The Strangers Review

God bless "The Strangers". Not the wretched souls terrorising Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman of course but director Bryan Bertino's economic and terrifically tense psycho horror. It's a breath of fresh, retro air in an otherwise stale 'gorno' landscape.

Ok, so there's a catch. It perhaps tries a little too hard to ape its 70's inspirations like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". There's even an over-earnest voiceover guy making us aware that the following is based on true events (although in the same breath he comments that no one really knows what happened that fateful night at the Hoyt residence...so where does this leave us exactly?!). It's all window dressing and not really needed. The set-up has already been achieved by the brilliant marketing campaign including those ominous posters and 'that' shot in the trailer. This is a home invasion, one we're waiting for but one that will still leave us feeling violated and reeling in terror.

Kristen (Tyler) and James (Speedman) are heading back to their summer home in the sticks. Only what should have been a romantic night laced with rose petals and champagne has turned sour by an unseen exchange. Bertino bravely tests his audience by only inferring to the problem with the slightest of flashbacks. Did Kristen rebuff his proposal or is there something more adulterous in the air? We never truly find out but when the first rasping at the door comes such thoughts are quickly expelled from our minds. Who is it and what do they want at such an ungodly hour? Questions we've already answered but dare to ask anyway as Bertino sets his stage. A trio of masked, knife-wielding psychos soon go about hunting the couple. Why? Because they were the ones who just happened to be home at the time. This is something that strikes at the heart of the purposeless violence and unreasonable aggression currently afflicting our society. A point made far more effectively than the dire "Eden Lake" (a film that wishes it had such courage and execution as this American cousin).

Tyler and Speedman do everything wrong, they call out when they shouldn't, split up when they need each other the most and they even poke their heads around corners but that's all part of the charm. We're not reinventing the wheel here but we are having a hell of a time as it turns, going through the motions of jumpy shocks and unrelenting tension.

The ending may disappoint some. It's a fairly rushed and a blunt conclusion to such a slow burning and masterful piece of horror filmmaking. A bravado look at how things used to be done.