Gemma Ward, Glenn Howerton, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Liv Tyler ...( see more  see more... ) , Scott Speedman

A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.

Flixster Users

48% liked it

292,281 ratings

Critics

44% liked it

142 critics

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Bryan Bertino

Release Date: May 29, 2008

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DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008

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Stats: 17,047 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (17,047)


  • December 21, 2009
    Interesting cinematography and sound design give the film a unique and chilling visceral signature that draws us into the protagonists' claustrophobic trap. It convincingly, suspensefully depicts horrific events but ultimately has nothing to say about them.
  • August 27, 2009
    Run of the mill scare Horror film. All about the scare tactics used to the build up towards the end scene. Very similar to Funny games but more worrying is this is based on a true event. Worth a watch once, more errie than scary.
  • May 6, 2009
    Terrible!
  • March 19, 2009
    This is one of the better old school horror/thrillers I've seen in a long time. It's so unbelievably tense that I actually found myself jumping out of my seat a few times, which never happens to me. First time director Bryan Bertino shows a real talent for staging, framing, and...( read more) building suspense. He doesn't invent any new techniques, but he knows how to use old ones, especially Hitchcock's theory of suspense. I loved the minimal use of dialogue, the extended periods of silence, the small cast, and the plausibility of the whole situation.
    It's kind of interesting how the plot of this film bears a lot of resemblance to Michael Haneke's Funny Games. The Strangers is pretty much the film that Funny Games was condemning. But screw Haneke's hypocritical piece of junk. The Strangers is the real deal, a very well executed, efficient nail-biter of a thriller.
  • March 2, 2009
    if for no other reason i loved this film because it was such a welcome departure from the gore porn of horror films in recent years. perfectly terrifying with a disturbing but effective ending, this was one of the best horror films in recent years.
  • February 7, 2010
    this film is tense. it keeps you on the edge and doesn't let up. it does lose it a towards the end but it's still gripping. really good stuff.
  • February 7, 2010
    This thriller has a lot of suspense and it is scary! It really shocks you! Incredible performancs by liv tyler and scott speedman
  • February 5, 2010
    The movie which made me hate Gemma Ward (sorry, Dad) with passion. I normally go for the villains, but after they kept scaring years off of me, I tended to root for the main characters, Speedman and Tyler. One horror film you should NOT watch alone.
  • February 3, 2010
    Took the "Funny Games" formula and removed everything that made Funny Games unique or interesting. There was one good surprise, but the movie was fairly pointless overall.
  • February 1, 2010
    This movie scared me.

Critic Reviews


October 18, 2008
Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine

A retread of just about every home-invasion movie of the past 50 years mixed with elements of torture porn and chick-flick romance. full review

October 18, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The Strangers has a couple of scares, but it's not anywhere near as frightening as advertised. The creepy folks of the title are more fumbling than fiendish. full review

July 18, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

At least it's short. full review

June 2, 2008
Bob Mondello, NPR.org

A sadistic, unmotivated home-invasion flick. full review

May 31, 2008
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Kind of like what The Shining might be if you took out the ESP. And the ghosts. And the chilling atmosphere. So call it The Sucking. full review

May 30, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

A retread of just about every home-invasion movie of the past 50 years mixed with elements of torture porn and chick-flick romance...has nothing new to offer in the genre. full review

May 30, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Let's give writer-director Bryan Bertino credit. He knows how to frame a shot to make characters seem vulnerable. Now for his next trick, he just needs to turn his talents toward something that isn't ... full review

May 30, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie deserves more stars for its bottom-line craft, but all the craft in the world can't redeem its story. full review

May 30, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

No one is getting at anything in The Strangers, except the cheapest, ugliest kind of sadistic titillation. full review

View more The Strangers reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • kaylalynn96
    July 24, 2009
    Wow this movie sucked horribly. Major waste of my time! And a huge waste in money. This sucked at no time did I jump or scream! Very, very dissapointing! I wanted to get up and leave the theater but I figured this is good money that I paid for such a crappy movie!
  • Muktidaya
    April 6, 2009
    bull shit movie omg
  • dd4004
    December 16, 2008
    Hi Guys

    Just found this game for The Strangers - if you get a good score you can win a PLAYSTATION 3 and some Blu-ray DVDs!! How cool is that?!

    Just go to www.thestrangersdvd.co.uk

    You can play as many times as you like :)
  • AgentStarling
    November 28, 2008
    A mixed verdict for this horror movie. On the plus side, created a good sense of creepiness and had some good chills, especially the ending. On the other hand, started off very slow and dragged in many spots with some really far-fetched doings. Worth a look but keep the fast-forward button close by.
  • shelby140
    November 28, 2008
    This movie didnt make any sense to me. They didnt have any reason to come after them. and if they did they should have told us what it was. I also think the people in mask should have shown us who they were.
  • whodat105
    November 15, 2008
    this is why drugs are bad!! the whole thing is just f***** up and everyone on this movie needs to get on medication like me. i liked it!
  • St3phani388
    September 13, 2008
    Ive tried looking up to see if this really happened by putting the characters names in google & nothing is coming up!

    Alot of people are saying its not a true story its based of a few lil events but nothing like there making out it to be!

    Also ive heard the actual women "Kristen McKay" is real and she paid lots of money to get the "real" story took off the internet...

    so is it real or not?? can any1 find out?? x msg me x
  • raechello
    August 15, 2008
    This actually looks pretty good in that scary way and telling from comments - this movie has either scared them or creeped them out so.. Obviously it's going to do the same to me possibly. BASED ON TRUE EVENTS?! Oh god. That is worse than having a horror film which isn't. Because then it makes you think... This is possibly? This happened? Oh my god!

    I probably won't get to see this in the cinema (I'm not sure if I want to either) but I will deffinately rent it and watch it... IN THE DARK! at NIGHT, ALONE! bwuahaha! (I'll keep a pillow close) haha!
  • shutterbug99
    July 13, 2008
    This sounds a bit like Funny Games, and I liked the trailer. The movie poster is great - Poor Liv doesn't know whats behind her!! I want to watch it with the lights off and be frightened! The 'home invasion' horror theme is something thats going to scare everyone!
  • FidelioRoo
    July 7, 2008
    Although this looks like a blatant rip-off of Funny Games(possibly without the meta-fiction), it looks like it was filmed rather well.
    So I'm interested.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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The Strangers Trivia


  • In what movie did Rufus Sewell star alongside Jennifer Connelly and Kiefer Sutherland, that saw him pursued by police and beings called The Strangers?  Answer »
  • In the film "Strangers with Candy" what is the name of the science fair team Jerri joins?  Answer »
  • In what movie did two strangers pass letters back in forth, but they were living two years apart?  Answer »
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