The Strangers

The 2008 offerings once more walk among us.
voxmortis
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The Strangers

Post by voxmortis »

Great sound design!!
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MaxRenn
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Post by MaxRenn »

And a good soundtrack too. Didn't really do much for me otherwise though, lots of build up and didn't really go anywhere. Felt like a straight version of Heneke's Funny Games.
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Post by jonbly »

jonbly doesn't care that your relationship has fallen apart and you're a bit sad and weepy. That's some other movie. jonbly just wants you to hurry up and die.
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Post by MaxRenn »

jonbly wrote:jonbly doesn't care that your relationship has fallen apart and you're a bit sad and weepy. That's some other movie. jonbly just wants you to hurry up and die.
You are a nasty man jonbly :P
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Post by AdeBrown »

Powerful stuff for a Hollywood, well promoted film. A less offensive version of the "They Are Out To Get You" of Eden Lake as its perpetrators are rather random psychos. But not much good compared with other similarly themed films at FF08.

The tense moments are balanced out by predictable set up and outcome. The sound and soundtrack are ace though.

It occurred to me (after the lovely lady in the audience raised the question of feminist characters during the Manhunt Q&A,
that Liv Tyler is completely useless and vulnerable without her man.

She should have said "yes".
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Post by rambozo »

A good example of a film that wouldn't work half as well if it wasn't for the great sound and score.

Is this another example of Hollywood cashing in on the current trend in horror? Yep.

As with Disturbia last year, I'm not seeing the need for this to be part of Frightfest - unless the Director or stars turn up, which they didn't.
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Post by The Soapmaker »

It must be a case of "what scares you is a very individual thing", but I found The Strangers absolutely bloody terrifying and I'm amazed that it was made by a first-time director.

It didn't really feel like a "Frightfest favourite" perhaps, with its glossy look and nobody there for a Q&A, but I'm surprised it didn't go down better with the audience. As a group we seem to have a tendency to feel better-disposed towards a film if the director turns up to join our "FF gang".

It reminded me very much of Ils, but whereas that felt very much like an "exercise" in building tension, this had the tension plus characters I did care about. I thought he did a remarkable job of setting up the characters and showing the tensions in their relationship in just a couple of scenes. Not every horror movie has to have one-dimensional characters who are only there to (a) die or (b) be tough and fight back.
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Post by rambozo »

I guess I just don't like to be manipulated so much by the sound - especially as what was on the screen was at times so-so.

Was it just me who was laughing at the 'I'm seeing this a mile away' set up of the jumps?

But you could say the same about Halloween, so I'll just shut up now!
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Post by Fenriz »

MaxRenn wrote: Felt like a straight version of Heneke's Funny Games.
Yeah, I agree with that....although at the same time I didn't find it patronising or preachy like Funny Games, so this was a better film than FG for me.

A few genuinely shocking moments, but most of the time it wasn't scary - it mainly just consisted of lots of banging and doors slamming.

ALTHOUGH it did contain the most scary moment of the festival imo - that scene where Liv Tyler is in the closet and she's watching the guy with the mask sit down, then he goes away and she relaxs, then suddenly the girl in the doll mask appears right in front of the closet. I'll give it an extra half mark for that scene.

6.5/10
Last edited by Fenriz on Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by dangerous_jamie »

I gotta admit, this scared the carp out of me.


The people behind must have been having a great laugh watching me jump out of my skin every two or three minutes.
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Post by MaxRenn »

Fenriz wrote:
MaxRenn wrote: Felt like a straight version of Heneke's Funny Games.
Yeah, I agree with that....although at the same time I didn't find it patronising or preachy like Funny Games, so this was a better than FG for me.
Hope I didn't sound like a fan, I hate Funny Games, it was just an observation.
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Post by Jekyll »

Hated this.

Endless shots of Liv from every angle looking scared.
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Post by odishon »

Relied too much on the sound to make the predictable jumps have any effect.

Felt like a rewrite of Them which I preferred as the antagonists remained a mystery until the end.
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Post by Hello Doris! »

Can I apologise to the people sitting around me during this one? I hate the ones that could actually happen and I did swear a lot during this one. Spent the whole time with my head in my hands trying not to watch it.

too scary for me!
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Post by streetrw »

Of all the films on view, this was the one I was really taking the least notice of; as if it was on TV while I happened to be in the room. I'll probably watch it when it comes out next week and maybe make comments then, but one thing should be pointed out for a slap - whoever decided to take one of the most visual moments of the film AND USE IT FOR THE POSTER. I heard the response ripple through the audience when that moment arrived, but I think it would have had more impact if the artwork and advertising hadn't already given that particular game away.
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