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The Strangers

Play trailer Poster for The Strangers R 2008 1h 26m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 167 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous woman arrives at the door while James is out on an errand. When he returns, he accidentally kills his friend Mike (Glenn Howerton), mistaking him for an intruder. And then real danger does show up -- in the form of three masked torturers, leaving Kristen and James struggling for survival.
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The Strangers

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Critics Consensus

The Strangers has a handful of genuinely scary moments, but they're not enough to elevate the end results above standard slasher fare.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Vilkomerson Observer 03/31/2019
The movie is best before the mayhem actually starts: First-time writer-director Bryan Bertino gets right some priceless details as the couple try to deal with the evening's earlier fallout, and elevates his movie above other horror films. Go to Full Review
Nigel Andrews Financial Times 03/31/2019
The formula of calm followed by shock is repeated until one tires of the technical polish of Bryan Bertino's directorial debut (with nods towards Funny Games and the French Them?) in the absence of coherent plot or character development. Go to Full Review
Adam Nayman The Ringer 03/09/2018
Bertino's directorial smarts are on display from the first slow-cut montage of rural homes glimpsed from the window of a moving car. It's a passage suggesting free-floating, arbitrary menace. Go to Full Review
Bryce Hanson Horror Movie Talk Sep 23
8/10
The Strangers is in a group of super nihilistic horror films that use lack of motive, message, and pretense to their advantage. The dread felt in this movie is strong, and is caused by the confusion and hopelessness of the protagonists’ situation. Go to Full Review
Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 12
4/5
From the character design of the strangers to the overall anxiety-inducing tone, The Strangers sets the contemporary standard for home-invasion horror. Go to Full Review
Cheryl Eddy io9.com Sep 5
It’s genuinely scary, maximizing the worst-case scenario of being targeted by ruthless killers, but doing it in a stripped-down way that makes it so much more alarming. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Brad B @Lucifer6669 5d I wasn’t a big fan of the 1st movie in what’s now a franchise. There’s really nothing you’re told in any of them as to why they’re doing these things. It says based on a true story but I find that hard to believe and if it is dramatic effects are added just like all true stories otherwise you’d be watching a documentary 😂. Nothing makes sense to me it’s just senseless slaughter. Once in a while a movie like that is fun. But where this is now 4 movies you’d think they’d add a new element to the story. After all only part 1 is based on a true story they can take this story where they want but unfortunately that’s not what happened. The movie is watchable but boring 🥱 because it’s just the same thing over and over again. See more Jordyn S. @JordynSicard Dec 21 Some scary / suspenseful scenes. I didn’t care for the characters and the chemistry between the man and woman was confusing. Also no motive is ever found out and I was left with a hole in my brain as to why they did this. You don’t get any hints other than because the house they are in. See more Amanda S Nov 21 One of the most original horror films currently. Anyone who says otherwise is being paid to promote a tiktok shop. See more Ian S Nov 7 An absolutely slow boring dog of a film. Shaky cams everywhere as that was the era of shaky cams. Incredibly tedious and predictable.... I absolutely detested the end where the antagonists take off their masks but we dont get to see their faces, thus rendering the reveal utterly pointless. One of those movies where the bad guys are in shot one scene but then magically disappear the next... these are actual human beings who occupy space and need time to exit screen. I haven't seen Funny Games but I bet the director has. I've never seen protagonists so utterly helpless... if Liv Tyler had tripped over one more time I swear to god I'd go back in time go on set and give her a Zimmer frame. I was dying for someone to go Ripley half way thru and develop some agency... and some balls. By the end I was wishing these clowns dead See more Micaela M Nov 6 So...the beginning and middle were good really just because you're waiting for some overarching purpose, or reason or story through out the movie, but left so disappointed with the ending of the movie. So many unanswered questions and with the way the ending played out, it kind of just made the movie feel pointless. Again, beginning and middle were good because I was waiting for like a story line but there really wasnt one. See more Yossam I Nov 3 An extremely underrated horror that builds dread with a slow burn. See more Read all reviews
The Strangers

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous woman arrives at the door while James is out on an errand. When he returns, he accidentally kills his friend Mike (Glenn Howerton), mistaking him for an intruder. And then real danger does show up -- in the form of three masked torturers, leaving Kristen and James struggling for survival.
Director
Bryan Bertino
Producer
Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Nathan Kahane
Screenwriter
Bryan Bertino
Distributor
Rogue Pictures
Production Co
Mandate Pictures, Vertigo, Intrepid Pictures, Rogue Pictures, E1 Entertainment
Rating
R (Violence/Terror|Language)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 30, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 15, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$52.5M
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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