'THE STRANGERS' Real or not so real?

[Darryl Mathe]

Anyone heard much on the new horror flick 'The Strangers'? I saw an advanced screening of it and almost had to leave. No kidding. It was bloody frightening, not to mention based on true events--which gave it another level of creepiness.

I highly recommend it if you're a fan of horror or just want to see a movie that doesn't suck! Anyway, I've heard all these conspiracy theories that it's based on real, true events. I've heard Manson murders and also the Keddie murders. I am trying to confirm this, but so far, only conspiracy theories. Was it a "real movie" like people are saying, or just Hollywood smoke and mirrors? Anyway, here is the trailer:

Here's the trailer: http://movietrailerlive.com/ct_0004_TheStrangers_A

[wildfire]

This looks good to me as well. I plan to see it next week on my trip to california.

[Despare]

I think it says "inspired by true events" correct? So it could use multiple cases and pull the most exciting bits from them to create something resembling a real murder. Have you seen Them (Ils)? Are the two similar?

[CopperShark]

I figured it was a marketing gimick similar to the original TCM. The movie looks good. Horror movies like that one appears to be are IMO the most frightning so I look forward to seeing it.

[Darryl Mathe]

Yes, could be somewhat of a marketing ploy but at the same time, what difference does it make if it adds another element of horror to the movie? People these days seem to want more 'realistic' horrors (myself included). I mean, we're not talking about 'Blair Witch Project' here where the producers basically lied to the audience and said it was totally real.

[Zero]

i'm curious - how much do you get paid to promote these movies in on-line forums. i'm not complaining - i'm just fascinated that this is your job. and i don't mean to be personal - a ballpark figure would greatly alleviate my curiosity

[siorai]

I can't believe that people still get sucked in by the whole "based on true events" garbage. They can put that at the beginning of every single movie ever made. How's that? OK. Take Pitch Black for example. Think they can't put "based on true events" at the beginning? Wrong. They can because I'm pretty sure that at some point in history at least one guy has used a really sharp knife to shave his head. Oh sure the whole intergalactic murderer crash landing on a planet inhabited by carnivorous aliens probably never happened, but that's just there to spice up the head shaving.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a great example. There was no cannibalistic family in the desert with a guy in a human skin mask chopping people up with a chainsaw. There did happen to be a guy that made masks and whatnot out of human skin though. So technically they were right, TCM was based on true events. People just couldn't realize that 99.9% of the events in the film weren't.

[crabapple]

I also am curious about how much money you're making promoting this film.

Can I also get such a job? Is this the kind of money you can actually live off of? Do you have to promote several films at a time, and does this pretty much eat up your week?

People these days seem to want more 'realistic' horrors (myself included). I mean, we're not talking about 'Blair Witch Project' here where the producers basically lied to the audience and said it was totally real.

Actually, the producers of "The Blair Witch Project" never lied to the audience and stated that the events in the film were "totally real." They just never said they weren't real. The audience took the bait, and bought the implication, because they wanted to.

[urgeok2]

there is no such thing as a True Story.
ESPECIALLY in the movies.
once you realize that - the 'based on ...blah blah blah' thing doesnt bother you anymore.

[Darryl Mathe]

Yeah, you might be right siorai... they are getting a little carried away with the whole "based on true events" thing. The reason for this (I think) is that the market has become oversaturated with horror movies. Also people just aren't as scared of horrors as they used to be.

Look no further than the insane jump in shock value in our pop culture the last 10 years or so. Jackass, Fear Factor, crazy reality TV shows, even Blair Witch fits into this. People have become somewhat desensitized.

[crabapple]

Yes. We need to return to the good old fashioned storytelling techniques. All the shakycam is giving me an itch!

[Despare]

Yes. We need to return to the good old fashioned storytelling techniques. All the shakycam is giving me an itch!

People can't enjoy stories anymore. I heard one person complain after leaving the new Indiana Jones movie about it being worse than the other three films because it wasn't as "realistic". What!?

[BH14]

I enjoyed this movie but I thought the ending stunk. There is a lot of suspense building, jump scenes and some creepy characters. Liv Tyler is easy on the eyes and pretty good actress. I wish we knew more about the "villians" though and it had a better ending.

8/10

[CopperShark]

It wasen't nearly as good as I had hoped. Pretty standard and kinda boring to be honest. And no, its not based on a true story.

[ChronoGrl]

It wasen't nearly as good as I had hoped. Pretty standard and kinda boring to be honest. And no, its not based on a true story.

Surprisingly, that's how I felt about it, too... There were a bunch of really good jumpy moments, but there were other parts where the killers seemed to be performing more for the audience than for the victims.

I guess after seeing Ils (Them) and Inside, my standards for home invasion movies have risen a bit.

That being said, this was pretty impressive for a Hollywood horror, but overall I found it somewhat lacking.

My problem is that I can't really figure out what it needed - More suspense? More blood/gore? More torture? I am honestly not sure, which is leaving me slightly confused at the moment. To begin with, I didn't feel as though the victims were substantially isolated, which was annoying (the cabin just didn't seem incredibly isolated or cut-off). Then there were some predictable turns that didn't have a very satisfying payoff... I don't know...

[BH14]

SPOILER******************************


Surprisingly, that's how I felt about it, too... There were a bunch of really good jumpy moments, but there were other parts where the killers seemed to be performing more for the audience than for the victims.

I guess after seeing Ils (Them) and Inside, my standards for home invasion movies have risen a bit.

That being said, this was pretty impressive for a Hollywood horror, but overall I found it somewhat lacking.

My problem is that I can't really figure out what it needed - More suspense? More blood/gore? More torture? I am honestly not sure, which is leaving me slightly confused at the moment. To begin with, I didn't feel as though the victims were substantially isolated, which was annoying (the cabin just didn't seem incredibly isolated or cut-off). Then there were some predictable turns that didn't have a very satisfying payoff... I don't know...

Even though I still liked it, it could have been better with more "original" deaths (where's the blood? Death scene wasn't very original), MORE GORE, more of a plot and a good ending. I liked it because of the suspense, the villains and characters, plot even though it could have been better....But it isn't a movie that I would pay to watch again.

[alkytrio666]

SPOILER******************************




Even though I still liked it, it could have been better with more "original" deaths (where's the blood? Death scene wasn't very original), MORE GORE, more of a plot and a good ending. I liked it because of the suspense, the villains and characters, plot even though it could have been better....But it isn't a movie that I would pay to watch again.
**big spoilers cont'd**

Reverse for me.
In my opinion, they should have cut the film as Liv Tyler gets sacked by the guy in the mask.
Instead, too much is shown, and it just isn't scary anymore. Think about it- as soon as we got a full look-see at the figures, the film wasn't scary anymore but instead tedious and awkward. It's the mystery and vagueness that started the film out so well and its loss that ended it so badly.

[ChronoGrl]

****MORE SPOILERS****

**big spoilers cont'd**

Reverse for me.
In my opinion, they should have cut the film as Liv Tyler gets sacked by the guy in the mask.
Instead, too much is shown, and it just isn't scary anymore. Think about it- as soon as we got a full look-see at the figures, the film wasn't scary anymore but instead tedious and awkward. It's the mystery and vagueness that started the film out so well and its loss that ended it so badly.

Yah, I think that the final death scene was pretty lame. I still go back and forth as to what the film needed. I'll have to bring up the comparison to Ils (Them) and Inside.

What made Ils (Them) so incredibly successful was its great use of suspense, isolation, and helplessness. I was at the edge of my seat for most of the film. I wonder if Strangers would have done better if there was more suspense - more chasing. I thought that the pursuit scenes definitely could have been better and I honestly did not understand why Liv Tyler kept going back to the house when she would have done so much better dragging the chase scene into the forest. Or something.

What made Inside so incredibly successful was creating a complete sociopathic Big Bad who was a true Human Monster. Inside also used blood, struggle, and gore well without truly merging into the real of Torture Porn, which, to me, is a skill. While the intruders with the masks were creepy in The Strangers, I guess I didn't get as much of a feel for them as a threat. Maybe we saw too much of them lurking without them actually being threatening (imagine if Halloween consisted of Michael Myers just staring into Lorie Strode's bedroom). To tell you the truth, for most of the movie I assumed that they were just playing with their victims and that the final reveal would be that the victims turn murderers and they are the human monsters (but that would be far too complicated for Hollywood). I guess, if I wanted to continue with the Inside comparison, I think that adding more of a physical threat (seeing the victimizers actually cut/torture/abuse the victims) might have made it a more successful movie. Not that I'm generally a gorehound, but Inside used it exceedingly well and I think if Strangers borrowed from that formula it would have been better.

[Daedalus]

I saw this movie the opening day with my roomie and I really liked it, I jumped once or twice but I'm glad they didnt use alot of gore honestly...just the tension of the movie itself was good enough for me....But I think what they meant by "based on true events" is this happens but there is no hard evidence to ya know persecute to say "based on a true story"...I guess it's one of those "hey this happens" kind of things but I dont know just an opinion

[James Whale]

It cost 9 million to make and has as of this writing made close to 30 million ; it did not have a significant drop in its second week. Could peak out at 50 million; this is great news for the low budget horror genre. It's not a remake , Japanese or torture film. It's an original little creepfest and its making lots of money! The studios will be encouraged to make more original little films and ,hopefully, we will get some that are better than THE STRANGERS.

DEUS VOBISCUM!

[joshaube]

Sequel is in talks.

I thought it started off strong, and dropped in the third act. I loved the character development, the mystery and the intrigue, and how nothing was 100% explained. Just seeing them lurk in the background, while the character was so unaware, had my nerves going. Too bad it didn't stay strong til the end.

[La Chat Noire]

First off, let me say that "The Strangers" is one of the scariest movies I've seen in a long time, because instead of focusing on gore they used more interesting suspense elements. In terms of how realistic it is, my guess would be that two bodies were found in a summer house execution style. But the whole mental torture and masks element is most likely all Hollywood because unless the killers were caught there would be no way to know about the events that transpired that night since the victims are dead.

[ChronoGrl]

Sequel is in talks.

I thought it started off strong, and dropped in the third act. I loved the character development, the mystery and the intrigue, and how nothing was 100% explained. Just seeing them lurk in the background, while the character was so unaware, had my nerves going. Too bad it didn't stay strong til the end.

Where the HELL have you been?! I feel as though you've dropped off the face of HDC. COME BACK!

...

Anyway.

I agree - I thought that it started out strong, but there were far too many scenes where the killers were obviously building the scene for the AUDIENCE, not for the victims; it's hard to explain exactly what I mean. You describe it as "building tension," but I thought that it was drawn out and more unbelievable than suspenseful at times.

Honestly, watching movies like Ils and Inside raised the bar for me for home invasion films... I was hoping that Strangers would be up to that level... But alas.