|
The Strangers | 
 enlarge | Director: Bryan Bertino
Actors: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher, Peter Clayton-luce
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $6.05
You Save: $23.93 (80%)
New (47) Used (54) Collectible (1) from $6.05
Rating:  101 reviews
Sales Rank: 751
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: 62033302
UPC: 025193330222
EAN: 0025193330222
ASIN: B001D2WU9I
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A young couple staying at a summer retreat are faced with a night of psychological terror. As the night goes on the reality of what will come is more terrifying than anything both could have imagined. Inspired by true events Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 10/21/2008 Starring: Liv Tyler Scott Speedman Run time: 91 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
A lean, briskly paced and exceptionally creepy thriller, The Strangers earns its scares the old-fashioned way: through atmosphere, sound design, and a simple yet undeniably upsetting central premise that allows for maximum tension throughout its running time. Attractive young lovers Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are already having a bad day--she's turned down his marriage proposal--before a knock on the door in the middle of the night announces a full-fledged siege on their remote vacation home by a trio of masked assailants. The film's first third delivers the most consistent shivers as the visitors make their presence and intentions known to Tyler; the second half grows more frantic and bloody before a gruesome finale that may leave viewers either rattled to their core or bothered by its empty nihilism. Speedman is fine as the downtrodden male lead (who's seen tucking into a carton of ice cream after being rejected), but it's Tyler who impresses the most by shouldering the lion's share of the terror. First-time writer/director Bryan Bertino impresses by forsaking the current passion for over-the-top violence (save for the finale) in favor of more traditional means of generating fear, and if his project borrows heavily from other films, most notably the French chiller Them (which shares its "inspired by a true story" origin) and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, at least he's taking from the best. The sound design is among the many technical standouts, and the unsettling score by tomandandy (The Hills Have Eyes) pleasantly evokes Ennio Morricone's fuzztone-heavy work for Dario Argento in the early '70s. On a completely unrelated note, LP fanatics should appreciate how both the film's heroes and villains share an affinity for folk and country music on vinyl. --Paul Gaita
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 96 more reviews...
 Fear of the Other December 1, 2008
J from NY (New York)
Bryan Bertino's debut film "The Strangers" is among the most frightening American horror movies I have seen released since 2000.
Starting with a serious disappointment in "love", young almost newlywed Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and her amazingly stoic would-be fiancee Scott Speedman (James Hoyt) retreat to their vacation home in a remote wooded area to get it together. After a close friend's wedding, Scott proposed to Kristen and was rejected.
The symbolism is appropriate for the events to come--rose petals scattered around champagne bottles, the now humiliating box in which a marriage ring is held--beauty and security rejected and destroyed. And me oh my, is it.
The only time the viewer gets a close shot at one of the "Stranger" when both characters are home: a nondescript blond woman pounds on the door and asks: "Is Tamra home?" When Scott answers no, she smirks a bit in the darkness and replies "Are you sure?"
Using the eerie backdrop of vinyl records skipping and ceaseless pounding at the door, the nameless killers (who wear childlike Halloween masks) launch an all out assault on the senses, souls, and physical safety of the two. I was convinced that at some point Bertino would make a mistake and reveal the identity of the family? doing this: he never drops the ball once. Even with the predictably stupid decisions made by the two protagonists, this is a great horror movie.
SCARY in a Real Way.... Excellent movie! December 1, 2008
John Schinter (Chicago, IL)
QUICK PLOT - Young couple is terrorized "By Strangers" in remote summer cabin.
Extremely well made movie about a young couple that is staying in a remote summer home, when suddenly there is a "LOUD" bang on the door at 4 AM. A mysterious creepy girl is at the door asking for an unknown person - and everything for this couple goes downhill from there!
Much of the thrill of this movie is the INCREDIBLE tension it creates through the effective use of darkness, music, creepy sounds, and the "unknown" of what's next.....
This movie will stick with you - and will make you think about being careful when being in places that are too dark or remote.
 Boooooring November 28, 2008
Brian Fuchs (Thousand Oaks, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you thought The Happening was slow, this one moves at a glacial pace.
One big question - where do these people live, with no neighbors who call police after hearing screams, shotgun blasts, splintering wood, and exploding car windows? If they live in the middle of nowhere, it would have been nice to tell us that. Instead, any city-dweller viewer is going to wonder when the police are going to show up.
Behold the stupidest human being on the face of planet - the friend of the lead actor. If you arrived at a friend's house, and a second after shutting off your car, your rear window explodes accompanied by a shotgun blast, would you:
a) Start your car and hightail it out of there
b) Duck under the dashboard and phone 911 on your cell
c) Get out of your car and walk cautiously walk toward your friend's house asking "is anyone there?".
If you answered C, then it's only a matter of time before the Darwin Theory does what it's supposed to do and removes you from the food chain.
Note to horror film makers - if you want to make people empathize with characters that are going to die, make them likeable and interesting. We get to know little or nothing about the two leads in this film, and therefore we don't care what happens to them.
Great horror movie! November 28, 2008
A. lowery
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I went to the theatre to see this movie, and I found myself constantly jumping. The acting is great. The lighting and music are scary. The pace is perfect. The "strangers" are terrifying. I bought this dvd as soon as it came out. It was definitely worth the $20 I spent for it.
Scary but copying VACANCY November 25, 2008
Joel Stone (Essex Fells, New Jersey USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Strangers started off terrifying throughout the beginning and the middle, with the elements of being stalked at night with 3 killers. That's scary, but trust me towards the end, the film lost it's horror element. Don't see this film if you loved VACANCY, because this was supposed to be absolutely terrifying.
|
|
|
Copyright 2008 DVDonsale.com | |
