The Strangers - Review

Being a fan of suspense/thriller movies it didn't take much deliberation to watch "The Strangers" in the first week of its release (that too in theaters :)). Also masked killers increased the curiosity about the movie since similar movies were thrilling and entertaining to watch (though quite predictable).

So my expectations were very simplistic when I went in, masked people trying to kill a couple, the movie having the same old suspense seen through the ages, yet would have something new to offer. Also since I read the preview and how only a couple is taunted, I didn't expect a dozen killings before the climax, so not seeing a dozen killings wasn't a disappointment for me from this movie, but more generally as a fan of thriller movies. I think SAW leads in innovative killings and will easily be my all time favorite for its goriness.

But this movie was far from being racy or catchy. Really far. It was dragging from the start till the end. The story was quite simple, 3 masked people (a man in formals and 2 ladies) marked an isolated house and attempted to scare, frustrate and then kill the the couple in it. The location and the atmosphere was well set and the lighting was perfect. But what missed was an equally good gameplay to support the field.

They scared the couple for about an hour, and then killed them in the morning in a very mild manner, by just tying them to a chair and stabbing with a knife. How un-gory. I think this should be the first movie a first-time horror movie watcher should be introduced, for its mildness. The director had a simple one-line story: 3 Masked people... kill a couple, but didnt know how to hold it on for the length of a movie. I think the movie would be better appreciated had it been crisp and shorter by an hour.

It clearly shows that the director was helplessly depending on... well nothing, to increase the length of the movie. I mean, how hard will it be to kill a woman with a broken leg who can barely crawl, when your motive is to kill her and you have an axe in your hand. Well, It takes a whole night! The murderers remove their masks before killing the couple but the director doesn't wish to show their faces to us. All I can infer from that scene is that, they are serial-killer wannabes, and just picked on this random couple since the couple don't recognize them, and will attempt many such murders. So it wont be a surprise if we see a Part -2, since the climax dialogues suggest something like that:
Christian Missionary Boy: Have you sinned?
Lady 1: Sometimes.
Lady 2: It will be a lot easier next time.

Lady 2 suggests that there will be many more of such killings.

Coming back to the movie, I would highly recommend to keep away from it. Not worth the $10 of your money unless you know the director/ believe in charity.

Scene I liked: End credits
Scene I disliked: Everything else.


the end.