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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 date; 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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Grinding and suffocating

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/26/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

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

An extremely effective claustrophobic horror picture that starts slow but ultimately provides us with plenty of suspense all the way through to its very dark ending.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
11/21/08
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

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

An effectively grim, exceedingly well-made horror thriller.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Screen International

When the film is this effective, it’s hard to complain.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment 1 Comment
10/18/08
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Nerve-jangling horror flick that wrings maximum scares out of its simple premise, thanks to strong direction and superb performances from Speedman and Tyler.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/18/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A good-looking, sophisticated, if somewhat pointless addition to the slasher-horror genre.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/29/08
Charlotte O'Sullivan
Charlotte O'Sullivan
This is London

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.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
08/29/08
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/29/08
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

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]

Lean, mean and razor-edged, this nasty little home-invasion thriller drags you by your white knuckles on a horror chill-ride while flicking its middle finger at Funny Games. Prepare to be scared something rotten.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/29/08
Matt Mueller
Matt Mueller
Total Film

Delayed by over a year, but don’t let that fool you: this may be lightweight, but it knows what goes bump in the night.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
08/29/08
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

As a simple exercise in tension and dread, this is a gripping hour at the multiplex - it's just a pity that it goes on for a further 20 minutes.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/29/08
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

Messy, intermittently effective ordeal horror.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/29/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; 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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