Sometimes a Knock at the Door Is Scarier Than Any Monster
Nerdy Up North
The setup
After returning to a secluded holiday home, a couple already dealing with problems in their relationship are terrorised by three masked strangers. There is no grand supernatural explanation and no obvious escape route. The attackers simply keep coming.
The Strangers is the sort of horror film that gets under my skin far more than something covered in monsters and CGI. There is nothing particularly complicated about it. You are in a house, somebody is outside, and they want to get in. That is enough.
The masks do a lot of the work. They are simple, cheap looking things, which somehow makes them worse. These people do not look like elaborate movie villains. They look like somebody who could have bought a mask on the way over and decided tonight was the night to ruin somebody's life.
The film is at its best when it keeps the attackers in the background. There are moments where Liv Tyler's character is standing in a room and one of them is simply there behind her. No massive sting, no screaming face flying at the camera. You notice them yourself and your stomach drops.
Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman also make the situation more uncomfortable because their relationship is already in a bad place before any of the horror starts. They are not a perfect couple having a lovely weekend interrupted by killers. There is awkwardness and hurt there already, so when everything goes wrong they have to deal with that while trying to survive.
Not every decision they make is clever, and there are definitely moments where you are shouting at the screen because somebody has chosen the worst possible option. The film also stretches its simple premise about as far as it can.
But the reason it stuck with people is that one line at the end basically sums the whole thing up. There does not need to be a huge mythology or a clever motive. Sometimes the lack of a reason is the frightening part.
Positives
Brilliant use of silence and background scares, creepy mask designs, Liv Tyler sells the fear and the home invasion setup feels horribly believable.
Negatives
A few character decisions are frustrating and the very simple premise starts to stretch a little by the final act.
Verdict
The Strangers is nasty because it feels possible. It does not need an unstoppable demon or a complicated backstory. Three people outside your house are more than enough.
