What was the point?
The Strangers from 2008 starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman is a far superior film. This "soft-reboot" lacks an atmosphere, convincing performances and the thrills it needs to become memorable.
The two lead performances are average, Froy Gutierrez struggles to emote convincingly, never seeming too scared and on edge in moments of terror, and whilst Madelaine Petsch fairs a little better, you could argue the two leads are lumped with some truly terrible dialogue, as if the writer's don't understand how young couples communicate.
With next to no gore and tension, it's a flat affair. It's not shot particularly well, the lighting is bland, the horror sound notes are overused every time a weapon or villain appears to the point it becomes laughable.
The masked invaders no longer feel threatening or creepy, and the famous lines from the original, "Is...Tamra..here?" and "because you were home", no longer carry the same heft or eeriness that the original effortlessly captured.
I should've known this was going to be poor when I saw Renny Harlin's name attached to this.
The two lead performances are average, Froy Gutierrez struggles to emote convincingly, never seeming too scared and on edge in moments of terror, and whilst Madelaine Petsch fairs a little better, you could argue the two leads are lumped with some truly terrible dialogue, as if the writer's don't understand how young couples communicate.
With next to no gore and tension, it's a flat affair. It's not shot particularly well, the lighting is bland, the horror sound notes are overused every time a weapon or villain appears to the point it becomes laughable.
The masked invaders no longer feel threatening or creepy, and the famous lines from the original, "Is...Tamra..here?" and "because you were home", no longer carry the same heft or eeriness that the original effortlessly captured.
I should've known this was going to be poor when I saw Renny Harlin's name attached to this.
- JamesIan2021
- Jun 11, 2024