The Strangers Movie Review (2008)

It’s been a while that I do a movie review so I thought I’ll try to start again as I actually like to watch movies a lot. By the way, my movie review is always spoiler free, so don’t be scared to read on

On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend’s wedding reception and then returned to the Hoyt family’s summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known.

Those are the narration taken from the introduction scene of the movie and the movie claimed to be based on a true event. How far the true part is, I’m not so sure. Especially if it’s been mixed with some “Holywood spices”.

James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) and Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) were planning to spend some romantic evening on Hoyt’s family summer house in the middle of the woods. Candle light dinners and roses petals have been prepared on the house. It was perfect. Well if you watch the early part of the movie, you’ll find out that something had gone wrong between the two.

Nevertheless, that is not the main plot of the story, the strangers are. Starting with a knock on the door at 4 a.m, tensions arise and it’s obvious that these strangers are trying to break into the house.

The Strangers (2008) is a horror/thriller movie (note: The Strangers is not a ghost movie) and the movie does a good job at creating tensions and suspense throughout the film. The movie doesn’t rely on advanced cinematic effects, but more on sound design, acting, and the camera positioning. 

The plot is okay, but not great. The whole movie is more like a hide and seeks kind of game between the two and the strangers. It is unclear what the strangers really want, until the end of the movie. 

I think Liv Tyler (one of my favorite actress) acts really well in the movie. Unfortunately I can barely hear her screaming because I have 2 friends next to me (girls) who screamed louder than her in the movie on some parts of the film, lol.

If you have ever watched Vacancy, played by Kate Beckinsale, you’ll find similarities with this movie. If you like watching Vacancy though (which is another brilliant film), I’m pretty sure you’ll love watching The Strangers too. Just make sure that you are not staying home, alone, after watching this movie

If you are a horror movie hardcore, though, turn your eyes somewhere else.

The Good
+ No sex, no F* words that seem to dominate every single holywood movie nowadays
+ Good suspense (sound, environtment, camera play, etc)
+ Based on a true story
+ No overblown effects
+ Liv Tyler  

The Bad
- Not a really satisfying ending
- Some “What the?” scenes that always happen on every horror movie (things like “Why would she wanna do that?” etc.
- May not satisfy true horror fans

Have you watched the Strangers? What do you think of it?