Because they were home: The Strangers (2008)

The Strangers (2008) (AKA "The Faces")

Rating: ***1/2

Starring: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward

Back in 2006, France released Ils (or Them for you non-French), a home invasion thriller that borrowed some slasher elements and churned it up to create something intense and utterly realistic. Cliches such as investigating noises in the dark as well as renting cabins deeply isolated in the woods may still be present, but at least the directors of that film knew how to make the cast work and their choices realistic.

In 2008, a similarly plotted horror film called The Strangers came out, also focusing on a couple in a cabin deep in the woods only to be terrorized by intruders later that night. What sets this apart from Them though was that the clichés are more exploited here, which strangely enough both worked for the film, as well as against it.

The film opens with what looks like the aftermath of your typical backwoods set night of horror, with a couple of Mormon boys discovering a car being burnt to scrap and signs of struggle and attack found all over in a lakeview cabin, as well as three bloodied bodies.

We then move back hours prior to this discovery, following James Hoyt and Kristen McKay as they spend the night at Hoyt's backwoods cabin after attending a wedding party. High on romance, James was planning to proposes to Kristen and hear that sweet "yes", but this unfortunately leads to a rocky strain on their relationship when she rejects him and the two are left in a state of awkwardness and disappointment. The silence was broken, however, when a girl comes knocking at the door asking for someone they didn't know and then leaving when she realize she's at the wrong house. Brushing this incident as a random encounter, James leaves Kristen to buy some cigarettes after phoning in a friend to pick him up. This proves to be a mistake when strange things start happening around the cabin in his absence; things are moved, phones end up burning in fireplaces, more strange knockings. Eventually, it is revealed that the girl they encountered before has returned. 

And she brought friends.

As a whole, The Strangers (2008) felt more like the climax of a slasher movie drawn out to a feature run, following the usual third act of the sub-genre in which our leads realize the grave threat they are under and try their best to outwit and survive their attackers. Through a slow burn build-up wherein the two leads undergo a troubled relationship early into the story, the film smartly grows a sense of empathy and tension for them, characterizing our troubled protagonists above the typical screaming victims and effectively making us feel frightened for them and the uncertainty to where their night is going with these masked hooligans sieging their cabin.

In turn, there is no real story here as most of the movie's emphasis are on the stalking, prowling and psychological torture the intruders are unleashing upon their victims. At occasions, the casual horror movie cliché of characters doing frustrating decisions such as splitting up or not taking the chance to drive off when the opportunity is there do lead to some groaning moments, but at least the film's slick look and well-handled direction have the film working on these trappings, evoking tension, shocking jumpscares and an overall sense of hopelessness.

The film also has a gritty and exploitative retro feel as the villains are no backstory and their identities are kept obscured all though the movie, a lack of identity and motive that sinks quite creepily well to the sheer randomness of their crime. Add the fact the film was based on real cases of home invasions and unsolved murders, and you probably will have the urge to check your locks before going to bed after seeing this movie.

It's not a perfect thriller but The Strangers (2008) knew what it wanted to be, and that is a plot-less yet scare-driven frightfest that does linger in your skin long after it ends. If you fancy yourself a home invasion film with high tension and creepy villains, as well as flawed yet sympathetic characters, you could give this one a shot and see stalker horror quality at its best.

Bodycount:
1 Male shot on the face with a shotgun
1 male knifed to death
Total: 2