Crazy storm. Power was out at the house when I got back from work. So I decided to go waste time at the mall. Brought my cousin with me (who just graduated from 8th grade the other day and is ready for having some awesome adventures in high school!) I kind of wanted to see a movie, and just decided on the spot when we arrived to go see The Strangers. I haven’t seen a good slasher film in a while (probably since… um… this one). Well, that and I wanted to take my cousin to a scary movie since he is a big baby (freakin LotR was scary for him!) Hopefully I can break him in to be able to enjoy thriller/horror movies. Pretty much throughout the whole time he has his head down, squinting his eyes, and covering his ears. Not that I’d blame him, the movie gets pretty intense. Um… spoiler alert?

No, they aren’t putting on a play for them.

We were like 15 minutes late, but I’m sure we didn’t miss anything critical. We got right in where Liv Tyler is taking off her panties before being rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. She and her boyfriend (played by Scott Speedman, who seemed strangely familiar to me and then I found out that he played Ben from Felicity) answer the door to find a young woman asking, in a very creepy way, for someone who obviously didn’t live at the house. They shoo her away, the guy leaves to buy some cigarettes, and then the fun begins.

The Strangers is best summed up as being about a young couple being terrified by three lunatics in masks. And man… those masks are really fucking creepy. They’re great, because there are some awesome moments where they just slowly walk forward from the darkness or around the corner and you are completely spooked. The first time we see The Man in the Mask… DAMN! One of the best scary moments ever. Liv Tyler is just having a glass of water in the kitchen, and behind her in the background the dude just appears (all fuzzy and out of focus due to the perspective) and just stands there and watches her. FUCKING CREEPY.

OK, I am not totally in love with the movie; it has it’s horror cliche moments, but it was effective in making me (and especially my little cousin) squirm in my seat. Plotwise, it worked for me because all I cared about was getting scared. I didn’t want to learn the backstories of the characters and what motivates them. I mean really, the boyfriend puts it exactly how it should be when asked why they’re terrorizing them: “They don’t need a reason when they come through that door.” There are plenty of points in the film that get really tense, and I’m just waiting for the obligatory “jump in your face” moment. It rarely does that, but my expectations for it helped me get my tension up.

I think they did a good job with the music and sound. It doesn’t use an overpowering score, or those big sharp, sudden strings at the scare moments. Actually, the silent scenes are pretty crazy and all you hear are the taunting and intimidating sounds of the masked assailants banging on the walls, heavily breathing, and creepily making footsteps. And, personally, I liked the effect of the old fashioned music playing on the record player in one scene.

The movie also had its parts where it got me thinking, “God, no wonder they are in this shit, they are just fucking stupid.” There’s a point in the movie when a friend comes down to the remote house. He’s leaving a message for the couple on his cell phone when BAM! His windshield is shattered by what I think was a rock. So, I’m like, “RED FLAG.” Then like a dumbass, he proceeds to walk to the house and sees his friends’ car completely WRECKED (which was totalled by the psychos to prevent them from leaving). I’m all like, “HELLO?! Call the fucking police, dumbass!” But nooooo… he keeps going and WALKS INTO THE FUCKING HOUSE, which is now a complete mess and any sane person can tell there was an attack there. I’ll leave it to you to find out what happens to him.

As for the ending… hm. Big spoiler alert, so stop reading if you are thinking about watching the movie and don’t want to know what happens to the couple. Ok, here it comes… I like how the attackers just take off their masks, their faces not completely shown, and proceed to stab the tied up couple to death. It isn’t gory, just how’s I likes it cuz I HATES torture films, but you can definitely feel the impact of the murders. And then the killers just drive away, one of them saying, “Next time, it will be easier.” And then the END, end… two young Mormon boys come into the house and find the massacre, one of them reaches out to the bled out Tyler, and then she suddenly reaches out and screams straight at the audience and then the fade to black. I could have done without that one. It seemed kind of put in there for a scare you at the last minute when it didn’t need to.

So… I thought it was so-so. I was entertained, both because I just love going to the movies and I got scared when I wanted too, but it’s not one of those “Wow. I am completely impressed by all aspects of it” movies. Probably would rate it a 6/10. If you want a good scare, check it out, but don’t expect something deep or dramatic.

And yeah, the power still wasn’t back on when we got back home afterward. I just read some comics by flashlight until it did… about two hours later.