"The Strangers" 1/2 *

May 28, 2008

What can I say. I love a good scare. And I so wanted to be scared by a worthwhile film. I made a mistake. A huge mistake. This blog was established so that you wouldn't waste your precious time while on the planet. So be forewarned and please heed my advice on this one! The prologue says "Inspired by true events". More like inspired by about 10 previous movies that it steals from. Then it reveals the disturbing figure that there are 1.8 million violent crimes each year in the U.S. This movie makes it 1,800,001. Supposedly, a couple (Liv Tyler & Scott Speedman) heads for Scott's family summer home in 2005 after a friend's wedding. Waiting for them in the dark are 3 masked homicidal maniacs (2 of which are female!) who, over the course of 90 loooong minutes, for no apparent reason (one of them says it's because they were home), terrorize the couple to no end. The sound editor is the real star of this one as first time director Bryan Bertino obviously thinks this is the best way to make the audience jump. What is even more unconscionable is that this one note film not only doesn't scare, it's also boring. Nearly 2/3's is nothing but sounds and screams (by Tyler-not the audience) and every move by the principals is telescoped minutes before it happens. And talk about a disappointing conclusion. The director, I'm sure, is counting on the fact that no one saw "Carrie". An absolute total mess.