Editorial Review:Product Description:Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 10/21/2008
Amazon.com:A lean, briskly paced and exceptionally creepy thriller,
The Strangers earns its scares the old-fashioned way: through atmosphere, sound design, and a simple yet undeniably upsetting central premise that allows for maximum tension throughout its running time. Attractive young lovers Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are already having a bad day--she's turned down his marriage proposal--before a knock on the door in the middle of the night announces a full-fledged siege on their remote vacation home by a trio of masked assailants. The film's first third delivers the most consistent shivers as the visitors make their presence and intentions known to Tyler; the second half grows more frantic and bloody before a gruesome finale that may leave viewers either rattled to their core or bothered by its empty nihilism. Speedman is fine as the downtrodden male lead (who's seen tucking into a carton of ice cream after being rejected), but it's Tyler who impresses the most by s! houldering the lion's share of the terror. First-time writer/director Bryan Bertino impresses by forsaking the current passion for over-the-top violence (save for the finale) in favor of more traditional means of generating fear, and if his project borrows heavily from other films, most notably the French chiller
Them (which shares its 'inspired by a true story' origin) and Michael Haneke's
Funny Games, at least he's taking from the best. The sound design is among the many technical standouts, and the unsettling score by tomandandy (
The Hills Have Eyes) pleasantly evokes Ennio Morricone's fuzztone-heavy work for Dario Argento in the early '70s. On a completely unrelated note, LP fanatics should appreciate how both the film's heroes and villains share an affinity for folk and country music on vinyl. --
Paul Gaita
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Not So Original...
I enjoyed The Strangers; I really did. The setup is simple, the execution frightening. The ending, however polarizing, is truthful to what comes before it and earns its place in the film.
Having said that, I recommend that before seeing this movie, you watch the 2006 French film Them (Ils) on which it was based. No, that's not right. Let me try again. I recommend that before seeing this movie, you watch the 2006 French film Them (Ils) that The Stangers writer-director Bryan Bertino flat-out ripped off. Now that I think about it, "ripped off" might be too kind a term. It insinuates that Bertino simply stole the *idea* of the movie instead of lifting scenes directly from it and planting them in his own movie. It's basic, good old-fashioned plagiarism at work here, and I think Bertino should be a little bit ashamed of himself for thinking that no one would ever notice that he copied an infinitely superior and little-seen French film.
As a punctuation point, when asked during an interview if The Strangers was influenced by an "original movie or other films," Bertino carefully replied: "I don't necessarily think that I looked at it." The title to which the interviewer was referring is not mentioned, but I'm pretty sure it was Them. The similarities are too many to be coincidental, and Bryan Bertino's response is more than vague; it's downright evasive.
You will find the interview here: http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12591.html
Rating: 
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Strangely Entertaining!
This film has some very creepy elements. The idea of a couple being randomly stalked by masked thrill-killers in a secluded home just screams horror! And the fact that it seems so random makes it all the more unnerving. Liv Tyler does a good turn as the female lead. And the behind-the-scenes feature is worth a look. All in all, not a bad flick to watch on an eerily quiet evening.
Rating: 
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Sent chills down my spine...
I've only been scared by two movies in my lifetime... "The Exorcist" and "The Strangers."
A couple scenes were predictable but I still nearly jumped off the couch.
I highly recommend this "terror" film.
Rating: 
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Blu-Ray Disc doesn't play
I purchased a new Sony Blu-Ray player and ordered this DVD. The 1st one did not load. I let it sit for an hour and nothing.
I returned to Amazon and they sent me a 2nd one. It took forever to load, but after 15 minutes it loaded. We had a power outage for a minute or so and I had to reload the DVD and again it sat for over an hour and would not load.
There is something really wrong with the Blu-Ray edeition of this film!
Rating: 
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Just Watch The Trailer...
As others have mentioned, the trailer for this film was very strong & scrary. Unfortunately for the viewer, the "BAM!" w/ loud noise effect wears thin half-way into the movie. Most everything that happens is predicable, but I was give it props for the antagonists of the film. They basically terrorize a couple instead of just killing them like most horror films (not that they die for you 1st time viewers.) Maybe they do & maybe they don't - I don't even know... & I saw the movie. The last 5 minutes plays like they forgot to write an ending at all & had to stay on budget...