People, like myself, who take it upon yourselves to write about cinema probably should not hold biases; however, I will admit that I have little motivation to see home invasion films. (Perhaps it is because I did not watch any of the films in the Home Alone franchise as a child, or as an adult.) Though I have known about The Strangers for many years and have had plenty of opportunities to see it, I did not have the desire until seeing Bryan Bertino’s The Dark and the Wicked, a film that I have so much love for. So, I thought it only fair to check out The Strangers, that other film that put Bertino name on the horror radar.

The Strangers is interesting from its start. We get a brief prologue of two boys entering a crime scene. And we hear in the voiceover their call to the police. Something awful clearly happened in a summer home. The car is a wreck, there is blood on the wall, a shotgun on the counter and rose pedals everywhere.

Then we get a look at our potential victims, who are already in the middle of one of the worse nights of their lives. Through a flashback, we learn that while alone in the parking lot of a wedding reception, James (Scott Speedman) proposed to Kristen, but she did not give the answer he had expected. Their relationship is now at a crossroads, which is especially sad since James had made special plans for a romantic post-wedding night with Kristen at his parent’s summer house. Now, the two struggle for things to say and all of the romantic gestures James’ previously set-up, like the rose pedals, only underscore his failings. It has been a long, tragic night…and that is before the late, late night knock on the door from a young woman who asks for Tamara.

Things are about to get a lot worse.

The Strangers stands out in the sub-genre for using its home invasion set-up more for thrills than to depict graphic scenes of torture. In fact, the gore in this film, though graphic, is also surprisingly sparse. These intruders are much more interested in the hunt than the kill. They pull back when they could easily push forward, and this only adds to a dread-inducing feeling that they are simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. I would be remiss if I did not add that one scene has gained particular notoriety in the horror community that involves the simple act of getting a glass of water. This scene perfectly encapsulates the horror Bertino is most interested in capturing.

Another thing that really stands out in The Strangers is its use of sound. Bertino knows the effectiveness of silence, but he also knows the chill a sudden noise can make. But I, particularly, will remember this film for taking full advantage of that cottage record player. (It does not hurt that Bertino has tremendously good taste in music. The soundtrack for The Strangers has a folksy indie sensibility, and it includes songs from Joanna Newsom, Merle Haggard and WILCO) Early in the film, the songs reinforce the feelings of the damaged lovers. Later, the songs that play are more ironic, pretending to give insight where there is none, and in the end, simply reinforce the idea that someone is in the house and this is the song they chose to terrorize James and Kristen with. And how chilling is that sequence where the record keeps skipping?

If I had a complaint about The Strangers, it would be that our intruders seem almost inhumanly good at appearing and then disappearing. (Poor Commissioner Gordon must know that feeling too well.) Though it makes for some tense horror moments, people, unlike ghosts, should not be able to break the rules of physics so easily. Perhaps, this is the reason I am still much fonder of Bertino’s lesser known The Dark and the Wicked. However, occasionally we see the intruders slipping up and in those moments the prey is better aware of the whereabouts of a predator. It is in these moments that the tension really ramps up because it reminds us that this evil is still human and escapable. It also begs the question, what would I do?

Normally, I do not care for horror movies that include a title card claiming that events in the film are based on “a true story”, (this one is only “loosely”, at best) but for The Strangers I’ll make an exception. The card is not there to add a fictitious Conjuring-style element of realism to the fantastical, but to cruelly hammer home the idea that the random act of violence in this film could happen to anyone on the wrong night. In fact, most of the directorial decisions Bertino makes are done only to highlight this point. For example, we see, almost, the complete abandoning of the dissolving relationship plot as if to say that none of that really matters now. Then there is all the brilliant camera work that takes place after our intruders take off their masks. And when we do finally get a why for all the violence that took place, the response is so unexceptional that it is utterly terrifying. In a film that seemingly has no message in the traditional sense, Bertino makes one message loud and clear. This could happen to anyone. This could happen to you.

And I can not think of a single film that delivers this message clearer.