The Strangers, and all the brooding that comes with them.

I’m here to talk about “The Strangers”, a movie I was actually looking forward too. But before I get into that I should probably explain the sorrow I have inexplicably surrounded you in. I love horror movies, just love them. And I’ve been waiting for my fix for quite some time now. And yes I know “The Happening” is on the horizon but I have little faith in M.Night and don’t expect to be blown away by his latest foyer into pretension and whispering. But we’ll hold judgment until next weekend when you get my review. For now suffice it to say I’m starved for horror and thought “The Strangers” could fill the gap, I was wrong.

It was average, just a cookie cutter horror in a long line of mundane forgettable movies. Not bad in any sense it just seemed stale. It had nothing new to offer the genre and it didn’t really excel and anything. It certainly wasn’t scary; every jump scare predictable and without feeling. Though it had a nice atmosphere and was entertaining, just nothing special. I could easily splice this same paragraph into a review for most of the other horrors I’ve seen lately, which makes me sad as a critic and as a fan. There are too many pretenders and remakes taking up space in the horror industry. I bleed for the future.

The movie just feels tired, there have been too many better slashers and it all seems soulless. There is nothing wrong with the acting or the suspense. Some of the camera work is a little shoddy but that can be forgiven considering they were probably going for a realistic feel, it just didn’t work. It just wasn’t scary, there were moments when the crowd laughed at the scare scenes and that’s just pathetic. I almost felt bad for the movie. But it’s not my place to pity the frail and lost.

It feels like a PG13 slasher flick, so their worst mistake was probably going for the R rating as it will appeal best to teens just getting into the genre. For seasoned veterans in the field this will do little more than wet your appetite. It’s a C, a passable but weak performance. For newbies this would work as a fun introduction to the genre as it establishes conventions to the point of cliché and it might make a fun date movie. However I would only really suggest it as a rental, unless people in masks really do it for you.