Despite its Title, ‘The Strangers’ Actually a Familiar Repeat of Horror Film Conventions

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HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.5/5CHICAGO – Poor Liv Tyler. She’s stuck in a remote vacation home with nothing but the blank-stare acting of Scott Speedman to “save” her. What’s a rock daughter who becomes an actress to do? First, she shouldn’t sign onto yet another version of the couple-in-terror cliché.

Bryan Bertino in The Strangers
Bryan Bertino in “The Strangers”.
Photo credit: Rogue Pictures

“The Strangers” is a scary movie that has been there and done that with a few style points thrown in to distract from the ripoff.

Tyler is Kristen McKay: a single gal who’s on the precipice of the big engagement. Speedman is James Hoyt. He’s her potential fiancé: a boorish chap who thinks the big rock is a slam dunk.

After they both attend a wedding, Hoyt sets up his uncle’s remote cabin (cue ominous music) to celebrate what he figured would be his betrothal.

Surprisingly, though, Kristen has rejected his promise. For some reason, they’re still completing their depressing journey to the cabin. The heavy and forced atmosphere is interrupted by a mysterious female stranger who asks if someone else lives in the cabin. After they run her off, the house explodes with sounds of a break in. Scary figures are out to get them.

Liv Tyler in The Strangers
Liv Tyler in “The Strangers”.
Photo credit: Rogue Pictures

Oddly enough, I just screened a film that makes fun of this very premise called “Baghead,” which is pending review. If “The Strangers” filmmakers would also have seen this other film, they would have shut down production and retooled the costumes because the main marauder actually wears a similar get-up.

There’s nothing surprising or creative in this film even up to the final solution for the silly couple.

“The Strangers” first wastes the tantalizing setup of the broken engagement only to torture the pair with one preposterous catastrophe after another. In modern horror films, there’s the problem of the mobile phone.

How do the filmmakers get rid of something everyone has? In this case (as well as in the film “Funny Games”), James leaves it in the car where it disappears. Whew. There are a few notable exceptions to the dreck. Liv Tyler is a good actress, and even though her screaming gets tiresome swiftly, she still manages to turn in a credible performance.

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As well, the use of a record player and a skipping needle (so randomly anachronistic) is an effective mood applicator in certain scenes.

The good thing about the three masked intruders is that they stay masked. This saves their careers. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Scott Speedman. He reacts to every scary indignation as if he was being checked for fleas. It was one of the first times I was hoping for a quick kill of a main character.

The most infuriating scene is part of the finale. It involves religion (naturally) and the type of scare that’s the equivalent of your 10-year-old sister popping out of a bush during Halloween. Unlike your sister, you can’t get back at this film by pulling its hair. Now that’s truly unfortunate.

“The Strangers” opened on May 30, 2008.

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2008 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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