Such a busy week this week, we had to move date night to Monday since we have meetings every other day this week. So we traveled down the road to see the movie called the Strangers, a suspense horror film. And I don’t really have much to say about it. It was exactly what I was expecting, not a thing more. Lots of suspense, so the movie was good for that edge-of-your-seat anticipation, but there was no backround about why the terror was taking place, which I would have liked – just a movie about a couple who are victimized in a remote vacation home by scary people with extremely creepy looking masks. And, this isn’t really a spoiler because right there in the film’s introduction they tell you that the main characters are not going to make it. So watching these people struggle the whole movie knowing they won’t triumph over evil was kind of… well, I guess I’d say almost pointless. There is also another event that takes place in the movie involving someone’s demise that you can see coming a mile away. So, while the film was incredibly predictable, it was good for suspense; it’s not like I’d say it was a bad movie or boring or anything like that… Just nothing to write home about. Liv Tyler is not a bad actress either, but I’d have to say this wasn’t one of my favorite horror / suspense movies. I appreciated the fact that it was done without the gore that seems to be plaguing many a horror film these days, but I really would have liked more story than just people getting terrorized by other people for no reason. If you like suspense, check it out; it is 90 minutes of nail-biting tension, but don’t go expecting too much. I like many horror movies better, including the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake from 2003 to name an example.
Of course, who goes to horror movies expecting to see a great, thought-provoking experience. The edge-of-your-seat tension filled suspense is all you really need. 90 minutes of mindless fun.
Yep. And this one really did keep me tense. Some “thrillers” keep you guessing and can actually be quite involved plot wise. This however was more classic horr/suspense. I too appreciated the low gore-level. Gore is not scary, it is just gore. I like to feel my heart pounding!
Ok, one I can skip then… I need a little more plot than just making my heart pound.
Now that all my regular readers have read this post, I forgot to mention one of my favorite things about the movie – the soundtrack! Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the classic country, but it added an interestly creepy mood to a horror film, especially when played upon a record player.
kind of like the soundtrack to Office Space that I so thoroughly loved 🙁