Strangers (Blu-ray) (2008)

"...spare, suspenseful and brilliantly invested in silence, Bryan Bertino's debut feature unfolds in a slow crescendo of intimidation.  Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
"Both Speedman and Tyler deliver solid, nuanced performances as a couple caught at the most fragile moment in their relationship.  Jennie Punter, The Globe and Mail
"Anchored by convincing performances from Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler...this is an enormously unsettling movie.  Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
"A spare, creepily atmospheric psychological thriller with a death grip on the psychological aspect.  Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
"...as an exercise in controlled mayhem, horror movies don't get much scarier.  Scott Tobias, The Onion A.V. Club

Editor's Note For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation home in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted by the sound of a heavy knock at the door. They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we watch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger. Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and much of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and ready to push a chair against your own front door.

	Glenn Howerton
	Liv Tyler
	Peter Clayton-Luce
	Alex Fisher
	Laura Margolis
	Kip Weeks
	Gemma Ward
	Scott Speedman
	Tom and Andy - Composer
	Nathan Kahane - Producer
	William Purcell - Special Effects Coordinator
	Sonny Mallhi - Executive Producer
	Missy Berent - Set Decorator
	Michael J. Hudson - Special Effects
	Christina Ritzi - Stunt Double
	Roy Lee - Producer
	Doug Davison - Producer
	Peter Sova - Director of Photography
	Wilson Tang - Visual Effects Designer
	Linwood Taylor - Art Director
	David Hill - Special Effects
	Susan Kaufmann - Costume Designer
	Bryan Bertino - Screenwriter
	Trevor Macy - Executive Producer
	Kelli Konop - Executive Producer
	Marc D. Evans - Executive Producer
	Cal Johnson - Stunt Coordinator
	Joe Drake - Executive Producer
	John D. Kretschmer - Production Designer
	Bryan Bertino - Director

Los Angeles Times
"First-time writer-director Bryan Bertino's taut, spare thriller is plenty scary....Anchored by convincing performances from Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler....This is an enormously unsettling movie." 05/30/2008

New York Times
"[S]pare, suspenseful and brilliantly invested in silence, Bryant Bertino's debut feature unfolds in a slow crescendo of intimidation..." 05/30/2008

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "This is undeniably effective suspense-horror, and Bertino stages quiet chills and short, sharp shocks with a technical expertise..." 10/01/2008 57

Sight and Sound
"[T]he tension remains consistently high....It accrues a real power to frighten through small touches..." 11/01/2008 p.71

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his lean, very mean house-invasion thriller from first-time director Bryan Bertino doesn't put a foot wrong....THE STRANGERS is chillingly effective..." 01/01/2009 p.154

ReelViews 8 of 10
We tend to think of our homes as places of safety and refuge. The illusory nature of such a belief is quickly dispelled in Bryan Bertino's debut feature, The Strangers. A chilling horror film about a home invasion, this movie doesn't break any new ground on a plot level, but its interesting cinematography suffuses the production with an overpowering combination of paranoia and claustrophobia. This is one of those rare horror movies that concentrates on suspense and terror rather than on gore and a high body count. By keeping the premise simple and making the small group of characters seem like genuine human beings, Bertino sets the audience up for a tense and uneasy 85 minutes...The Strangers is so effectively produced that if you arrive home after a night showing to find the electricity off, you will have misgivings about going inside. Horror movies come in two categories: those that deal in supernatural creatures and those that have their roots in very real dangers. The escapism that often categorizes and distances viewers in the former is absent in productions like this. There's pain and blood in The Strangers, but the movie is more about psychological torture than the physical variety. It's intense but not necessarily fun and may disappoint less sophisticated horror fans. However, for die-hard supporters of unsettling peeks into the dark side of human nature, this is a welcome excursion. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 5 of 10
My mistake was to read the interview with the director. At the beginning of my review of "The Strangers," I typed my star rating instinctively: "One star." I was outraged. I wrote: "What a waste of a perfectly good first act! And what a maddening, nihilistic, infuriating ending!" I was just getting warmed up...And then, I dunno, I looked up the movie on IMDb and there was a link to an interview with Bryan Bertino, the film's writer and director, and I went there, read it and looked at his photo. He looked to be in his 20s. This was his first film. Bertino had been working as a grip on a peanuts-budget movie when he pitched this screenplay to Rogue Pictures and then was asked to direct it. He gave a friend his grip tools and thought: "Cool, I'm never going to need this anymore! I'm never using a hammer again." Then he told the interviewer: "I still had to buy books on how to direct"...So I thought, Bryan Bertino is a kid, this is his first movie, and as much as I hate it, it's a competent movie that shows he has the chops to be a director. So I gave it 1.5 stars instead of one...Still harsh, yes. I think a lot of audience members will walk out really angry at the ending, although it has a certain truthfulness and doesn't cheat on the situation that has been building up..."The Strangers" is a well-shot film (the cinematographer is the veteran Peter Sowa). It does what it sets out to do. I'm not sure that it earns the right to do it. Bertino shows the instincts of a good director; I hope he gets worthier material. - Roger Ebert