417: The Strangers

[00:00:00] 124. Let's get to the first Strangers film. We're gonna be doing all three to date. So The Strangers, then Prey at Night, and then The Strangers Chapter One, which just came out. So The Strangers came out in 2008. It's written and directed by

[00:00:18] Brian Bertino. Stars Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, not really many others besides The Strangers themselves. And the synopsis is a young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants. So first thing, this is going to be available on our bonus show page at

[00:00:40] filmbuds.bandcamp.com. We can check out our other shows and you know covers franchises things like that so if you want to hear all these episodes uninterrupted together you can check that out there. But getting into this

[00:00:53] first movie, so I didn't see the first one as a whole probably until about a year ago. And I had seen bits and pieces of it but for a while I was never really

[00:01:05] a big horror fan or a big home invasion fan so I just sort of stayed away from it and then I was like alright something is piquing my curiosity so I'll give it a look. And I was really really pleasantly surprised. I think this

[00:01:20] movie it doesn't in any way break the barriers you know reinventing the genre of the home invasion B movie slasher sort of style but to me what it sets out to do it does really well. And if it's not one for you, if it doesn't really

[00:01:37] connect with you or wow you I get that because it is fairly restrained kind of mellow in how it presents itself but I watched this first for the first time on an iPhone and I was like on the edge of my seat. And I think that's saying

[00:01:52] something like I was able to watch it just holding my phone up to my face and watching it when I had some time and I was fully engaged I was had those chills at times it was really suspenseful. I thought that the best thing about it to

[00:02:07] me and I think maybe it's sort of lost on some viewers not intentionally so I think it's just depends on where you watch it how you watch it but the thing that I think this does really well better than many other home invasion

[00:02:21] movies is sound work. I think the sound design of how they either incorporate sound or the lack thereof is done so well like the silence I love when a movie especially horror can use silence to their advantage you know use it

[00:02:38] effectively and I think when Scott Speedman leaves the husband leaves and Tyler is just in this very quiet dark vacation home all by herself there's just something about how quiet the movie actually is that immediately makes

[00:02:55] me think alright what's going on and usually when a movie starts like this there's eerie scores there's a lot of shock factors you know right off the bat to try and get you artificially engaged and scared but I think this one it's

[00:03:10] like dead quiet for the first 10-15 minutes and I was really not expecting that and how they set up certain things with like her cell phone where she is in the house and then that initial knock is again that's how it's just little things

[00:03:27] it's little pieces of sound big or small like that knock is intimidating and I think that's something that is sort of lost in the other movies especially the newest one which we'll get to but Brian Bertino was inspired to make this

[00:03:42] because of correct me if I'm wrong I think this is what it is based on what I read when he was younger his neighborhood had this series of like burglaries where these people would knock on people's doors at night and then if they didn't

[00:03:55] answer they would just break in and so it is in this one saying you know at the beginning of movie inspired by a true story based on real events etc etc I can't speak to all what's real what's not but I think that in some ways

[00:04:11] elevates it it doesn't I don't know what's real what's not but I think that the true story aspect helps at least in some ways and then also another thing I really like about this one is it really does not feel supernatural at all this

[00:04:27] feels I think as realistic I mean there are certain cinematic flourishes and plot points and all that but I think that it really more so than many others like it sets itself in a true reality like this is something that could

[00:04:40] theoretically happen you know it's not like Michael Myers where he's unkillable he's always gonna come back you know for 30 years and terrorize the same person it's three random people who we don't know terrorizing some random couple and

[00:04:55] that's it and then moving on to the next one I mean in some ways it's almost like scream where it's just people reinventing the character every single movie you know like oh well the original killers dead I'm gonna pick it back up

[00:05:07] because I'm inspired by them you know and so I think that's very effective and very chilling because you know anyone could just knock on your house one night and start terrorizing you you know depending on where you are so I think

[00:05:19] that is a very potent piece of suspense and horror but talking about specific things in the movie the sequence towards beginning where the man this lead stranger is behind Liv Tyler in the distance I think is such an effective

[00:05:38] shot like just that oh my god there he is and again there's nothing that is completely new like oh my god how do they do that it's all just playing within the genre incredibly effectively and it's little things like that it's

[00:05:52] the cell phone being discovered being shattered the I mean there's like some jump scares like where she opens the blinds and he's standing right there I think that's good and even just the iconic part of the

[00:06:06] strangers group where they knock on the door and say is Tamara home I think that for whatever reason just works for me and that's something that I think again we'll get to in the other movies especially the last one which it doesn't

[00:06:17] work as well and perhaps it just works better in this one because it's the first one it's fresher but that and then the light bulb being twisted intentionally twisted off and them standing in the distance I love the look of the masks of

[00:06:32] the three strangers I think that's very good the sequence in the car where Scott Spiegelman tries to get to the car and then there's that and that creeps up onto the screen and taps him on the shoulder like it's all things that yeah

[00:06:45] there are certain moments where I'm like alright how would they be able to get away without being noticed in situations like that or how did they manage to get into the house without being heard that sort of thing but for the most part

[00:06:57] it's like alright I could see this being a real person and also the barn sequence where she tries to get out to the barn and make the radio call I love that the moment where and you could say it's predictable whatever I think the whole

[00:07:12] movie is fairly predictable but I don't think it's trying to say that it's not where Scott Spiegelman accidentally shoots his friend and I think I don't want to repeat myself too much but I just feel like and you know criticize

[00:07:24] the movie if you want if it doesn't work that's cool I get it but I think that this movie for whatever reason with me the predictable aspects felt like it was a believable thing you know I could see if you're scared and you have a shotgun

[00:07:38] in your hand and you think someone's coming into your house and you don't know about anyone else coming there you're probably gonna fire at them you know whereas in something like some of the other horror franchises where characters do very predictable stupid things it's like alright well we're

[00:07:54] already in a suspension of disbelief and so that doesn't really work for me in this but it does in The Strangers for whatever reason so I think that all those things that some people may criticize I sort of accept and I think

[00:08:07] it works but the the biggest thing again is like the score the atmosphere the mood that is top-notch and I think if you want to know how to do a home invasion film you could watch this and learn quite a bit

[00:08:23] but besides that I think Liv Tyler is very good I haven't seen her in a lot of other things besides this and Lord of the Rings but I think she's good I don't love Scott Spiegelman I haven't seen him in much at all he's alright in this

[00:08:33] doesn't do anything amazing but I like him the sequence at the end the pretty iconic scene at the end where they're both tied up and the strangers are standing in front of them and they both get stabbed and then they ask why are

[00:08:47] you doing this and they said because you were home I think that's such a great line and really makes you think well like I was just saying earlier it could be anyone anyone could go and do this theoretically especially out in the

[00:09:00] countryside at vacation homes where there's nobody cut the phone line no phone reception done you know game over and they just did it because lots of times the best motive the scariest motive is there is no motive well you

[00:09:15] were here so we decided to terrorize you for the fun of it it's not well you killed my mom you know the government is against me that sort of thing it's well you were here we thought we'd have some fun with you you know and I think that

[00:09:27] really set the stage for a very effective refreshing sort of grounded modern home invasion franchise which I mean they I guess they weren't really setting out to do a franchise at that point but still very good and that line

[00:09:41] at the end where the strangers are driving away in the two church boys talk to the girl and they ask are you sinners and she goes sometimes like it's just little moments and maybe some people call that cliched or stupid but that

[00:10:00] works for me every single time I've seen it maybe three or four times at this point and so I'm a big big fan of it it's definitely one of my favorite home invasion films one of the most memorable for me and I think that if you want to

[00:10:14] watch if you haven't seen it or if you want to revisit it I would watch it with the best sound setup that you can all the lights out like it's a kind of movie stereotypically so that you want to watch in the dark quiet sound loud that

[00:10:29] sort of thing but yeah I really really enjoy it I think it's one that will always kind of stick with me even from the first time I saw it it really made a mark and I'm not upset that they're doing more I just wish that and we'll

[00:10:42] get to it I just wish that they had done something different with it as at least as of yet but is what it is still have this one so that one is a light four and a half out of five