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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 source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 momentum Bertino builds up over the course of the movie is deflated by an ending that doesn't match the rest of the film.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
05/29/08
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

A mediocre scare show that just happened to have one of the best trailers of recent times. At two minutes, The Strangers is terrifying; at eighty-five, it's lackluster.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 1 Comment
05/30/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

It wrings ever drop of terror it can out of making us identify with doomed people, and suffering as they suffer. That might be nihilistic, but it's also empathetic.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
06/05/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

If you're a fan of the genre, The Strangers provides all the shocks and scares you could possibly want.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
05/29/08
Randy Cordova
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic

There’s little that distinguishes this movie’s basic plot from scores of other fright films over the decades, but The Stranger is more effective than most because of [director] Bertino’s deft manipulation of the storyteller’s tools.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
05/29/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

As an exercise in controlled mayhem, horror movies don't get much scarier.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
05/29/08
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

Opening against Sex and the City, it's counterprogramming that runs counter to any sane notion of art or entertainment.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
05/30/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

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.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
06/03/08
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

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

[Director] Bertino has the pretensions of an artist and the indelicacy of a hack. He tries to get under our skin with a pile driver.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/30/08
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

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

A retread of just about every home-invasion movie of the past 50 years mixed with elements of torture porn and chick-flick romance.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 3 Comments
10/18/08
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Boxoffice Magazine

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

A lean, effective little exercise in scares. It offers nothing new but is perfect for breaking the ice on a first date.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 2 Comments
08/29/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film

Speedman remains comatose, though Tyler flickers fitfully to life. The mournful look on her face suggests she's remembering the days when she was given more psychologically complex scripts, such as Armageddon.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
05/29/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

There's nothing remotely new here, but the movie has the taut, queasy feel of an early 70s drive-in shocker: old-fashioned suspense without any guarantee of old-fashioned mercy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/30/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

The movie deserves more stars for its bottom-line craft, but all the craft in the world can't redeem its story.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 10 Comments
05/30/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Anchored by convincing performances from Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, both of whom elevate their roles above the standard horror-movie caricature, this is an enormously unsettling movie.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
05/29/08
Jessica Reaves
Jessica Reaves
Chicago Tribune
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; 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...

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