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The Strangers (2008)

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Old 10-28-08 | 09:26 AM
  #126  
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I watched this the other night based on some recommendations. The first half was very creepy, but damn did it fall apart from there.

Spoiler:
I cant believe dude had a shotgun and ammo and didn't go hunting. When he is outside and starts to draw down on that one girl and she has super powers and is suddenly on top of him, ugh.


Spoiler:
Also I really did not like the fact the killers spoke. Having them not speak, and not seeing their faces made them sub-human, but hearing "it will get easier" suddenly gave them personality which defeated their whole purpose in the film.
Old 10-28-08 | 10:36 AM
  #127  
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Originally Posted by stingermck
I watched this the other night based on some recommendations. The first half was very creepy, but damn did it fall apart from there.

Spoiler:
I cant believe dude had a shotgun and ammo and didn't go hunting. When he is outside and starts to draw down on that one girl and she has super powers and is suddenly on top of him, ugh.


Spoiler:
Also I really did not like the fact the killers spoke. Having them not speak, and not seeing their faces made them sub-human, but hearing "it will get easier" suddenly gave them personality which defeated their whole purpose in the film.

Actually that made it even creepier. Making them humans that didn't really care and planning to do it again.
Old 10-28-08 | 10:49 AM
  #128  
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I dunno. I just couldn't connect with the film. As someone who has studied self defense techniques for about two decades I just kept thinking "I could wreck these stupid kids".
Old 10-28-08 | 10:54 AM
  #129  
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Originally Posted by starseed1981
I dunno. I just couldn't connect with the film. As someone who has studied self defense techniques for about two decades I just kept thinking "I could wreck these stupid kids".
That's why they picked them as their victims instead of you. Maybe next time they make a sequel they can get you to be in it and it could be called: "The Strangers: Beat to Dust".
Old 10-28-08 | 11:06 AM
  #130  
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Haha. In all seriousness, I tried but just couldn't get caught up in the tension of some little girl walking towards me slowly with a butcher knife. I did enjoy Tylers / Speedmans performances though. Just wished the "strangers" were abit more intense.
Old 10-28-08 | 11:13 AM
  #131  
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Originally Posted by starseed1981
Haha. In all seriousness, I tried but just couldn't get caught up in the tension of some little girl walking towards me slowly with a butcher knife. I did enjoy Tylers / Speedmans performances though. Just wished the "strangers" were abit more intense.
I think they enjoyed just bringing fear to the victims and scaring them and simply doing away with them when their fun was over.
Old 10-28-08 | 01:19 PM
  #132  
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Originally Posted by stingermck
Spoiler:
I cant believe dude had a shotgun and ammo and didn't go hunting. When he is outside and starts to draw down on that one girl and she has super powers and is suddenly on top of him, ugh.


Spoiler:
Also I really did not like the fact the killers spoke. Having them not speak, and not seeing their faces made them sub-human, but hearing "it will get easier" suddenly gave them personality which defeated their whole purpose in the film.
For the first spoiler, IIRC:
Spoiler:
Speedman was hunting down the girl and then she disappears but she doesn't reappear on top of him. I think the guy with the bag on his head snuck up behind him and kicked speedman and took the gun


For the second spoiler:
Spoiler:
I agree to a degree. I think the last scene with them in the truck wasn't needed. I see what they were going for but I think it would have been better if they never got out of the truck. I would have preferred it if they kept it so that the only line that is said by the killers is "because you were home".
Old 10-28-08 | 01:42 PM
  #133  
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I saw this over the weekend. It was just ok. For those comparing it to Ils thats crazy.
Old 10-28-08 | 03:17 PM
  #134  
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Originally Posted by Larry C.
I saw this over the weekend. It was just ok. For those comparing it to Ils thats crazy.
It was due to general concept considering the trailer for The Strangers and the US trailer for Ils (which is identical to the one for The Strangers which is odd).

Neither was particularly great, but The Strangers didn't peter out nearly as badly as Ils did.
Old 10-28-08 | 03:33 PM
  #135  
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Originally Posted by RichC2
It was due to general concept considering the trailer for The Strangers and the US trailer for Ils (which is identical to the one for The Strangers which is odd).

Neither was particularly great, but The Strangers didn't peter out nearly as badly as Ils did.
Oh come on Rich you are not serious. Ils was great. That movie had much more mood and tension and was perfectly shot. I loved the way it ended. I couldn't believe it at first and they just when on their way was great!
Old 10-28-08 | 03:52 PM
  #136  
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Originally Posted by Larry C.
Oh come on Rich you are not serious. Ils was great. That movie had much more mood and tension and was perfectly shot. I loved the way it ended. I couldn't believe it at first and they just when on their way was great!
I saw Ils (Them) quite some time ago and could barely finish it, it started to wear thin while they were still in the house and completely lost my interest once they left it. The sense of mood/atmosphere was lacking and the techniques used to generate tension felt incredibly cheap.. they were also fairly ineffective imho. I didn't think The Strangers was great but it was at least visually more interesting. And with that said, I generally love low budget horror.

To each their own.

Last edited by RichC2; 10-28-08 at 03:55 PM.
Old 12-17-08 | 10:46 PM
  #137  
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Saw this tonight on Blu. Good looking disc but I really don't care for these movies. There were definately some good jump scenes and some tension build up. Ultimately these movies rely on people doing really stupid things once they know people are after them. Let's seperate then call out to each other giving away our location. Let's not be dressed properly so we can get really injured and bloody. Let's not really pay attention and let people sneak up on us even though we're being stalked.

If you really like this type of movie it is worth a spin. I preferred Vacancy to the Strangers
Old 12-18-08 | 01:26 AM
  #138  
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Originally Posted by JimRochester
Saw this tonight on Blu. Good looking disc but I really don't care for these movies. There were definately some good jump scenes and some tension build up. ...
There's no such thing
Old 03-11-14 | 08:36 AM
  #139  
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re: The Strangers (2008)

Originally Posted by MoviePage
...Very suspenseful, well-made film until the friend shows up, then it turns into a laundry list of every cliched moment from every other horror movie ever made, with characters making the most boneheaded and plot-convenient decisions possible, almost to the point of self-parody...
Saw this last night and I have to agree 100%, lots of wasted potential in this one.
Old 03-12-14 | 12:32 PM
  #140  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

Whatever happened to the sequel?
Old 03-12-14 | 12:53 PM
  #141  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

It secretly became You're Next?
Old 03-12-14 | 03:24 PM
  #142  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

Originally Posted by RichC2
It secretly became You're Next?
You're Next shits all over this movie. Dude has a shotgun, you go hunt THEM. So frustrating. Hated this.
Old 03-12-14 | 04:25 PM
  #143  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

You're Next is a satire. The Strangers is decent fun but it's an obvious remake of "Ils" aka "Them."
Old 03-12-14 | 04:34 PM
  #144  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

But the director claimed to have never seen Ils, then made up some lame story about how when he was a kid, somebody knocked on his door late at night and when he looked through the peephole nobody was there oOoOoOoOoooh.
Old 03-12-14 | 04:39 PM
  #145  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

Originally Posted by DaveyJoe
But the director claimed to have never seen Ils, then made up some lame story about how when he was a kid, somebody knocked on his door late at night and when he looked through the peephole nobody was there oOoOoOoOoooh.
Right, just like the guys who made Quarantine had not seen REC before.


Same shit, different drink.
Old 03-12-14 | 04:46 PM
  #146  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

And this shit drink is overflowing, Why So Blu.

Old 03-13-14 | 10:49 AM
  #147  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

Old 03-13-14 | 11:23 AM
  #148  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

All a remember about this movie is a bunch of banging on doors and windows. A big let down.
Old 03-13-14 | 11:35 AM
  #149  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

I enjoyed The Strangers. I especially enjoyed the two main characters getting murdered.
Old 03-13-14 | 02:54 PM
  #150  
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Re: The Strangers (2008)

The Strangers baffles me. It does so many things right, then turns around and does so many things wrong.

The good:
They take the time to let you get to know the two main characters, and they're surprisingly well developed (for a horror movie), and their situation (the turning down of a marriage proposal) isn't cliched.
The atmosphere is well done, and the suspense (especially toward the beginning) is excellent. The initial knocks on the door are especially unnerving. And the scene of Liv Tyler in the kitchen, not knowing that one of the strangers is standing in the hallway behind her, is awesome (although spoiled by the trailer).
The ending took guts (no pun intended). I applaud a good downer of an ending, and this one had it... to a point.
The look of the strangers, and the fact that two of them were women. The design of the masks alone was scary enough in a very subtle way.

The bad:
Stupid, stupid character choices. Almost too many to list. Among them:
Knowing that the house isn't secure, and yet thinking they're safe inside it.
Splitting up.
The boyfriend not taking his girlfriend's word for it when she says the strangers have already been inside the house.
The friend showing up, seeing that something is obviously wrong, and instead of calling out names, wandering silently through the house.
The Strangers being apparently omniscient (always knowing where the protagonists are and where they'll go next) and capable of appearing/disappearing at will for the sake of jump scares alone.
The downer ending ruined by the last-minute gotcha of Liv Tyler being inexplicably still alive.

So... yeah. I don't know why I just typed all that out. I wanted the movie to live up to its initial promise. Too bad it didn't. But part of me still really likes the movie.


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