The Strangers had a modestly successful theatrical run, premiering in May 2008 and becoming a cult classic horror film ever since. The movie tells the story of a young couple in the midst of a strained relationship who stay at an isolated vacation house following a friends wedding. The night quickly takes a terrifying turn as the couple begin to be terrorized completely at random by three masked assailants. It is considered by many to be one of the best home invasion movies of all time. Upon its release the movie was met with overwhelming negative reviews criticizing its story, character development, and admonishing the film as “A sadistic, unmotivated home-invasion flick”. As time moved on, the movie has garnered a cult following and overall opinions have changed since its initial release, with The AV Club naming it one of the 25 best horror movies since 2000.
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Despite the knocks on the story, character progression, and the movie over all, there is something about The Strangers that makes it hauntingly familiar and timeless. Resulting in a new trilogy being announced for the cult classic. There is without a doubt something within its premise that gnaws away at the very nerves within us. Let’s examine what makes The Strangers a truly terrifying film.
Atmosphere
Universal Pictures
Have you ever been in the middle of nowhere after the sun has set? Maybe you were camping, staying at a friend or family member’s house; perhaps your car was broken down on a road trip. Just the thought of the eeriness in the endless darkness and blanketing silence is enough to give someone goosebumps. While The Strangers is certainly not the first film to utilize setting to create tension, it certainly is one of the best examples. As the main characters, James and Kristen settle into their vacation house for the night, they are well aware that there is not much around them in this particular neighborhood. Exterior shots of the house convey to the audience this point as well, placing them square in the nothingness that surrounds James and Kristen. A real and relatable situation to so many watching the film making the movie just as terrifying over ten years after its release.
Another situation you may be familiar with, maybe it was as a teenager or even as an adult. Being alone at home at night for a lot of people is an extremely anxious feeling of dread. You don’t quite know what could be lurking just outside your door. The writing within The Strangers is well aware of this fact. Some of the best horror films are great because they tap into fears that we already have; being home alone is scary enough. But what if, while you were home alone, you were greeted with a knock at the door? This is something James and Kristen find themselves smack dab in the middle of on the fateful night of their stay.
Realism & Randomness
The most terrifying aspect of The Strangers is in its realism, the fact that what happens to James and Kristen in the film can happen to anyone and unfortunately has happened before. This aspect of the movie helps make it one of the scariest movies of the 2000s. Looking back at real life tragedies like the Manson Family murders of Sharon Tate and her house guests, the Night Stalker serial killer Richard Ramirez breaking into random homes and committing heinous acts of violence. Our fears of this are rooted in true history. When The Strangers is presented as “based on real events” it is not one specific event but the mashing together of several, basing it on a real concept that has played out before. Most viewers go into the movie acutely aware of this and when the violence and terror ensues, know that this has and could happen to anyone.
Something a viewer may not be able to wrap their head around is the randomness of the violence perpetrated in the movie. At one point Kristen, played by Liv Tyler, asks “Why are you doing this to us?” to which the doll face killer responds calmly, “Because you were home”. Typically, in horror films the violence can be explained by a plot point. Freddy Kruger’s kills are about getting revenge on those people and their children who burned him alive, Jason Voorhees is hunting down teenagers trespassing in his campground. Trivial reasons yes, but reasons nonetheless. But the only reason being that you happened to be home when the violence came knocking is a truly haunting idea. These three individuals tormenting James and Kristen have zero attachment to the two; they are simply strangers passing in the night. This randomness essentially means that no one, no matter who you are or how you live your life, is safe. The next time you’re home alone, be sure to turn off the lights, lock the doors and windows, and whatever you do… don’t answer the door.
