The Strangers (2008)

Director: Bryan Bertino

Starring: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Kep Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Lock the door. Pretend you're safe.

Plot: A couple staying in an isolated vacation house receive a knock on the door in the mid-hours of the night. What ensues is a violent invasion by three strangers, their faces hidden behind masks. The couple find themselves in a violent struggle, in which they go beyond what either of them thought capable in order to survive.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I hate Hollywood sometimes which means I sometimes hate movies made here in the US. I knew nothing of this film going in except I heard from a couple of podcasts that it was a really good home invasion flick. I didn't even bother to watch the trailer. The ONE good thing I liked about this picture is the scene where the head stranger sidesteps into the view of the camera but not where Liv Tyler can see. I must have blinked when I was watching the movie because it took someone else pointing it out after I finally picked up on it. THAT WAS FUCKING BADASS COOL & CREEPY! And that was the only good anything in this movie. After it was over I watched the trailer only to discover that moment was in it. REALLY? One of the best moments I've seen in a horror movie made in recent memory and it's fucking given away in the goddamn trailer? W...T...F? It takes forever for things to start happening which would be fine and dandy if the pre-invasion shit was interesting instead of pathetic. Then once the shit hits the fan it's one cliche after another and if you didn't see it coming you probably checked out and stopped caring anyway. Oh, and the icing on the fucking cake is the damn jump scare the instant before the credits roll. It's cheap and insulting and I wish I could extract vengeance from those who told me this was a great movie but you can't exactly reach through a podcast and rip someone's throat out now can you. ARGH I'm so frustrated.