Review of The Strangers (2008) by Rosss. — 12 Jun 2008
The director (Bertino) does a fantastic job with connecting the viewers with the characters, although it does drag a bit. The first loud knock had me jumping in my seat and the giggling voice that followed made my heart beat faster.
That's all I need to get disturbed and drawn in the film. The rest is pure psychological horror, striking me deep to the core. The three masked strangers don't do anything but pop out of nowhere and generate trouble all with simple white masks covering their faces.
And that's good. The lightness of the masks gives this dark tension throughout the film that may sag a bit towards the end. The bare simplicity of the flick is a nice set-up from the complex beginning, where Bertino tries to jam in background all at once.
The only thing that was disappointing was the brief homage to gore-fests in the middle of the movie. The ending left me both hanging and disappointed--it could've been made creepier. But for Bertino's debut film, this is bound to be one of his betters.
This review of The Strangers (2008) was written by Rosss. on 12 Jun 2008.
The Strangers has generally received mixed reviews.
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