Saw this one the other night, and FeoAmante.com posted a review. http://feoamante.com/Movies/STU/strangers.html
Might contain some slight spoilers.
Monica
Might contain some slight spoilers.
Monica
THE STRANGERS
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 felinedependant |
THE STRANGERS |
Lead | |
|
Posts: 1414 (05/30/08 09:08:17) Shocklineraholic |
EXPERIMENTS IN HUMAN NATURE "O'Rourke writes with rare confidence and style. Though undoubtedly disturbing, and sometimes brutal, still her work has something quite rare and special -- heart." -- Tim Lebbon, author of Dusk. "What Monica O'Rourke brings to horror and dark (often erotic) fantasy is something the genre really, really needs--a voice that's not just unique but which is also incredibly and beautifully readable. Only a handful of writers, in and out of the genre, can realistically claim to be her peers. The delicious and lustfully served red meat of her stories could turn even the most determined vegetarian (like me) into a carnivore." -- T.M. Wright, author of Bone Soup |
||
 NickYak |
|||
|
Posts: 8309 (05/30/08 10:28:14) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
One NY paper trashed this with half a star!
|
||
|
Sharkguy38 |
That poster | ||
|
Posts: 1639 (05/30/08 10:32:30) Shocklineraholic |
Well, after reading your review I'm sure I'll love THE STRANGERS, since I loved THE RUINS and thought THE OMEN remake was alright.
|
||
|
felinedependant |
|||
|
Posts: 1417 (05/30/08 18:34:14) Shocklineraholic |
Many people hate going to the movies with me because I'm super critical of everything I see, and tend to like movies others don't for whatever reason.
So you'll probably love it. 
Monica
EXPERIMENTS IN HUMAN NATURE "O'Rourke writes with rare confidence and style. Though undoubtedly disturbing, and sometimes brutal, still her work has something quite rare and special -- heart." -- Tim Lebbon, author of Dusk. "What Monica O'Rourke brings to horror and dark (often erotic) fantasy is something the genre really, really needs--a voice that's not just unique but which is also incredibly and beautifully readable. Only a handful of writers, in and out of the genre, can realistically claim to be her peers. The delicious and lustfully served red meat of her stories could turn even the most determined vegetarian (like me) into a carnivore." -- T.M. Wright, author of Bone Soup |
||
|
NickYak |
|||
|
Posts: 8310 (05/30/08 18:49:35) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
My daughter and her buddies just saw this and loved it (then again they're between the ages of 12-14 and like almost any horror film they shouldn't be
seeing). My wife and I stood outside when we went to pick them up: I have NEVER seen traffic this crazy as the place was PACKED with middle-aged women going to
see SEX AND THE CITY. We tried to keep count but started laughing too hard when #40-something came by with a "tramp stamp" on her lower back (and she
had to be at least 60!!).
Yes folks, it's all downhill from here! -Nick |
||
|
felinedependant |
|||
|
Posts: 1421 (05/31/08 11:17:19) Shocklineraholic |
I passed a theater Friday afternoon around 5:00, and the line was wrapped around the block for S&TC. And every single theater in Manhattan was sold out
Friday from the 5:00-10:00PM showings. And I do mean every one. A friend and I tried to get tickets through Fandango. No luck anywhere in Manhattan.
Monica
EXPERIMENTS IN HUMAN NATURE "O'Rourke writes with rare confidence and style. Though undoubtedly disturbing, and sometimes brutal, still her work has something quite rare and special -- heart." -- Tim Lebbon, author of Dusk. "What Monica O'Rourke brings to horror and dark (often erotic) fantasy is something the genre really, really needs--a voice that's not just unique but which is also incredibly and beautifully readable. Only a handful of writers, in and out of the genre, can realistically claim to be her peers. The delicious and lustfully served red meat of her stories could turn even the most determined vegetarian (like me) into a carnivore." -- T.M. Wright, author of Bone Soup |
||
|
wm ollie |
|||
|
Posts: 1204 (05/31/08 11:44:00) Shocklineraholic |
my local paper gave The Strangers a favorable review.... Hollywood.com trashed it with 1 and a half stars.
|
||
|
Shocklines |
|||
|
Posts: 28114 (05/31/08 13:44:11) Administrator |
I liked it more than you Monica. I give it a B- -- a notch above average. Very well directed, and actually could have been an "A" movie with a few
changes.
It's not quite a remake of Ils, like I thought it would be (but if the director hasn't seen Ils, I'll eat my hat). Like Ils, and Funny Games, the movie has almost NO score, which I think always cranks up the horror considerably. (Strangers does have a few moments using a score, but not a lot). It's kind of a mix of Ils and Vacancy, though I didn't quite like it either as much of those (I gave both of those a B). I do recommend it though. And I'll definitely see whatever the director does in the future. Even if not everything in this works as intended, I cheer for any director that focuses more on suspense than gore. That's right Eli Roth -- I'm looking at you! But I also loved The Ruins -- for now, that may be my favorite horror movie of the year so far.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
|
||
|
Mike Heffernan |
|||
|
Posts: 407 (05/31/08 14:28:17) Veteran Shockliner |
Wife and I saw it last night and thought it was creepy as hell. The only problems I had were with the corny opening and the predictable ending.
This director has a future. |
||
|
Sharkguy38 |
|||
|
Posts: 1642 (05/31/08 19:53:22) Shocklineraholic |
I liked the film too. It had the audience shrieking quite a bit, but they seemed angry about the ending.
I can't imagine that the filmmaker had seen THEM. This film has been bouncing around the schedule for about two years. I would imagine that filming would have taken place close to three years ago, and I don't believe THEM had been released anywhere three years ago. |
||
|
Shocklines |
|||
|
Posts: 28121 (05/31/08 20:11:02) Administrator |
It's certainly possible it's just a coincidence. But really, they are strikingly close to being the same film. Not that it's a bad thing. I think
Strangers has a much stronger set up than Ils, although I think ultimately Ils packs more of a wallop.
It feels like a mix of Ils and Vacancy.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
|
||
|
HorrorLibrary |
|||
|
Posts: 748 (05/31/08 20:14:34) Master Shockliner |
Just got back from seeing this...
Yeah, I really liked this. The audience I saw it with had a good cross section of young and old...and we had a great group of "screamers" that made the jump-factor even better. I generally don't get startled or jump during a movie, but when there's a choir of shrieking girls (and a couple guys)...it totally makes me jumpy enough to overreact. As for the "Ils" (THEM) vs THE STRANGERS questions...I'd say definitely check out both if you can. While there are a good deal of similarities, the differences are big enough to make the two movies quite differe3nt experiences altogether. But, I will say...both directors did an excellent job on building tension and creating an environment within the films where you didn't really know what to expect. Anyone know the 'true crime' that this movie or "Ils" was based off of? Both movies site a certain crime and give the victims names, but the one from "Ils" supposedly happened in Romania (is that right?) and this one is supposedly a crime from here in the U.S. Personally, I think it's a bit sleazy to run with the whole 'based on true events' thing...but that's just me.
R.J. Cavender
  www.myspace.com/horror_library_net |
||
|
Shocklines |
|||
|
Posts: 28122 (05/31/08 20:24:35) Administrator |
One review in the U.S. said they can find no record of the crime in "Strangers" on record. Someone else told me it's a compilation of various
events.
I think it's actually totally unnecessary in the case of Strangers. I'm sure the "true events" pretty much amount to.... SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO SAW THE STRANGERS (highlight text below) Somewhere, sometime, two people were found dead in their house. END SPOILER
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
|
||
|
Sharkguy38 |
|||
|
Posts: 1644 (06/01/08 07:14:44) Shocklineraholic |
The writer/director has cited THE KEDDIE CABIN MURDERS as well as the MANSON family episodes where members of the family were sent out to break into random
houses as inspiration for the screenplay. It is a pretty weak association in both cases, though what little the killers do say is reminiscent of the Manson
cult.
|
||
|
Shocklines |
|||
|
Posts: 28125 (06/01/08 07:57:07) Administrator |
Variety also said the director has said the case that is mentioned in the film never existed, which is nasty. It's a gimmick that the film doesn't
need. They should remove the "based on real events" line. At least Ils has an actual case that is used, even though the details are clearly all
speculation.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
|
||
|
peteboiler |
The Strangers | ||
|
Posts: 214 (06/01/08 14:48:26) Veteran Shockliner |
Saw this movie this morning. It was good. Real good. With all the shit being put out today, it is nice to see Hollywood turn out a suspenseful film with
solid writing and acting. Liv Tyler proves she can act, and although slow at times, it was never boring. Inside is still at the top of the list for recent
releases (and that was released on video - go figure), but this is right up there. Bob
|
||
|
gfaherty |
|||
|
Posts: 3388 (06/21/08 04:02:13) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
Coming in late to this thread. Just saw it last nite, and all I can say is thank god we had free tix.
What a piece of crap. I won't give away any spoilers here, but I counted at least 5 major blunders in either the story or editing that were so dumb they shocked me and my wife (who's not nearly as critical as I am, normally) right out of the story to the point where we actually commented out loud to each other. The acting was piss-poor, some of the twists so obviously contrived that they made me laugh, and the ending totally predictable. I do give it a thumbs-up for really racheting up the tension factor in the middle of the movie, when the horrific events just are beginning. Then it loses steam. I give it a D+
JG Faherty
www.jgfaherty.com 'Everyone has a monster inside.' "Bones," in Cemetery Dance #58 (available now) "The Toll" and "Hybrids" in Wrong World, www.wrongworld.com (available now) "Experimental Subject," in Bits of the Dead "Family First," in Dark Territories |
||
|
gorelets |
|||
|
Posts: 1106 (06/21/08 07:08:29) Master Shockliner |
SPOILER ALERT ... keep moving along if you haven't seen the movie yet...
One of the tests for me is whether or not a movie will stand up to a second viewing. All along during The Strangers, I was wondering what the motives of the 'strangers' were -- whether this was a revenge plot, or something contrived by the man to torture the girl, or whether the girl behind the mask was a former lover or...whatever. These things matter to me. The mystery of the masked people's motives added to the tension throughout the film (which was already high and well constructed), but the open ending just didn't pay off enough for me. I left the theater feeling like I'd seen something really interesting because I was still wondering about the 'strangers' motives. We get so little dialogue from them that what little they do say has a lot of weight...yet they say very little, ultimately. The writer inside of me was coming up with all sorts of explanations for these masked freaks that the movie simply refused to give me. I liked that -- and I hated that -- because I have to flip a coin: did they do this on purpose to keep me thinking about it, or did they do it because they were lazy as hell when it came to the actual screenwriting? I tend to assume the latter in cases like this. But I'm an open-minded theater-goer; I believe in second chances. Yet I still don't think this movie would stand a second viewing...I'd feel totally manipulated for no reason and angry that there really was no energy put into writing. Compare this to No Country for Old Men, where the killer's motives are really uncertain, but we're given juicy little nuggets of psychological insight to chew on and consider. Same goes for There Will Be Blood. The Strangers belongs in this existential cluster -- but the writing just isn't as good as either of these two latter films, and therefore it's a disappointment to me. Just my take on it. Usually I prefer mind game movies that break expectations like this one did, but something about The Strangers just fell short. Like cutting into a steak and finding no meat beneath the crisped skin. -- Mike Arnzen, http://www.gorelets.com p.s. Just read Monica's review: TOTALLY ON THE MONEY!
Last Edited By: gorelets
06/21/08 07:13:42.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
John Grover |
|||
|
Posts: 153 (06/21/08 08:25:34) Veteran Shockliner |
I enjoyed The Strangers for its suspense and tension building scenes. I can't say I walked away happy about the ending but it didn't bother me that
much. A lot of times in real murder cases that are unsolved there simply is no ending to the real life case, if a true murderer is never caught, then there is
no reason, there is no closure. You don't always get closure in real life. That's why the ending didn't bother me that much. Sometimes sick people
don't need a reason to do what they do, that's why it's so frightening. I think the movie was trying to make that statement. There aren't
always answers. The girl in the movie said it all: Why are you doing this to us? Because you were home. Also I found the masked strangers to be totally freaky.
Those damn masks were scary. When the man with the sack first appeared on screen, a woman in the back of the theater totally gasped out loud in terror. It was
great. That's what horror movies are supposed to do. The filmmakers got that right. -John
|
||
|
gorelets |
|||
|
Posts: 1107 (06/21/08 11:01:16) Master Shockliner |
I'm with you, John: those masks were done right! And considering what a stock image that is, it's surprising they did it in a fresh way. I think the
woman's 'china doll' was much scarier than the 'burlap bag' but they were all wack.
Good post and yes, the film is true to the way life is -- murder cases aren't resolved. I admire open ended stories. But this one was particularly light on 'story.' They do a lot with implication (like omitting why Liv rejects the man's proposal), but not enough for me. Here's how I read the "story" of The Strangers. The three masked people are thrill killers; two are old hands, one is new to the gang. That's why they show the blonde telling the brunette "it'll get easier now" at the end. And that's why Liv's character "survives" in the final moment, screaming at the kids who discover her (and giving us one more bonus jolt) -- because the newbie in the thrill killers botched the job and didn't quite finish her off. If I'm reading this right then by leaving all of this unspoken, I admire the film makers' restraint in storytelling, I suppose. But then I'd like to see more of that brunette's character -- even if mute behind the mask. Overall, the writing still feels a bit empty to me, and the exercise hollow. Just my two cents. -- Mike Arnzen, gorelets.com |
||
|
wm ollie |
|||
|
Posts: 1207 (06/21/08 13:33:25) Shocklineraholic |
the night I watched this, I woke up several times, peering down that long, dark hallway... movies usually don't effect me like that, but this one did.
|
||
Quick Reply
Logo design and background image by Caniglia
