THE STRANGERS (2008)

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""You were home" A chilling non-reason for murder, A terrifically, terrifyingly experience and movie (Spoiler Alert) "

Opening Thoughts:

I was expecting a good movie, what I got was n excellent, terrifying, horror movie experience. My expectations of this movie was exceeded, from the way it look, and was promoted I thought this would be same old average horror movie, boyfriend gets killed, girl becomes a heroin kills all the killers or gets away from the killers, or girl gets tortured and killed maybe even raped (negative), or boyfriend is the killer, or what have you, but this was not the case in this one. This was chilling, scary, original (based off a true story but original in process and occurrences), good, unexpected, and an all out good time. One thing though, this movie almost has a somewhat one timer feel, but honestly I'd watch it again and enjoy it the same, buy or rent it on Blu-Ray unrated edition, 5 out of 5 (9.9/10) horror movie. I hope this recent rise in exemplary movies keep coming out; I see 2009 being a great year for movies.

Story:

The story takes place in a rural location, with our protagonist couple Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman), at the Hoyt summer home. The begins at just before the end, with a kid calling the police distraught by the atrocious events that took place, from the night before, concluding minutes before he and his friend enter the Hoyt summer home. Close up flashes of a car broken and its windshield shattered, a front door with a whole hacked in it bent off its hinges, a bloody knife on the floor, an empty shotgun on a table, blood splatter on a wall, and a suede blue engagement ring box surrounded by rose petals lie on the floor. Numerous houses in a rural environment flash by as the sun beings to set in the background. Fade in to James and Kristen in a Volvo, stopped at a red light glaring into the car, encrimsoning the two, James incensed, Kristen with tears running down her face, both not looking at each other, the light turns green, the car pulls away. Next we see them pulling up to a house and stop, James gets out and shuts the door, Kristen is very jumpy and lights a cigarette, James pulls out a bundle of mail out of the mailbox and gets back into the car, he continues to drive up the pathway. It Cuts to him getting out, and slamming the car door, Kristen still jumpy, jumps at the slam, James enters a dark house with luggage, Kristen looking on at him enter the house finish her Cigarette, and enters the house. Still not speaking to each, except for small talk, she enters the house and sees rose petals everywhere and what was supposed to be a romantic night, James now in the bedroom, puts the luggage down and says you can have the bedroom. Kristen near the bathroom, says she going to take a bath, he helps her unzip her dress and take off her necklace. She's in the bath, head on knees, James in the dining room eating ice cream. The movie back tracks to the beginning of the night, at a wedding reception. Kristen is stilling at a table by herself, laughing listening, partly nervous, partly uninterested, partly showing a false interest in what's being said, waiting for her boyfriend James to return. He worryingly and nervously goes up to he, they connect, and begin to talk, and recompensely laughs at the story being told, then asks her to come with him outside, after kissing. Then we see him carrying her outside, they stop outside the car, he says I have to ask you something, and then pulls out a blue suede engagement ring box. The movie cuts to them at the dining room table, he hands her the blue suede box, and says I want you to keep it, and I can't take it back. Their emotions begin to increase, they begin to kiss, and start the old dirty, dirty. He slides her panties down, she unbuttons his pants, a sudden knock on the door is heard, he buttons his pants and answers the door cautiously, a blonde haired girl is at the door, face shadowed, asking if Tamyra is there, James tells her, no there's no Tamyra here, you've got the wrong house, Kristen begins to talk to him, the girl disappears. Thus beginning the atrocious event s that proceeds, by three mask characters Dollface, Man in the Mask (I call him Sackhead)and Pin-Up Girl, and there stalking, torturing, terrorizing, and eventually murder occurs. They were home is the underlying reason for their deaths.

Acting:

Liv Tyler as Kristen McKay, was great, I say her as the character as the movie progressed, which is better then, just seeing Liv Tyler, not the character throughout the movie. This character really comes to life, as the events worsen, given the situation she was in is scary for anyone, especially being by yourself, in rural area, in house that is penetratable, by killers. I really didn't notice any flaws, except the beginning scenes, her emotions looked/felt natural and realistic, and a chillingly exemplary performance.

Scott Speedman as James Hoyt, I got behind, I saw him as the character, partially because I haven't really seen him in anything, (although he looks a lot like a blend between Hugo Mortensen and Aaron Eckhart ). Besides that I saw a man disappointed, angered, baffled, the earlier night's events, in additions, a man trying to survive the night, and an unknown experience (being toyed, tortured, and stalked by masked killers). I thought he did very good, although his character's role is toned down, pushed back, and hardly in the movie, to promote the Kristen character. Like Liv Tyler, his performance looked/felt natural, and realistic, an exemplary job.

Genre:

A Nihilism, Thriller, Terror, Torture, Masked killer, Real life Crime/Murder based Horror.

Cinematography:

I love the way, this was shot, very thrilling, and suspiciously secretive, one thing I thought was so great was the many visions of the killers just off, watching them and the house, and when the camera and characters, look away the killers disappear, even if they are six feet away, just when you think the killers are going to kill the characters, the vanish silently and seamlessly like the we're never even there. A main example is when Sackhead is in the house by the door, out of focus, Kristen at the sink drinking water, she turns around and looks in his direction, and your (including me) are expecting her to scream a blood curdling scream, but nothing he's vanished , alls you here is the door shut, (which was locked), then when she goes to check the door, what do we expect, the door to be open, Sackhead standing there, what do we get before the door, the smoke alarm on the chair, not on the floor. Then at the door, it's cracked open, absolutely horrify to know that the door has been opened, when it was locked. I like the way Sackhead and Dollface worked together, he would walk away then she would appear (not usually done). I had a terrifyingly pleasing experience watching this movie, and was visually pleased throughout (I even started to yell at her, seeing her take chances, which is always good, evoking the catharsis feeling).

Direction:

Bryan Bertino, directorial and writing debut, was astonishing, the movie feels and somewhat plays like a classical horror movie but, then turns that on its head. You get the pull-in-ratio (c), which I'm always a fan of, and for a Horror to do that, now a days, that's even better. This was a very new and revisionist way of doing a horror movie, a lot of the traditional and set ways of doing things are changed, like the man protagonist staying alive and not being killed and placed somewhere to scare the girl protagonist, the protagonist don't live to see the next day or sunlight, the protagonist never get killed in the daylight tied up, you hardly see the killers watch and wait, to kill their victims, you hardly see the killers toy with their victims, (Sackhead walking away in the kitchen, Pin-up Girl and Kristen in the shed), you always see the killers faces by the end, (I really like that you don't see their faces). I'm guessing the Blonde or Dollface is the leader, which is never usually seen, the killers don't usually take off their masks to kill their victims, and take turns stabbing the victims, the killers don't usually know where people are all the time, but in this they know every time, and lastly killers don't usually let a victim live. I can't wait to see more of his work, this was a very good horror movie, and it made me feel scared, and never guess what would happen, plus it's been awhile sense I have seen a horror movie that was good and scared me, an exceptional job by Bertino, especially for a first time movie, director, and writer.

Tangent:

There was just some stuff that I noticed, in this movie, that got some points deducted, to a 9.9/10, instead of reaching a 10/10, and one was a continuity error, is when Kristen is running out side and stumbles into a ditch when she gets up James' black tie is missing from her cut hand, then in the next seen is there again, in others scenes the tie is missing again. Another thing I noticed was that in the beginning it looks like Liv Tyler is acting, seen mostly at the part when Scott Speedman puts his hand on her face, it doesn't look like a natural occurrence it looks anticipated and acted. On another note If I asked someone to marry me, and they said no, they're not ready, the last thing I'm going to want to do is want to sleep with that girl, that part really didn't seem needed or an accurate emotion/reaction that would happen, he's pissed, disappointed and just got the biggest rejection, I saw it as Kristen trying to ease over what she did, or maybe what she didn't do, or maybe it just my own reaction if I was in that situation. This hasn't hinder my opinion just that scene. Considerably though that is what the director wanted, to have the audience have a catharsis feeling about the movie and situation, to put themselves in the position, and what they would do if it were them/us. On a side note I think they purposely didn't stab Kristen in a deadly place, so they could get their fame up, or their just novice killers, I can't wait for part 2. I also liked the sound element in the movie, it really ads to the effect of horror, Kristen's not anticipating it, you're not anticipating it, you jump when she jumps

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