The Strangers
Rent/Purchase
After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt’s remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
What critics thought
Bryan Bertino's home-invasion debut split critics almost evenly: admirers found its slow-burn dread and 70s-throwback restraint genuinely terrifying, while detractors dismissed it as sadistic, purposeless, and repetitive once its early tension dissipates. The central disagreement was whether withholding motive and gore is disciplined filmmaking or simply an excuse for an empty exercise in cruelty.
“The movie deserves more stars for its bottom-line craft, but all the craft in the world can't redeem its story.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Bertino has the pretensions of an artist and the indelicacy of a hack. He tries to get under our skin with a pile driver.”
Wesley Morris·The Boston Globe
“For a little over half an hour, the movie skillfully turns its hollow screws... but somewhere after that, the movie loosens its grip. In fact, it gets repetitive and a little silly, no matter how hard Liv Tyler works at being terrorized.”
Mike Russell·The Oregonian
“This is one of those rare horror movies that concentrates on suspense and terror rather than on gore and a high body count.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“Analog-man Bertino teases with the unknown until he's left no pimple ungoosed. Sometimes avoiding the synapse-raping bad habits of splat-packers Eli Roth and Alexandre Aja is its own reward; doing so without also submitting to Michael Haneke–style hand-slapping is nearly monumental.”
Ed Gonzalez·Seattle Weekly
Genres
Horror, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorBryan Bertino
StarringLiv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis
ComposerTom Hajdu, Andy Milburn, tomandandy
The Strangers
After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt’s remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
What critics thought
Bryan Bertino's home-invasion debut split critics almost evenly: admirers found its slow-burn dread and 70s-throwback restraint genuinely terrifying, while detractors dismissed it as sadistic, purposeless, and repetitive once its early tension dissipates. The central disagreement was whether withholding motive and gore is disciplined filmmaking or simply an excuse for an empty exercise in cruelty.
“The movie deserves more stars for its bottom-line craft, but all the craft in the world can't redeem its story.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Bertino has the pretensions of an artist and the indelicacy of a hack. He tries to get under our skin with a pile driver.”
Wesley Morris·The Boston Globe
“For a little over half an hour, the movie skillfully turns its hollow screws... but somewhere after that, the movie loosens its grip. In fact, it gets repetitive and a little silly, no matter how hard Liv Tyler works at being terrorized.”
Mike Russell·The Oregonian
“This is one of those rare horror movies that concentrates on suspense and terror rather than on gore and a high body count.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“Analog-man Bertino teases with the unknown until he's left no pimple ungoosed. Sometimes avoiding the synapse-raping bad habits of splat-packers Eli Roth and Alexandre Aja is its own reward; doing so without also submitting to Michael Haneke–style hand-slapping is nearly monumental.”
Ed Gonzalez·Seattle Weekly
Genres
Horror, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorBryan Bertino
StarringLiv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis
ComposerTom Hajdu, Andy Milburn, tomandandy
Rent/Purchase