The Strangers (2008 film)

For other uses, see The Stranger.

The Strangers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bryan Bertino
Written by	Bryan Bertino
Produced by	Nathan Kahane Doug Davison Roy Lee
Starring	Liv Tyler Scott Speedman Gemma Ward and Glenn Howerton
Cinematography	Peter Sova
Edited by	Kevin Greutert
Distributed by	Rogue Pictures, Universal
Release dates	May 30, 2008 August 14, 2008
Running time	90 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$9,000,000

The Strangers is a horror film released in the United States on May 30, 2008. The film was written and directed by Bryan Bertino, and stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film's score was composed by Tomandandy.

Synopsis

Though the plot of The Strangers is entirely fictional, the film opens with the following narration:

"What you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the F.B.I. there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend's wedding reception and then returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known."

The sound of an engine running plays over shots of houses in a rural neighborhood. The scene then cuts to the interior of a ravaged house, with holes in the walls and doors, a bloody knife lying on a table, and blood smeared across the walls. A frantic 911 call plays as two young boys enter the house through the open front door.

The narrative then shifts to the night before, with Kristen McKay and James Hoyt (Tyler and Speedman) arriving at the Hoyt family's isolated summer home. There is obvious tension between the two, and flashbacks reveal that James had proposed to Kristen earlier in the evening, and his proposal was rejected. While discussing their relationship, the couple is interrupted by a loud knock at the front door.

James opens the door to find a young woman with blond hair who asks if "Tamara" is home. They tell the girl that no one by that name lives there, and she walks away. James then leaves the house to buy Kristen a pack of cigarettes.

File:Thestrangersscreenshot.JPG

Kristen being stalked by "the masked man", while James is gone.

While Kristen is alone in the house, the young woman returns, once again knocking on the door and asking for Tamara. Without opening the door, Kristen tells her that she has already visited their house and that Tamara is not there. Moments later, she hears a barrage of loud knocks coming from all over the house, and looks out the window to see a masked face staring in at her.

James arrives home a few minutes later. He is skeptical of Kristen's story until he sees the blond girl standing outside in the driveway, wearing a white, doll-like mask. The couple try to leave in James' car, but are stopped by a second woman, also wearing a white mask, who proceeds to batter James' car into wreckage with a pick-up truck.

The ordeal continues throughout the evening, with James and Kristen constantly trying to evade their intruders and find some means of escape or summoning help. Help comes in the form of James's best friend Mike, however due to the scared confusion James ends up shooting him in the head. Kristen also manages to contact a person via a ham radio, but is cut off by the masked brunette female smashing the radio.

Kristen manages to escape from the blond girl and the man in the mask in the kitchen, only to encounter the other woman standing in the doorway. Kristen and James are knocked unconscious. The film closes with James and Kristen gagged and tied to a pair of kitchen chairs. The strangers take off their masks, though their faces remain hidden from the audience. When asked why the strangers targeted the couple, the blond-haired girl replies, simply, "Because you were home." Kristen pleads with their attackers as both she and James are stabbed repeatedly.

The three strangers are then seen driving away in the pick-up truck. They stop beside the two young boys from the opening, who are walking by the side of the road, handing out religious pamphlets. The blonde girl asks for a pamphlet and, when asked if she is a sinner, she replies, "Sometimes." The dark-haired girl proclaims, "It'll be easier, next time," as the truck drives off. The audience never sees their faces.

The last scene shows the two boys entering the home and discovering the couple. It turns out that James is dead and one of the boys kneels down to Kristen and is about to touch her face when she suddenly wakes up screaming wildly.

Inspiration

The movie is inspired by an event from director Bryan Bertino's childhood: a stranger came to his home asking for a person and he would later find out that empty homes in the neighborhood had been burgled. With that memory in mind, Bertino created this screenplay. In an interview, Liv Tyler revealed that in Bertino's original script "You saw a lot more of the strangers" and "It was much more of a Manson-esque experience." One of the film's largest sources of inspiration were the Keddie, California murders which took place in 1981.

Cast

• Liv Tyler as Kristen McKay
• Scott Speedman as James Hoyt
• Gemma Ward as Dollface
• Kip Weeks as The Man in the Mask
• Laura Margolis as Pin-Up Girl
• Glenn Howerton as Mike
• Alex Fisher as Missionary Boy #1
• Peter Clayton-Luce as Missionary Boy #2

Production

The Strangers was filmed in Florence, South Carolina, beginning on October 10, 2006 and finishing in early 2007. The film's budget was around $10,000,000. The release of the film was postponed twice. The producers originally intended to release the film in the Summer of 2007, but due to complications, the date was pushed back to Autumn. The release was then pushed back yet again to May 30, 2008.

Marketing

File:Thestrangerspromo.jpg

Early promo poster for The Strangers

A short promotional teaser trailer for the movie was released in August 2007 on the internet, and can be found on YouTube and on Apple's Quicktime. It was not until March 2008 that a full-length theatrical trailer for the film was released, which is available at Yahoo Movies. This theatrical trailer began showing in movie theaters soon after to promote the film, first being attached with Rogue Pictures' Doomsday.

There were two promotional one-sheet posters for the film that were released in August 2007, one displaying the three masked Strangers, and the other displaying a wounded Liv Tyler. In April 2008, the final, official one-sheet for the film was released.

Critical reception

The Strangers received mixed reviews from critics. As of June 17, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 41% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 110 reviews — with the consensus that the film "provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films." The film has a fresh rating of 55% based on the reviews from Top Critics. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.

Box office performance

The Strangers opened in the United States and Canada on May 30, 2008 and in its opening weekend the film grossed $20,997,985 in 2,467 theaters, ranking #3 at the box office and averaging $8,514 per theater..As of June 23,2008 the film has grossed $50,067,445 in the U.S. alone exceeding industry estimates and is considered a box office success considering the production budget was a mere $9 million.

DVD and Blu-ray release

The Strangers will be available on both DVD and Blu-ray, October 21st. The Blu-ray will feature both rated (85 minutes) and unrated (88 minutes) versions of the film. Extras for this release include deleted scenes, a featurette called "The Elements of Terror", and a BD-Live feature called "My Scenes Sharing" which, if the name is any indication, will allow you to share your favorite scenes with other fans of the film

Soundtrack

In addition to the film's score by Tomandandy, "The Strangers" features the following songs:

• "Ariel Ramirez" - Richard Buckner
• "Hopeful" - Jennifer O'Connor
• "At My Window Sad and Lonely" - Billy Bragg and Wilco
• "Sprout and the Bean" - Joanna Newsom
• "My First Lover" - Gillian Welch
• "Mama Tried" - Merle Haggard

Sequel

Main article: The Strangers 2

A sequel has been planned. It is said to start right when the first film ended. No stars have been announced.

External links

• Official site
• The Strangers at IMDb
• The Strangers at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Strangers at Metacritic
• The Strangers at Box Office Mojo
• The Strangers at AllMovie
• Official trailer at alliancefilms.com
• Rogue Pictures