The Strangers
starring: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Glenn Howerton, Kip Weeks
directed by: Bryan Bertino
directed by: Bryan Bertino
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Product Description:
DVD
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 shouldering 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
DVD
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 shouldering 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:
Rating: 
- SUCKS
I dont know how anyone can manage to get scared watching this movie- I was too busy getting frustrated.Let me see, there's two of us, three of them. We have a shot gun- they have an ax.**Plot Spoiler** This is how the two of us idiots managed to die.
Rating: 
- Better than I Thought
I had heard some bad reviews about this movie before I brought it, but I got it anyway because not everyone has the same taste. I must say that I am not disappointed with this movie. It's soo creepy and scary. The fact that it's based on true events just adds to the creepiness of it. Overall I think that it was a good movie and I'm glad that I brought it.
Rating: 
- Contrived...
Liv Tyler ("Lord of the Rings", "Jersey Girl") and Scott Speedman ("Underworld") play a couple with a dissolving relationship spending the night in a vacation home. Claiming to be `inspired by true events', it's not difficult to believe. The story is a rehash of possibly every slasher film from the seventies. The real star here is the sound effects. The viewer is initially spooked by loud knockings on doors and other things that `go bump in the night'. After ten minutes, it becomes wearisome and ... Read More
Rating: - A movie about who can be the dumbest.
Not a terrible setup.Masked psychos terrorize a couple late one night in a large house nestled in the corner of a small, rich suburb.A bit slow to start and the characters aren't anything close to interesting, but the setup is decent and the atmosphere is good.
Problem?Everyone's a moron.
If you're a home intruder and the people at home have a gun, you're not going to keep attacking.No you're going to run the **** away and go to some other house some other night. ... Read More
Rating: - (2.5 STARS) I Think I Saw the Film Somewhere Before...
In "The Strangers" two characters, a couple played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, are trapped in a remote summer house all through the night, harassed and terrorized by some masked strangers, whose identity and purpose are vague at best. Sounds familiar?
Maybe this is accidental, but the film's story looks very familiar - which reminds us of "Funny Games" "Vacancy" and of course, David Moreau and Xavier Palud's French thriller "Them" - but what disappointed me is not the similarity ... Read More
- SUCKSI dont know how anyone can manage to get scared watching this movie- I was too busy getting frustrated.Let me see, there's two of us, three of them. We have a shot gun- they have an ax.**Plot Spoiler** This is how the two of us idiots managed to die.
- Better than I ThoughtI had heard some bad reviews about this movie before I brought it, but I got it anyway because not everyone has the same taste. I must say that I am not disappointed with this movie. It's soo creepy and scary. The fact that it's based on true events just adds to the creepiness of it. Overall I think that it was a good movie and I'm glad that I brought it.
- Contrived...Liv Tyler ("Lord of the Rings", "Jersey Girl") and Scott Speedman ("Underworld") play a couple with a dissolving relationship spending the night in a vacation home. Claiming to be `inspired by true events', it's not difficult to believe. The story is a rehash of possibly every slasher film from the seventies. The real star here is the sound effects. The viewer is initially spooked by loud knockings on doors and other things that `go bump in the night'. After ten minutes, it becomes wearisome and ... Read More
- A movie about who can be the dumbest.Not a terrible setup.Masked psychos terrorize a couple late one night in a large house nestled in the corner of a small, rich suburb.A bit slow to start and the characters aren't anything close to interesting, but the setup is decent and the atmosphere is good.
Problem?Everyone's a moron.
If you're a home intruder and the people at home have a gun, you're not going to keep attacking.No you're going to run the **** away and go to some other house some other night. ... Read More
- (2.5 STARS) I Think I Saw the Film Somewhere Before...In "The Strangers" two characters, a couple played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, are trapped in a remote summer house all through the night, harassed and terrorized by some masked strangers, whose identity and purpose are vague at best. Sounds familiar?
Maybe this is accidental, but the film's story looks very familiar - which reminds us of "Funny Games" "Vacancy" and of course, David Moreau and Xavier Palud's French thriller "Them" - but what disappointed me is not the similarity ... Read More
