The home invasion continues, and James and Kristen continue to work against each other and misuse any technology they come into contact with that could possibly help them. Bertino's grim, helter-skelter-styled, 1970's-toned, stalking-slashers-treating-you-bad "because you were home" directorial and writing debut relies on the usual dodges--unwise separation, getting yourself hurt when you can least afford to, and mistaken identity--but through his "uneasy" camera, use of music and loud, incessant, irritating noises, and the movement of his three masked intruders inside and outside the home, builds the terror and suspense. Roger Ebert would have given Bertino one star but upped it to one and a half when he found out this was Bertino's directorial debut. I'll go one better and say he's earned two stars for mixing tried and true formulas into an effective thriller. The Strangers will make you double-check your door at night and sleep just a bit more uneasily, even with the lights on--and keep your cell phone charged and close by at all times.
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
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Article comments
1 - duane
Excellently written review, and I appreciate the commentary concerning cell phones. Since virtually everyone has a cell phone these days, it's getting harder and harder to get isolated, lost, trapped, or kidnapped in any believable way. Curse you, cell phones!
And why can't savvy, quick-witted folks find themselves in a dangerous and hopeless situation? Why do movie characters always take actions that causes everyone in the audience to roll their eyes? My stock comment during scenes like that is, "Obviously, they haven't seen [relevant movie goes here], like everyone else in the world."
A related example (oh, I do go on sometimes) is the movie Aliens, which featured a bunch of over-confident, undisciplined, wise-ass Space Marines led by a barely competent commander. They proceed to get their butts kicked in their first encounter with the aliens. And rightly so. This bunch would have taken a beating if they had faced a group of beer-swilling paintball enthusiasts. It would have been so much more effective to see a crack team of no-nonsense, well-coordinated, seasoned Space Marines get their butts kicked. The survivors' odds would have looked that much more ominous. Similarly, the horror movie thing. Much greater impact if the best efforts of a clever protagonist are squashed by the baddies in the early going.