Although the new thriller THE STRANGERS (2008) is being released a year after its original release date and just several months after the similarly themed French film Ils (Them) hits DVD shelves, this American styled retelling of a true story is bound to appeal to a broader audience then the French film. Both films tell the story of a couple who are unexpected terrorized by a group of people in masks for no apparent reason other then because they were home.
The incident that inspired both films was such a public outrage of senseless violence by young kids that it was ripe for cinematic adaptation. Like the story of Ed Gein influenced everything from PSYCHO to THE TEXAS CHAN SAW MASSACRE this story is also shocking beyond belief. Another film released this year FUNNY GAMES (a remake of an earlier film) echo the same incident only more in your face.
In THE STRANGERS it is never revealed who the assailants are that terrorize James Hoyt and his girlfriend Kristen McKay (an exceptionally well-casted Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, respectfully) on a night when they are returning home from a friends wedding. Everything should be fine but no sooner do they reach the house that they find themselves the unwilling participants in a cat and mouse game with three people wearing masks who continue to mock and terrorize them no matter where they try to run or hide.
It’s a very simple premise but it works extremely well due to the terrific casting and the excellent script by writer/director Bryan Bertino who brings suspense and atmosphere to a story that could have easily been a bargain basement straight to DVD film. He also crafts a genuine relationship between James & Kristen which drives their motivations through the whole film and makes the audience really feel for their impossible situation no mater how dire it becomes. Other horror films should take notice of this film.
The incident that inspired both films was such a public outrage of senseless violence by young kids that it was ripe for cinematic adaptation. Like the story of Ed Gein influenced everything from PSYCHO to THE TEXAS CHAN SAW MASSACRE this story is also shocking beyond belief. Another film released this year FUNNY GAMES (a remake of an earlier film) echo the same incident only more in your face.
In THE STRANGERS it is never revealed who the assailants are that terrorize James Hoyt and his girlfriend Kristen McKay (an exceptionally well-casted Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, respectfully) on a night when they are returning home from a friends wedding. Everything should be fine but no sooner do they reach the house that they find themselves the unwilling participants in a cat and mouse game with three people wearing masks who continue to mock and terrorize them no matter where they try to run or hide.
It’s a very simple premise but it works extremely well due to the terrific casting and the excellent script by writer/director Bryan Bertino who brings suspense and atmosphere to a story that could have easily been a bargain basement straight to DVD film. He also crafts a genuine relationship between James & Kristen which drives their motivations through the whole film and makes the audience really feel for their impossible situation no mater how dire it becomes. Other horror films should take notice of this film.
Although the film is not really graphic or violent the gore and shock of the situation is layered in like that of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO or Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. The audience believes that the film is more violent then it truly is as much is left to the imagination. THE STRANGERS is a superior genre film to anything else that’s been released this year by an American studio.
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1 comment:
The better horror/thrillers mess with your head rather than throwing it in your face. :)
We watched The Mist the other night and enjoyed it, though I guess a lot of people who had read the novella were upset and/or disappointed. In my opinion it's always a mistake to try to just put the book up on the screen and my biggest problem with King is that he often has unsatisfying endings.
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