30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. THE STRANGERS
DAY 20
THE STRANGERS (2008)
This is one of those films that somehow flew under my radar for a long time. It wasn't until it was released to home-video and that people started talking about it online, that I came to it. And I’m thrilled I did.
This movie is part of the of the “home invasion” sub-genre, which is about people being hunted and haunted in their own homes. This formula has given us classics like WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, THE PURGE, or FUNNY GAMES.
Home invasion movies work so well because it’s something we all share; some people are not afraid of ghosts, the dark, or aliens, but all of us have stayed up late at night wondering what that noise rattling outside our window was. It’s a fear that we all have felt.
If you have not seen THE STRANGERS the plot goes something like:
A couple is expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous woman arrives at the door while the husband is out on an errand. When he returns, he accidentally kills a friend, mistaking him for an intruder. And then real danger does show up — in the form of three masked torturers, leaving Kristen and James struggling for survival.
THE STRANGERS works so well because it creates one of the coziest and warmest atmospheres I’ve ever seen in a film. Like, if this house weren’t about to be broken into by murderous maniacs, I’d love to live there.
Horror tends to be filled with mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. Directors and Production Designers love to create a sense of danger through abnormal movements, weird settings, and unbalanced framing. But in a story where you are supposed to feel “safe,” this would be counterproductive. You wouldn’t want the audience on edge before they have to be.
Being safe at home is a perfect place to start a horror film like this one. While watching the first act of the movie you wouldn’t think this is a horror movie at all, it feels and looks like an indie drama. And then mask wearing people start coming in through the window.
I wanted to talk about THE STRANGERS after THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE because they are very similar thematically, but with a creepier added bonus. Now the horror is coming to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
One of the most disturbing things about a home invasion flick is realizing how vulnerable you are. “Safe” becomes an illusion after you realize how easy it was to get inside someone’s house. James, the husband, kills his friend mistaking him for an intruder. That means he is alert and possibly paranoid, but not even being that alert can save him, or his wife, from the horrors of the outside world.
At some point, they ask the killers why are they doing this. Only to hear back:
“Because you were home.”
Pretty bleak.
Tomorrow: THE EXORCIST (1973)
Yesterday: THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)
