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The Strangers
Actors: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Glenn Howerton, Kip Weeks
Director: Bryan Bertino
Genres: Horror, Cult Movies, Mystery & Suspense

UR 2008 1hr 26min

Inspired by true events, this heart pounding, nail-biting frightener mercilessly explores our most universal fears, where simply opening the door to a stranger leads to a grueling night of terror one could never imagine. L... more »

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Movie Details

Actors: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Glenn Howerton, Kip Weeks
Director: Bryan Bertino
Creators: Bryan Bertino, Doug Davison, Joseph Drake, Kelli Konop, Marc D. Evans, Nathan Kahane, Roy Lee, Sonny Mallhi, Thomas J. Busch, Trevor Macy
Genres: Horror, Cult Movies, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Horror, Cult Movies, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Universal Studios
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen - Dubbed,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 10/21/2008
Original Release Date: 01/01/2008
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2008
Release Year: 2008
Run Time: 1hr 26min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 3
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Member Movie Reviews

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 10/4/2020...

This had it's moments but the second installment seemed better than the first. A must for horror and Purge fans!

Shawna S. from NEW OXFORD, PA
Reviewed on 10/5/2012...

I absolutely loved this movie. The only reason that I have to part with it is because every single time I watch it, I get freaked out!! Such an interesting and scary plot for the movie. Highly recommend this movie.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

David M. from WALKERTON, IN
Reviewed on 6/7/2012...

This had some good thrills and was done quite plausibly.

No I have never been home invaded so I can only speculate on how terrifying it must be. The problem is the invaders are presumed to be somewhat supernatural supermen in the minds of the homeowners.

The invaders are ordinary mortals and their element of surprise has long since passed and as far as we can tell they have no weapons. We have a shotgun.

The acting was well done and the irrational actions of the (scared) homeowners are portrayed realistically. The girl screams a lot.

Have a seat on the couch in the middle of the house with your shotgun and wait for them to come in and blast away. Of course we would have run over one in the driveway earlier.

Yes, the homeowners do some dumb things in their scared state. We can only presume the difficulty to think clearly in this situation.

Worth a look with some good creep value.

5 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Deborah D. (pmdeborah) from YORK, PA
Reviewed on 7/23/2010...

The acting and plot are horrible. I fast forwarded through much of it just to see what the ending which was actually very very different than I thought it would be.

3 of 14 member(s) found this review helpful.

Pamela G. (pamgram1) from CHAFFEE, MO
Reviewed on 3/4/2010...

I am not one for scary movies. I like real good dramas. This movie more caught my eye as something that really happened and had Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. This movie scared me!!! This is a edge of your seat thriller and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get scared!!!!!

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jared G. from UNIONTOWN, PA
Reviewed on 2/25/2010...

Excellent horror film! Some classic filming done. I was creeped out while watching this and usually don't get that way. Liv Tyler was amazing, as always.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL
Reviewed on 1/8/2010...

One of the worst mainstream horror films I've seen in quite awhile. It's a slasher film with no gore whatsoever to speak of and characters you want to die. Found this film to be boring beyond belief. Total waste of time. If you are a fan of horror stay away.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Cara F. (dichten) from PRT WASHINGTN, WI
Reviewed on 11/8/2009...

The supposed "true events" which the film is based upon are in fact fictional, speculation ranging anywhere from the director's own childhood to "Helter Skelter" to the 1981 Keddie Murders.

Still, this is a terrifying movie.

We begin as outsiders looking into the obviously strained relationship between Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman). For reasons unknown to us, the two are dolled up (and very upset). Confused, we drive with the couple to a house owned by James's parents. We come inside with them and, still in the grips of an icy quiet, we begin to understand.

Kristen enters the master bathroom, intent on a bath, to see a bathtub surrounded by candlelight and rosebuds. James says little as he helps Kristen out of her dress.

"Oh," we think.

They had gone to a friend's wedding reception, James with a ring in his suit pocket. We learn in flashbacks that he had asked Kristen to marry him -- only to be refused. Now we understand the frigidness between the two and why the first scenes of the movie are so silent.

A "No" is the least of all our worries as the film quickly progresses with a knock on the front door. A blonde stranger with no face (for the porch light is dysfunctional) asks for a stranger, leaves unremarkably when told that she must have the wrong house.

Soon after this James leaves for cigarettes, a drive to clear his head, while Kristen stays inside the house. She begins to start a fire in the fireplace, but is interrupted by another knock on the door.

The blonde girl has returned, again asking for this strange "Tamara".

Kristen, who has left the door closed, tells Blondie that she has already come. Blondie asks, "Are you sure?"

Unnerving, made more so with the harshness of the fire alarm; the fireplace flue is closed and smoke is filling the living room. Attending to this, Kristen then tears the alarm from the wall. She lets it fall to the floor as the knocking starts up again.

After locking all the doors in the house, Kristen calls James. She is frightened (as are we) and would like him to hurry --

With the dying of the phone line, we are suddenly thrust further into this nightmare.

This is an unrelenting movie, one sure to make you jump at least once and question the safety of your home (the murderous capabilities of the people you pass on the street). In a word: fantastic.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Megan W. from OMAHA, NE
Reviewed on 9/26/2009...

One of the scariest movies I've ever seen!

2 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Pamela A. from WHEELING, WV
Reviewed on 6/16/2009...

Watched twice already! Makes you hold your breath!

3 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

Easily the scariest movie I have ever seen.....

C. Thomas | Boston, MA | 10/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently had watched this movie, and I must say that without question this movie is the scariest, and creepiest movie I have ever seen. In fact it was so scarry that I slept all the lights on the last two nights, and I keep a baseball bat by my night stand.

I am not going to recap the movie ad nauseum the way some of the other reviews here have already done, however I will give a high level perspective of why this movie is so good at being scarry.

1. There are no ghouls, ghosts, vampires, and demons. The premise of this movie is litteraly one group of people taking advantage of other people.

2. The costumes used by the strangers were simple, and eloquent. Exactly the kind of stuff one could pick up at any party store or costume shop. I feel as though this added a whole other level of realism to the movie.

3. Overall creepiness of the type of harrasment the strangers inflicted on the kristen, and james.

Some negatives that I observed about the movie:

1. James and Kristen making some stupid decisions, that would have any person with a brain scratching their heads...ie...splitting up when you have these psychopaths coming at you from all directions.

2. The strangers violating the laws of physics by being able to subtly and quickly sneak into a space and scrawl messages across the walls, windows of a room to further torment our protaganists, and never ever be seen or heard by James and Kristen. This just doesnt seem plausible to me.

3. The ending didnt really give me closure.

With all that, the movie was highly effective at serving its purpose which was to freak me out, and entertain me, which it did for it's entire 80 minute running time.

I highly recommend this movie, and am only giving this movie 4 stars instead of 5 for the reasons I state above."

Do NOT watch alone...

Adam | SC | 11/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This atmospheric - and undeniably horrifying - directorial debut from Bryan Bertino gave me the chills unlike any other film that I have seen in a long while.

I won't go into the story, because most of you already know it, but I will tell you this: if you are as jumpy and as easily frightened as I am, do NOT watch this one alone. I made the mistake of doing that the first time, and I couldn't finish it. I had to rent it later on, and watch it with a room full of people in order to see the entire film. The thing that makes the film so effective is simply this: this could happen to anybody. Anybody could break into your home and terrorize you for no reason.

The direction is strong, and Liv Tyler does an excellent job. You can tell that it was definitely inspired by Haneke's FUNNY GAMES, but it's not a rip-off by any means. Bryan Bertino has done an excellent job with his first film, and I look forward to his next film."

Noises Within, Noises Without

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 11/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are a few flaws in this otherwise successful film that is in fact as frightening as the trailer makes it out to be. Not being one for the constant barrage of thriller films (the 'Saw' Series, the endless vampire variations, 'I know what you did...', etc) this viewer hesitantly watched what could have been yet another exercise in blood and gore. But surprise! The story (based on a true incident in 2005 as outlined by an off camera narrator discussing the number of violent deaths in America each year before the film opens) is tight, credible, and deals more with the emotion of terror of the unknown than images of gore. Kudos to writer/director Bryan Bertino for finding the core of the macabre. And it is true!

James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) is driving his girlfriend Kristen MacKay (Liv Tyler) to the isolated summer home in the woods that James and his best friend Mike (Glenn Howerton) had earlier decorated with rose petals, candles and champagne in preparation for what was supposed to be a celebration of a marriage proposal. Sadness prevails in the car as Kristen has turned James' proposal down. They quietly enter the decorated house, and almost immediately begin to hear sounds outside and a door knock by a young girl apparently looking for a person not living in this house. Kristen asks James to go out and get her cigarettes and the creepy action begins. Three strangers each in masks terrify Kristen with noises, secretly entering the house, and creating a tense atmosphere until James returns. At this point the story becomes an almost unbearable sequence of events: it is clear the strangers are out to murder James and Kristen. Bound and beaten by the three strangers Kristen asks 'Why us? Why do you want to kill us?' and the simple answer from of the strangers is 'Because you're home'. The ending of the film could have been better handled by someone telling us the results of the night - the follow up to this true story. But instead Bertino elects to keep the level of terror high.

Peter Sova (cinematographer) finds the right amount of shadow and dark to keep us guessing and the musical score by tomandandy is pitch perfect. This is a fine little film, but be prepared to jump in a few spots...and keep the lights on! Grady Harp, November 08"

Warning: This Film Induces PANIC

Ronald Nocella | Philadelphia Pa | 05/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FINALLY!!!! A horror film that is intelligent with great acting and a story line so scary that it literally makes me feel a sense of panic. This is one of the best films Ive seen in a LONG time and a must own film for any horror/suspense fan. Its rare to find a film that continues to scare you each and every time you watch it but thats exactly what happens with The Strangers. Its great to see horror films taken seriously by the people creating them. Its obvious while watching this film that the people behind it really believed in what they were making.

If you are a horror/suspense fan and youre looking for a modern horror film with that old school vibe... look no further.

You should get The Strangers before The Strangers get you!"

A movie about who can be the dumbest.

Grey | 06/01/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Not a terrible setup. Masked psychos terrorize a couple late one night in a large house nestled in the corner of a small, rich suburb. A bit slow to start and the characters aren't anything close to interesting, but the setup is decent and the atmosphere is good.

Problem? Everyone's a moron.

If you're a home intruder and the people at home have a gun, you're not going to keep attacking. No you're going to run the **** away and go to some other house some other night. If you're the guy being intruded upon and are sitting in the corner one night with a gun you're not going to go outside and play Elmer Fudd. No, you're going to sit in that corner and stay awake until morning when the suburb will be active. If you're the intruder watching the guy play Elmer Fudd with a shotgun you're not going to bull-rush him and succeed. No, you're going to be blown the **** away. And if you're some guy who just had his windshield smashed before your eyes and sees signs of an obvious break-in you're not going to quietly sneak inside to investigate. No, you're going to drive away and call the cops.

The suspension of disbelief is just too much in this film. It's a battle of who wants to be killed more and who's more inept at taking an advantage. And when a victor emerges it's hard to care, not only because all the characters are boring as cardboard, but because they just succeeded winning the Darwin Award of the night in a rather fierce competition."