The Strangers (2008) Standard Edition Blu-Ray Review

The Strangers (2008) Standard Edition Blu-Ray Review

After a proposal gone wrong at a friend’s wedding, what should have been a romantic getaway for Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Speedman) is disturbed by a 4am knock on the door and a terrifying invasion of their home by three strangers in disguise. Named for their nightmarish masks, Man in the Mask (Kip Weeks – Ragged Isle), Dollface (Gemma Ward – The Great Gatsby), and Pin-up Girl (Laura Margolis – Dirty Sexy Money), the twisted trio have brutality in mind and the couple are at their mercy, but who are they and what is their motive? Kristen and James must fight to survive a night of psychological torment and bloodthirsty violence…who will make it out alive?

I recall first seeing THE STRANGERS when it premiered at London’s FrightFest event a couple of days prior to its UK nationwide release, and I remember that I was very much looking forward to seeing it. Headlined by Liv Tyler, who’s always a pleasure to watch, and UNDERWORLD’s Scott Speedman, hunky and easy on the eye, and delivering a story not dissimilar to a then recent French movie ILS (aka THEM, 2006) that I absolutely adored, it looked like everything was adding up in THE STRANGERS’ favour to be a potential goodie.

Unfortunately, writer/director Bryan Bertino’s film ended up feeling flat and lacking the edge-of-the-seat thrills that bolstered up the French movie and falling short of that film’s frightening ending. THE STRANGERS is no more than a concept with little thought as to where to go with it. Despite game performances from the film’s two leads Bertino’s plot arc falters once the three masked individuals start making their presence known rather than rack up the tension more. It never really goes anywhere interesting and consequently any tension that had been building till that point dissipates fast and it becomes apparent that there is little else to see.

As with ILS, THE STRANGERS claims to be inspired by true events and perhaps even the same true events given that this cannot help seeming like it is rifting on the same thing. However, Bertino claims that it is partially based on something that happened to him during his childhood years when he answered the door to a stranger, who asked for someone unknown to Bertino before leaving into the night, only to discover later that this person could have been responsible for a number of local break-in’s later that same night. Personally, I think that Bertino was more inspired by the likes of the original HALLOWEEN (iconic mask), THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (the grim tone and allegedly based on actual events) and ILS (the whole film) when it came to scripting his film.

If you want to be spooked by people killing people simply for the sake of killing people then why not watch something else, like the French film I have already name checked a couple of times or even the original THE VANISHING (AKA SPOORLOOS) from 1988 – do not watch the American remake – where a middle-aged man wants to see what it would be like to kidnap someone and bury them alive, not for thrills but simply to see if they can do it and get away with it. It is chilling without resorting to gimmicky masks or night-time visits choosing instead having the kidnapper/killer conduct his evil deeds during the day in plain sight, now that is truly frightening.

THE STRANGERS aims for a nihilistic tone but merely treads water when compared to other flicks that are not afraid to go the whole distance, such as Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES (1997). There is no finesse, and the result is a pointless and empty experience that feels like more thought was put into selecting creepy masks and coming up with a juicy ‘what if’ scenario to sell the flick rather than create anything truly thrilling or entertaining.

Special Features

Includes Theatrical Cut and Extended Cut

Because You Were Home: a new interview with Director Bryan Bertino

Cutting Moments: a new interview with Editor Kevin Greutert

The Fighter: a new interview with Actor Liv Tyler

The Pin-Up Girl: a new interview with Actor Laura Margolis

The Element of Terror: interviews with cast and crew

Strangers at the Door: interviews with Director Bryan Bertino and cast

Deleted Scenes