Rogue Pictures has made most of its reputation of releasing hardcore horror films and cheesy, direct-to-video fare like the recent American Pie sequels, as well as some Chucky films. (And, rumor has it, a cheesy documentary on term life insurance… or not.) In other words, they’re not exactly the home of much in the way of high-class horror, or, really, high class comedy or anything else.
That’s part of what makes The Strangers so notable. Written and directed by Bryan Bertino, The Strangers is a throwback to the paranoia horror films of the 1970s, as well as the 1950s work of Alfred Hitchcock. The Hitchcockian elements are on display in the director’s restraint; resisting the recent torture-film trend, the movie gets its biggest reactions by what it suggests rather than what it shows. It is the sort of film, one senses, that a young John Carpenter or Tobe Hooper might produce if they were getting their start today, rather than 30 years ago.
Released on Blu-Ray in both a theatrical and an unrated version, the unrated edition of The Strangers adds only five minutes more footage than the theatrical release. The Strangers features a high-class duo in the main roles of Kristen McKay and James Hoyt. McKay is portrayed by Liv Tyler, while Scott Speedman of TV’s Felicity fame fills in the role of James. Both are young, talented and ready for the challenge of their roles.
Although the film claims to be inspired by true events, the actual basis for the film is far less enthralling than the film itself. When he was young, writer-director Bertino claims someone knocked on his family’s door asking for someone who was not there, and he later found out that several neighborhood homes had been broken into and robbed. That’s the extent to which The Strangers relates to any “true events.” However, Bertino did admit that the book Helter Skelter, about the Manson family murders, also served as partial inspiration for the movie.
The film opens as McKay and Hoyt are returning from a friend’s wedding reception; they seem angry, hurt and emotionally distant, and the source of this, it is revealed, is that Hoyt had proposed to McKay earlier that evening, but she’d turned him down, saying she wasn’t ready. As a disappointed Hoyt tries to make arrangements to leave McKay alone at the cabin, a stranger knocks at the door and asks if Tamara is home. They shoo her away, explaining there’s no one at the house by that name. Her face is never revealed since, thanks to a malfunctioning porch light, she is never shown in a lighted area.
Later, Hoyt leaves to buy McKay a pack of cigarettes and once he’s gone, the woman comes back to the door, knocking again and asking for Tamara. From there, the tension escalates into a full-blown tale of home invasion. The movie features striking little dialog, displaying the old cinematic storytelling axiom that character is defined by action rather than dialog, and that film is a primarily visual medium.
The Strangers takes full advantage of this wisdom, using character action and the visuals of the movie to full effect; this is not a film one can fully appreciate while doing a Sudoku puzzle and not really watching the screen. To do so would result in missing most of the story.
Still, what little dialog there is, is used to great effect. When asked to explain why they were chosen as targets by the killers, the simple three-word reply – “You were home” – is both memorable and chilling. And in one of the very few extras, a deleted scene shows that early cuts of the movie featured some very talky, expository scenes that were later cut from the film to keep the emotion of the action more intense and naturalistic.
There is a deeply disappointing lack of special features, which makes this release a very plain Jane package; aside from a very sparse collection of deleted scenes and a very brief documentary called The Elements of Terror, there’s nothing else on the disc. No audio commentary, no wealth of making-of features, no gag reel. Blu-Ray players connected to the internet are able to take advantage of some additional content via BD Live, but even there the choices are sparse at best.
The good news is that the movie did so well – including a $20 million-plus opening weekend and over $54 million in overall box office against a mere $9 million budget – that the sequel is already planned, with filming to begin in 2009. If the sequel can match the restraint and suspense of the original, it should be a film worth watching. This one certainly is, although the sparse selection of special features is especially disappointing.