Scariest. Movie. Ever.

First of all, a disclaimer. I am a baby when it comes to scary movies. After Paranormal
Activity I had to sleep with a light on for four nights, no joke. But as scary as the Paranormal movies are, they are nothing when compared to The Strangers. I had even lost my voice by the time the credits started rolling. Not only from being frightened like a little girl, but because I was trying to scream directions at Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman even though I was as much in the dark as they were.

And that is exactly why The Stranges is such an effective horror film, it leaves you in the dark. No, I do not mean that the camera is constantly in the dark and things pop out to scare you like so many horror films being made. You, the audience, knows only as much as Liv Tyler or Scott Speedman about why these horrible people are terrorizing them. Writer and director Bryan Bertino is a craftsman of suspense and terror.

Bertino gives you just enough to keep you on baited breath without accosting you with cheap thrills. Tension builds to the breaking point as you know the strangers are in the house, but no idea where they are or when they will appear.

Tyler does a great job of capturing and portraying fear and she is the sole focus of the camera for much of the movie since Speedman’s character runs off alone (why do they always do that?!). Not once did I question that her fear was fake or over acted, nor did I question her motives like so many horror characters make you do.

A major reason why The Strangers is so effective is that the antagonists are just three people…. Three people in simply terrifying masks. A simple burlap sack over the male character with a crudely drawn mouth voids the character of any humanity and you believe he is truly capable of anything. The two girl strangers are adorned with basic plastic masks that give them doll-like characteristics and they are only slightly less terrifying than the male stranger.

Most of the scariest parts of the movie
come from long, drawn out scenes where little to no action is taking place. The worst, in my mind, comes when Liv Tyler is alone in the living room and looking out through the kitchen. She has heard a noise out of one of the windows and is trying to see through the glass. As she calls out asking if anyone is there, the burlap covered stranger steps out behind her in the living room and… just watches Liv without moving. She has no idea he’s there, and the audience has no idea what he is going to do.

The Strangers had me constantly on edge to the point of yelling without resorting to gore and cheap scare tactics that are so prevalent in horror films today. If you want a scare that is surprisingly real, turn to The Strangers and pray that nobody knocks on your door while you are watching it or you may accidentally shoot them with a shotgun.

 By: Zack Mandell

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