtlety, and all the intelligence of a doggie squeak toy

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
05/31/08
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

so well made, so moody and tense, that its emptiness can almost be overlooked - but if you want something a little more than a po-faced thrill ride, best look elsewhere

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
08/28/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies

Though most of the movie was efficient, it felt empty.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/04/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

The Strangers gets your hopes up with some smart filmmaking but then pretty much dashes them by the final predictable fade out.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
06/08/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

The Strangers is a deadly dull experience in boredom, strangled by two cinematic stumbling blocks -- one external and one of its own unfortunate making.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

A sadistic, unmotivated home-invasion flick.

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
06/02/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

The real problem is that there's absolutely nothing original here and it's obvious they tried to take what works and recycle it.

Full Review Source: Bloody Disgusting | comment Comment
05/28/08
Brad Miska
Brad Miska
Bloody Disgusting

For inferior horror films to work, they must be populated with characters who act irrationally at best and downright idiotically at worst.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
05/30/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette

Strangers is 80 minutes of screen stillness; a suspense picture powered by directorial incompetence and behavioral idiocy...a pile of tasteless genre garbage.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
05/31/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

There's no denying that The Strangers fulfils its limited objective of showing nasty things happening to defenceless people. For some audiences that may be enough - but not for me or, I hope, for you.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 6 Comments
08/29/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

The Strangers has a couple of scares, but it's not anywhere near as frightening as advertised. The creepy folks of the title are more fumbling than fiendish.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 1 Comment
10/18/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Strangers

August 28, 2008: Rogue Eager to Meet More Strangers Opens in new window
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...

See All

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