The Strangers cover art

The Strangers Details

2008 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 60
  • from 17,532 members

A terrifying suspense thriller about a couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) in a remote suburban house who are targeted by three dangerous masked strangers. The resulting clashes force the couple to go well beyond what they thought themselves capable of in order to survive. Read more

Starring Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks
Director Bryan Bertino
Genres Horror, Thriller

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The Strangers cover art

The Strangers

A terrifying suspense thriller about a couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) in a remote suburban house who are targeted by three dangerous masked strangers. The resulting clashes force the couple to go well beyond what they thought themselves capable of in order to survive.

Starring Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton
Director Bryan Bertino
Studio UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK VIDEO RENTAL
Run time DVD: 1 hr 25 mins
Blu-ray: 1 hr 25 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Collections 100 Hot Hits
Genres Horror, Thriller
Language DVD: English
Blu-ray: English
Released DVD: 26 Dec 2008
Blu-ray: 26 Dec 2008
Production year: 2008
Format DVD

  • Most helpful member's review of The Strangers

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  • 142 out of 142 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!!

    First of all, if you are of a nervous disposition, DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM! Do not bother with popcorn, secure your spillables- and get ready to jump. LOTS.

    It has to be said that The Strangers is made up of more cliches than you can shake the cliche stick at and its scares are 99% super cheap, but that does not mean that it is not tense as hell and will make you jump, scream or maybe even hide. (My sister-in-law wanted to leave the cinema, but she was too scared to leave- it would have meant taking her hands of her eyes...)

    It takes a while to get going and the requisite backdrop story of a couple with problems (I told you about the cliches, didn't I?) takes up the introduction. But when the first knocks on the front of the door pound into the 4am silence, the tension starts increasing, coiling, tautening and stays relentless until the closing 5minutes.

    The fact that this is supposed to be based on real life events adds an extra edge, the couple's total exposure to the mindless and reasonless terror and violence feels horribly immediate: every window, door, hall is a possible attack point.

    Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are surprisingly watchable as the victims who fall foul to a gang of psychopaths, 'just because they were home'.

    If Funny Games deserved an 18 with all its violence off screen and this being the anti-thesis with full on visceral terror, do not be fooled by the 15 label. This is truly terrifying without pulling any punches.

    SEE THIS IF YOU LIKED

    * FUNNY GAMES

    * SCREAM

    * HALLOWEEN

  • Most recent members' review of The Strangers

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 3 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Tension and Suspense

    A couple are attacked in their summer home by a small group of masked 'strangers'. That is pretty much the plot for this movie because it is not about the motivations, the aftermath or even the violence itself. This is a very short film at around 1 hour 10 mins and the whole thing is geared towards creating an atmosphere of tension and suspense. This it does extremely well.

    This film is not for you if you want the strangers' back story or for your 'horror' film to fit in the usual Hollywood mould. The acting is relatively understated, as these type of films go, with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman playing their parts quietly.

    This may make you jump but won't cause you to hide behind your cushions. It is not particularly scary to be classified as a horror or slasher flick, or intricately plot driven to count as a psychological thriller. If you want a short film that delivers an amazing atmosphere then it is worth watching.

      • AngelC80 from Leicester
      • Posted 27 Jan 2009 10:03

  • News and features

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    The Strangers

    The Strangers

    • 22 Aug 2008

    It’s not like we haven’t been here before, but Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers is a five-finger exercise in stoking terror executed with the utmost deliberation and efficiency. Nothing more, and nothing less. Bertino is a thirty-year-old Texan who persuaded Universal to let him direct when they bought his screenplay (originally titled “The Faces”). As a writer, he gets nothing for originality, but I don’t think he would claim any either. But as a filmmaker,... Read more

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Rating breakdown

17,532 Member ratings
  • 100
765
  • 90
487
  • 80
2,151
  • 70
2,446
  • 60
4,375
  • 50
2,035
  • 40
2,396
  • 30
812
  • 20
1,314
  • 10
751

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