Reviews

The Strangers

A home-invasion nightmare

By TOM MEEK | May 28, 2008

2.5 Stars

The Strangers

Bryan Bertino’s psycho-thriller gets the job done for nearly two-thirds of its length. But when it shows its hand, it folds. Said to be “based on real events,” its home-invasion nightmare seems more greatly indebted to such cult classics as The Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the recent French entry into the genre, Ils. Unfortunately, when the sadistic sociopaths who descend on a remote bungalow occupied by two troubled lovers do emerge from the shadows, they prove to be an empty plot twist devoid of explanation. In a single, scratchy drag of a blade across a countertop, the film goes from heart-attack-inducing to gut-bustingly silly. Big props to Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (Underworld), however: as the imperiled couple, they manage to sell the scare even as Bertino’s tangled homage guts itself. 90 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle/Chestnut Hill + Suburbs

Related: Hulk sulk, Underworld Evolution, Class project, More

Topics: Reviews , Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman

| More

See more deals

view all

[ 05/26 ] "A Natural Order," photographs by Lucas Foglia @ David Winton Bell Gallery

[ 05/26 ] George Orwell's 1984, adapted by Nick Lane @ Gamm Theatre

[ 05/26 ] "2012 RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition" @ Rhode Island Convention Center

ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | May 17, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture ( i.e. , Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, and American Idol ) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS | April 24, 2012
Peter Lord, animator behind claymation staples Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run , directs this very British, very dry romp on the high seas during the time when Britannia did indeed rule the waves.

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | April 18, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture (i.e., Paris Hilton, the Kardashians and American Idol) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: UNDEFEATED | March 15, 2012
Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin's Oscar-winning documentary about an underequipped high-school football team competing against big-time programs across Tennessee offers a potent contemplation on race and opportunity.

REVIEW: DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX | March 01, 2012
Regrettably, this team loses a lot of Seuss's quirkiness, though not the message about corporate greed and slash-and-burn imperialism.