Weekly Review -- Intensity times ten

The Strangers (2008) -- Remember the opening sequence from When a Stranger Calls, universally regarded as one of the most frightening openers ever? Imagine this sequence's inventiveness combined with the resourceful intellect and cinematic techniques of Them -- a French suspenser which, if you read these pages, you know has impressed me -- and you get the merciless, intense torture that is The Strangers. This is without a doubt the scariest film you will see this year, and one of the rare offerings that can brag about being capable of justifying all of the blurbs on its DVD cover. Troubled couple Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) return to James's parents' summer house after a friend's wedding. Between their communication breakdown and the problems they are having, they cannot wait for the day to be over. However, the problems are just starting for the two, in the form of three masked assailants who are about to intrude upon their night, their lives and their sanity... Ruthless psychological terror is too mild of a description for this movie. From the very first knock on the door and that haunting, disjointed voice, to the last sequence, the movie hammers the audience with tension. Director/writer Bryan Bertino uses slow, deliberate camerawork and minimalist music to create a mood that escalates from the couple's quiet skepticism of what is happening, to instinctual apprehension toward the reality of the situation and, finally, to full-blown horror at the intruders' violent mind games. The camera occasionally veers into documentary style territory, making the events unfolding before us even more frightening; kudos must also go to the filmmakers for not overwhelming the movie with a pompous, clichéd, jump-up thriller score. As far as the acting goes, Tyler and Speedman convey the couple's confusion and fear very well, portraying two people who find themselves crossing a bridge from everyday bickering to a terrifying home invasion. The actors playing the intruders -- Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis and Gemma Ward -- are excellent at demonstrating major intimidation using barely any dialogue and subtle, almost passive body language. Storywise, there are some lapses of logic to be found. Why do Kristen and James not lock the door while staying in such a remote area? Why do they open the door at 4 A.M. without asking who is standing outside at this hour? Still, in no way do these glitches reduce the effectiveness of The Strangers, simply because the prosaic plot elements are not a factor in the deeply unsettling impression that this piece makes. In the context of the proceedings, the actions of the couple are neither what makes the movie tick, nor what can make the story weaker. Rather, it is the unseen and the imagined, the predatory and the sneaky that makes its mark, skillfully calculating one move after the next, whilst encroaching upon the most familiar space of all -- your home.

8/10