AC/AL/SV 2008 90m ENG 10m CAST: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis & Glenn Howerton CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter: Bryan Bertino; Producers: Doug Davison/Roy Lee/Nathan Kahane; Dir. of Photography: Peter Sova; Production Designer: John D. Kretschmer; Editor: Kevin Greutert; Costume Designer: Susan Kaufman; Music: tomandandy THE SYNOPSIS After going to a mutual friend’s wedding, young couple James Hoyt (Speedman) and his girlfriend Kristen McKay (Tyler) head to James’ family summer house in a secluded area. Tension’s in the air as James had proposed to Kristen that night and she turned him down. While at the house, a saddened James calls his buddy Mike to come pick him up the next day. As the couple talk, a knock at the door raises suspicions. Who would be knocking at such a late hour? It’s a blonde-haired woman looking for someone, but leaves. James runs out to get some cigarettes for Kristen—and that’s when the problems begin. The blonde-haired girl returns, as does two others: a man and a woman—and all are wearing masks. James returns as the three interlopers begin marauding the couple—up to and including destroying their cell phones and James’ car. The strangers play mind games with James and Kristen as the night grows longer—and then, the blood begins to flow… THE CRITIQUE Recalling the ragged and genuinely terrifying horror movies of the halcyon 1970s & 1980s, THE STRANGERS is a welcome blast of fear in a marketplace overcrowded with so-called “scary” movies that pander to teenagers old enough squeeze by that PG-13 rating. Yes, kiddies, there was a time when gas was cheap and horror movies were a hard-R that scared the stuffings out of nubile audiences everywhere. While not up in the exclusive pantheon of genre movies like Night Of The Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978), The Evil Dead (1981) A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), etc., THE STRANGERS earns at least earns a place somewhere on the cinematic property. Written & directed by newcomer Bryan Bertino, the movie works because it harbors no artistic pretensions or any postmodern mockery about itself (ala Scream) and goes for some real earned scares. The downside leans more towards Bertino’s writing/screenplay than in his execution (no pun intended) of the material at hand as the director. Certain plot logistics (or should I say illogistics) as well as unnecessary character flaws tarnish this flick—but straightforward direction and Bertino’s Carpenteresque use of space & shadows ultimately save it. Aiding Bertino is in the movie’s visual look is veteran Czech cinematographer Peter Sova (Lucky Number Slevin/Gangster No. 1/Good Morning, Vietnam)—whose atmospheric, widescreen-lensing evokes Carpenter’s own works (again, Halloween) as well as a classy, Expressionistic camera style and simple-yet-effective use of framing & composition brings THE STRANGERS up a notch, in my humble opinion. Bertino gets some mileage by employing a watchable cast of led by Scott Speedman and the lovely Liv Tyler—whom I could watch anytime! Almost the entire rest of the cast is wearing some sort of mask—so all I can say about them is that they stand around in the dark with appropriate malevolence and creepy minimalism. It’s as if mimes had finally snapped... like we know they will someday… Shot in South Carolina, tech credits across the board are solid on a $10 million budget, with some tension-building cutting by Saw franchise editor Kevin Greutert and an appropriately creepy-score by veteran wunderkinds tomandandy (Princeton-educated fellas Tom Hajdu and Andy Milburn)—who’ve scored movies like Arlington Road (1999), The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and The Covenant (2006). I’ll admit that this movie kept me on my toes for the first about 85 minutes. The fact that the filmmakers rely more on atmosphere and mise-en-scène more than graphic violence (excepting the final 5 minutes) impresses me in today’s namby-pamby horror arena. Others were expecting the Second Coming Of Tobe Hooper, but I was appreciative of the fact THE STRANGERS tries to be more streamlined in its presentation—and therefore a bit more terrifying—than some of the dreck coming out today. The basic reason why the psychotic interlopers do what they do is explained by one of them at the end in one simple sentence (given as a duh!-type response). The answer gave me the creeps and summed up the entire movie. THE BOTTOM LINE THE STRANGERS is a stripped down horror movie that works in spite of its simplicity. Aside from a few lapses in logic in the plot department, this one terrifies much like the classic genre movies of yore. Recommended…but don’t watch it alone at night in a remote location—cause that noise you hear might just be someone knocking… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_systemnightofthelivingdead1968.htmltcm1974.htmljaws.htmlhalloween.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwritinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreenhalloween.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Expressionismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_%28visual_arts%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_%28visual_arts%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_budgetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editingsawseries.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing#Film_editorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_scorecovenant.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_sc%C3%A8nehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_violenceshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23shapeimage_2_link_24shapeimage_2_link_25shapeimage_2_link_26