BuzzSugar

The Strangers: Slow and Steady Gets the Scare

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:31:11 -0700

The Strangers director Bryan Bertino takes a simple storyline based in reality ("inspired," in fact, by true events) and tells it with such careful realism that our own basic human terror, usually lying dormant within us, rises inescapably to the surface. He has figured out a perfectly lethal recipe for horror movie success: take a large dose of realism, add a few scary things and then patiently wait for the fear to rise.

This movie is a great example of a horror/suspense film done well. We human beings already have so many fears just lying inside us, waiting to be tapped into. We don't need two hours of cheap jump scares (looking at you, Prom Night) or gratuitous, nauseating gore. We just have to witness very simple, normal things that could happen to plant a tiny seed of fear in the backs of our minds. Then, all it takes is a patient, detail-oriented filmmaker to nurture that seed until it grows into all-consuming terror.

To see the basic plotline and how it somehow so thoroughly scared the living daylights out of me, read more.

As far as the movie's plot points go, I really mean it when I use terms like "basic" and "simple." A couple, James (Scott Speedman, who makes me miss Felicity so much!) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) drive to a remote cabin to spend the evening where some strangers come by and terrorize them. That's it. Really. However, the simplicity of the story doesn't mean it's boring. A good chunk of the beginning of the film is devoted to the romantic troubles the couple is experiencing (one of them wants to get married, the other does not, they find themselves at a heartbreaking crossroads). Even though I knew that they were setting us up to be spooked and I was trying to brace myself for it, I found myself relaxing into the drama of their story: the heartache, the sweetness, the helplessness. . . and then bam! Girl with scary wispy voice shows up on doorstep and from there a slow unspooling of eerie happenings begins.

And these eerie happenings are so. Very. Simple. Aggressive pounding on the front door. A flash of someone's creepy masked face. A discordant bit of old timey country music skipping on the record player. Shaky close-ups of a broken champagne flute. A shadow looming longer and longer along the wall. In this day and age, these things almost seem like relics of an old-fashioned brand of storytelling, but the thing is, maybe we need to go back to those old times. The tried and true is often the most effective, and The Strangers is a perfect example of this. The ending of the film is sickeningly sad and gross, but as far as suspense goes, everything leading up to the climactic ending is almost flawlessly frightening.

To see video clips from The Strangers, check out movies.ivillage.com.

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Movie Preview: The Strangers

BuzzSugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:00:27 -0700

I'm currently working on my full review of The Strangers, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman but I'll go ahead and tell you now: it's so scary! I'm posting the full trailer here today to get you scary movie fans pumped up, and to remind you that there are some cool, smaller movies making their way into theaters nowadays besides the big blockbusters.

But OMG I cannot even watch this trailer! That's how not recovered I am from the screening. Anyway, after the jump check out the trailer and tell me: does this look terrifying? Or tame?

The movie opens tomorrow, May 30. To see the trailer read more.

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First Look: Liv Tyler in The Strangers

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:30:01 -0700

Apparently this trailer is R-rated, though I can't say I see much of anything too racy in it. The preview for the horror film The Strangers, does get pretty scary toward the end, though, and I like both her and Scott Speedman, so I'll be interested to see this film when it comes out in October.

The plot outline is pretty basic: "A young couple cozied up in a vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants." Sometimes simpler is better, though, especially when it comes to horror flicks. Looks like this will make a great movie choice come Halloween - especially since I have little interest in seeing the fourth Saw movie, also opening in October. To watch the new trailer for The Stranger, read more

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