Tuesday, April 7, 2009

'The Strangers' was Strangely Entertaining

     I am not a horror flick kind of guy.  Believe me there are dozens of ways that a man can get his thrills, adrenaline pumping or whatever it is that gets us off.  I hope there is someone out there that knows where I'm coming from.  That being said, once in a while there is a movie that makes you go ' hey that wasn't bad'.  In an era of horror movies that scream out 'hey another remake of a classic but this time we have sexier people in it',  The Strangers was a refreshing manner to get our hearts racing.  
Liv Tyler and her boyfriend are in this log cabin when randomly someone knocks at their door at four in the morning.  I don't know about you, but I don't open the door for anyone pass 9. So this stranger looking for Tamera starts to knock again once the boyfriend leaves to get cigarettes (at 4 a.m.?) and all hell breaks looks.  Three masked characters begin harassing Tyler to the point where they lose all sense of rational control of the situation.  Minimal dialogue and creepy sounds have you stirring in your seat.  The director (who also wrote the film) did an excellent job of just allowing things to unravel without forcing it on you.  Let it be known,  there were a few moments where I said to myself "C'mon, what are you doing"?  Even still your stomach begins to turn as you watch the horror and torment unfold on this unsuspecting couple.  All the while you have pity for these people.  Why wouldn't you?  Fellas, you want to be extra romantic with your lady.  So you take her a nice wood cabin, play some John Mayer and pour roses on the floor.  Suddenly,  some guy with a Charlie Brown sack on his head is hacking away at your front door with an axe. That sucks.  
I thought it was a good movie.  Of course the very end of the film has to go the cliche route, but it was still enjoyable.  Something I would easy rent and watch again.  The best part of 'Strangers' is the way the director uses sound to initiate fear and unravel the story.  From beginning to end, you don't cringe at heads being lobbed off with blood hitting the screen.  You do cringe though because you don't know what is behind that curtain and we have to wait to discover it.  Very Hitchcock, very cool.  This movie takes us back to when horror films didn't show us over the top, slimy creatures to be scarred of.  Rather,  put us in a situation when we lack control and let the sounds make our imaginations run wild.