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Anyone going to see this? Seems like the type of movie that could either be really good or just end up being torture porn. Weird that it could go either way.
I saw it at a press screening last Tuesday. For what it's worth, I enjoyed it. No pretentiousness, no needless exposition. Gets in, gets out and then it's done.
I saw it last night. It is definately NOT torture porn. There's hardly any blood at all until the very end. It has more to do with the psychological violation of not being safe in your own house. The scares are more of the creepy-guy-appears-behind-the-protagonist-and...stands there.
It's brilliant for its economy of structure. There's no extraneous character development. You know the minimum you need to know about these characters and where they are in their lives, then the movie simply gets down to business with the scares. It's a great movie to watch if you want to jump at shadows and never want to go inside your own house again.
Actually, I'm not sure it was the movie that scared me so much as the venue in which I watched it. I saw it at a packed house (after driving to another theater after the 1st one was sold out), which included at least 20 women who sounded like a cross between Fay Wray & Jennifer Hudson who screamed like they were on a roller coaster every time anything appeared out of the shadows.
The romance between Tyler & Speedman is somewhat remeniscent of the romance between Kate Beckinsale & Luke Wilson in Vacancy a couple years ago.
There are a few frustrating moments where Tyler & Speedman act like your typical infuriating horror movie idiots who somehow decide that splitting up is a good idea. But there is one really cool & surprising moment when...
...Speedman does the smart thing and perches himself with a shot gun in full view of a hallway door so that he can blow the face off of the next thing that moves. Only, when he does, he shoots & kills his friend that had come by to pick him up!
Oh, and as to the bad guy in the movie with a cloth sack over his head with a crude face drawn on it, I have only one thing to say,
I saw it this afternoon, and that was my reaction as well: it was a straightforward, unpretentious, efficient little horror flick. It does peak rather early, but it's short enough that it doesn't outstay its welcome.
It reminded me of last year's Vacancy, and was about equal in quality, though I found myself sympathizing more with Tyler's character than I did with Beckinsale's.
I don't understand some of the very negative reviews this film has been getting. By the standards of the genre, The Strangers isn't bad at all.
EDIT: I see that I wasn't the only person who was reminded of Vacancy.
I saw it last night. It is definitely NOT torture porn. There's hardly any blood at all until the very end. It has more to do with the psychological violation of not being safe in your own house. The scares are more of the creepy-guy-appears-behind-the-protagonist-and...stands there.
That's why I mildly enjoyed it. It wasn't Saw, which I liked. Psychological horror is more far effective than torture porn. I hope horror in general strays away from films like Hostel and Saw and we get more films like The Strangers, Them, Funny Games. Only a bit better. Don't get me wrong, those were good films, but they have hardly reached their potential.
It's brilliant for its economy of structure. There's no extraneous character development. You know the minimum you need to know about these characters and where they are in their lives, then the movie simply gets down to business with the scares. It's a great movie to watch if you want to jump at shadows and never want to go inside your own house again.
Indeed. It's a tightly-paced thriller. A bit short, but I have more problems with the third act than the overall length (which will be expounded upon later ).
Actually, I'm not sure it was the movie that scared me so much as the venue in which I watched it. I saw it at a packed house (after driving to another theater after the 1st one was sold out), which included at least 20 women who sounded like a cross between Fay Wray & Jennifer Hudson who screamed like they were on a roller coaster every time anything appeared out of the shadows.
Absolutely the same thing happened in my theater. It quickly became annoying. I mean, the first "scare" was actually very effective and well-done, however a bit spoiled in the previews. There was no music to make you aware of what's going on, just the appearance of the Bag Head Man and the slow and gradual revelation that he's there (the screams came first when members of the audience realized he was there, and then more screams when they then realized it too). Not very frightening, but effectively done.
There are a few frustrating moments where Tyler & Speedman act like your typical infuriating horror movie idiots who somehow decide that splitting up is a good idea. But there is one really cool & surprising moment when...
...Speedman does the smart thing and perches himself with a shot gun in full view of a hallway door so that he can blow the face off of the next thing that moves. Only, when he does, he shoots & kills his friend that had come by to pick him up!
See, once that happened, I was expecting a different ending.
Throughout the entire movie, these "strangers" are fucking with these characters. You half expect them just to scare them and leave, but it gets progressively worse. When they accidentally kill their friend, I expected it to end with the "strangers" leaving and the cops showing them, arresting them for the murder of their friend. That would have been a truly fucked up ending, verses them just dying and that ridiculous thing with the missionary boys at the end. I mean, we THINK they're going to die, but I think it would've been far more effective to see them live, but their lives destroyed forever.
Oh, and as to the bad guy in the movie with a cloth sack over his head with a crude face drawn on it, I have only one thing to say,
But there is one really cool & surprising moment when...
