The Strangers

Infobox Film
name = The Strangers


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Bryan Bertino
producer = Nathan Kahane
Doug Davison
Roy Lee
writer = Bryan Bertino
starring = Liv Tyler
Scott Speedman
Gemma Ward
Glenn Howerton
cinematography = Peter Sova
editing = Kevin Greutert
distributor = Rogue Pictures ^USA
Universal ^AUS
released = United States:
May 30, 2008
Australia:
August 14, 2008 [ [http://villagecinemas.com.au/Movies/The-Strangers.htm Strangers, The - Village Cinemas] villagecinemas.com.au]
United Kingdom:
August 29, 2008
runtime = 90 minutes
rating = Rated R for violence, terror and language
country = USA
language = English
budget = $9,000,000
preceded_by =
followed_by = The Strangers 2
website = http://www.thestrangers.net
amg_id = 1:352630
imdb_id = 0482606

"The Strangers" is a horror film released in the United States on May 30, 2008. The film was written and directed by Bryan Bertino, and stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film's score was composed by the New York-based musical ensemble Tomandandy.

ynopsis

The film opens with the following narration:

"What you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the F.B.I. there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend's wedding reception and then returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known."

The sound of an engine running plays over shots of homes in a rural neighborhood. We see the interior of a ravaged house, with blood smeared across the walls and a bloody knife lying on a table. A frantic 9-1-1 call plays on the soundtrack as two young boys enter the house through the open front door.

The narrative then shifts to the night before, with Kristen McKay and James Hoyt (Tyler and Speedman) arriving at the Hoyt family's isolated summer home. There is obvious tension between the two, and flashbacks reveal that Kristen had rejected James' marriage proposal earlier in the evening. An awkward discussion between the two is interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.

s.

While Kristen is alone in the house, the young woman returns, once again knocking loudly on the front door and asking for Tamara. Without opening the door, Kristen tells her that she has already visited their house and that Tamara is not there. Moments later, she hears a barrage of loud knocks coming from all over the house. She tries to call James, but her mobile phone battery is dead, and it disappears later after she puts it on to charge. Kristen peers out a window where she sees a man with a sack over his head staring in at her. Scared, she grabs a knife and flees into the bedroom.

James arrives home a few minutes later and finds Kristen cowering in the bedroom. She tells him what is happening and they try to flee, but a woman in a white mask smashes their car, ramming it repeatedly with a large pickup truck. They go back inside and James arms himself with a shotgun. James' friend Mike comes to pick him up, only to be accidentally shot and killed by James, mistakenly believing him to be one of the intruders.

After discussing their options, James leaves Kristen and goes outside to try and reach the barn, where his father keeps an old CB radio. But he's accosted by two of the masked strangers as he tries to make his way across the lawn. Kristen runs outside and makes it into the barn, only to have one of the masked women smash the radio with an axe before she can use it to call for help. Kristen struggles with the woman and runs outside, where she sees the man with the sack over his head walking into the house and the other two masked strangers staring at her. She then runs into the house and hides in the kitchen closet. Then she leaves the closet and runs into the bedroom, she then runs out of the bedroom and gets tackled by the man with the sack mask and is knocked out.

The next morning, Kristen and James wake up tied to chairs. Kristen asks the strangers why they are doing this, and one of the women replies simply, "Because you were home". The three killers take off their masks (though their faces remain off-screen) and repeatedly stab James and Kristen.

As the strangers drive away some time later, they come across the two young boys from the opening scene, who are walking through the neighborhood handing out religious pamphlets. They stop briefly, and the blonde girl gets out and takes one of the pamphlets. As the boys enter the house a few moments later, one of them finds Kristen and kneels down to touch her. Kristen's eyes open, and she grabs the boy's arm and screams.

Inspiration

According to production notes, [cite web|url=http://b985.com/movies/notes/strangers/note/?printer=1 |title=The Strangers: Movie production notes |author=Production Information |accessdate=2008-08-20] the film was inspired by an event from director Bryan Bertino's childhood: a stranger came to his home asking for someone who was not there, and Bertino later found out that empty homes in the neighborhood had been broken into that night. In interviews, Bertino stated he was "very impressed" with some of the theories circulating on the Internet about the "true events" the movie is allegedly based on, but said his main inspiration was "Helter Skelter", a true crime book about the 1969 Manson family murders. [cite web|url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=950 |title=EXCL: Never Talk to Strangers |author=Ryan Rotten |date=2007-08-01 |publisher=ShockTillYouDrop.com |accessdate=2008-08-20] [cite web|url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=6242 |title=Interview: The Strangers' Bryan Bertino (Pt. 2) |author=Ryan Rotten |date=2008-05-26 |publisher=ShockTillYouDrop.com |accessdate=2008-08-20]

In another interview, Liv Tyler revealed that in Bertino's original script, "You saw a lot more of the strangers. It was much more of a Manson-esque experience."cite web|url=http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/2008/05/28/20080528tyler0528.html |title=Liv in the moment |author=Angela Dawson |date=2008-05-28 |work=Entertainment News Wire |publisher=AZCentral |accessdate=2008-07-01]

Cast

*Liv Tyler as Kristen McKay
*Scott Speedman as James Hoyt
*Gemma Ward as Dollface
*Kip Weeks as The Man in the Mask
*Laura Margolis as Pin-Up Girl
*Glenn Howerton as Mike
*Alex Fisher as Missionary Boy #1
*Peter Clayton-Luce as Missionary Boy #2

Production

"The Strangers" was filmed in Florence, South Carolina, beginning on October 10, 2006 and finishing in early 2007. The film's budget was around $9,000,000. The release of the film was postponed twice. The producers originally intended to release the film in the Summer of 2007, but due to complications, the date was pushed back to Autumn. The release was then pushed back yet again to May 30, 2008 in the US and later released in the UK on August 29, 2008. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482606/trivia The Strangers (2008) - Trivia] imdb.com]

Marketing

A short advertisement for the film was released on the internet in August 2007, and can be found on YouTube [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdgzWBKBMao YouTube - The Strangers Trailer] youtube.com] and Apple's Quicktime site. [ [http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/thestrangers/ Apple - Trailers - The Strangers] apple.com] It was not until March 2008 that a full-length trailer for the film was released. The trailer originally began running in theaters attached to the film "Doomsday".

Two one-sheet posters for the film were released in August 2007, one showing the three masked Strangers, [ [http://www.impawards.com/2008/strangers.html The Strangers Poster - Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery] impawards.com] and the other displaying a wounded Liv Tyler. [ [http://www.impawards.com/2008/strangers_ver2.html The Strangers Poster - Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery] impawards.com] In April 2008, the final, official one-sheet for the film was released. [ [http://www.impawards.com/2008/strangers_ver3.html The Strangers Poster - Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery] impawards.com]

Reception

Critical Reception

"The Strangers" received mixed reviews from critics. As of June 17, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 43% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 110 reviews — with the consensus that the film "provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films." The film has a rating of 55% based on the reviews from Top Critics. [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_strangers/ |title=The Strangers Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-05-30 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 27 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/strangers |title=Strangers, The (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-05-30 |publisher=Metacritic]

Box Office Performance

"The Strangers" opened in the United States and Canada on May 30, 2008 and in its opening weekend the film grossed $20,997,985 in 2,467 theaters, ranking #3 at the box office and averaging $8,514 per theater. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=strangers.htm
title=The Strangers (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-06-02 |publisher=Box Office Mojo] As of June 23, 2008 the film has grossed $52,597,610 in the U.S. alone exceeding industry estimates [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=strangers.htm The Strangers (2008)] boxofficemojo.com] and is considered a box office success considering the production budget was a mere $9 million.

DVD and Blu-ray Release

"The Strangers" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on October 21, 2008. The Blu-ray will feature both rated and unrated versions of the film, with the unrated edition running three minutes longer.

oundtrack

In addition to the film's score by Tomandandy, "The Strangers" features the following songs:

*"Ariel Ramirez" - Richard Buckner
*"Hopeful" - Jennifer O'Connor
*"At My Window Sad and Lonely" - Billy Bragg and Wilco
*"Sprout and the Bean" - Joanna Newsom
*"My First Lover" - Gillian Welch
*"Mama Tried" - Merle Haggard

equel

Rogue Pictures' producers confirmed to "Variety" that a sequel is in the works, due for filming in 2009. [cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a127271/rogue-pictures-confirms-strangers-2.html |title= Rogue Pictures confirms 'Strangers 2' |publisher=Digital Spy| date=2008-08-28| accessdate=2008-09-03]

References

External links

*rotten-tomatoes|id=the_strangers|title=The Strangers
*metacritic film|id=strangers|title=The Strangers
*mojo title|id=strangers|title=The Strangers
*dmoz|Arts/Movies/Titles/S/Strangers,_The|"pagename"