The Strangers (2008)

I've heard nothing but bad things about The Strangers but I was very very pleasantly surprised. For a horror film it did exactly what it was supposed to do, and with the recent surge of torture porn films preoccupied with showing the horror instead of, well, inspiring it, this is a breath of fresh air.

Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and presumedly soon to be ex-boyfriend James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) return as scheduled to his parents isolated holiday home after his post-wedding-party-proposal goes horribly wrong. Things get considerably worse when they find themselves at the mercy of three mask wearing assailants. For the next twelve hours they (and quite possibly you) will scream, hollow or at least jump as these sadists quite literally do our protagonist's heads in, both mentally and inevitably physically.

It's a taut thriller that once again, following the J.J. Abrams school methodology of "ask now, don't answer later", gets away with it in brilliant fashion. This recent resurgence began with Lost (2004), climaxed with the audacious Cloverfield (2008) and ends up once again here, steadicam intact. Of course this has been the main issue for many critics but once again, to reiterate, if you can't answer the questions then it is far better to leave them unanswered then to blag it.

Post Zodiac (2007) Hurdy Gurdy Man style music plays diegetically in the background at crucial points in the film adding an extra pinch of scary spice. Sure our protagonists make some bad choices but they arn't half as bad as the dodgy exposition or contrived revelations usually attributed to this genre.

At 85 minutes it is still a little too long, certainly a few shots could've been tighter, maybe even a scene cut could've have helped but it is still well worth a viewing.

The Strangers is on general release now.