The Strangers (DVD)

I'm definitely no stranger to the outpouring of "couple in peril" horror movies of late. The more recent  wave seems to have started with Vacancy, and is ongoing thanks to morbid, claustrophobic and sadistic flicks like Them, and Funny Games. The Strangers is just another faceless, soon to be nameless (I had to go to IMDb.com to look up Vacancy, because I couldn't remember what it was called), cog in the wheel of torturous, low-budgeters with stars who are slumming it.

Usually poised for their close up in big-screen action adventure movies, Liv Tyler (The Incredible Hulk) and Scott Speedman (Underworld: Evolution) team up as the unlit, unlucky lovers of the moment, descending into horror cliché hell. The story is simple: Kristen and James were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I should have known better: I didn't much care for The Strangers the first time around, so what did I do? Watched it again! [Read Horror.com's The Strangers theatrical release review here]

Actually, I was curious to see the divergence between the theatrical and the uncut director's version. There was a big difference, and not for the better. I wish I could talk specifics, but I try and avoid spoilers whenever possible. I will say that the ending sequence is quite extended, thereby leaching the ultimate outcome of what little tension and punch it had. The other added scenes only hurt the already lumbering pace, making the empty experience that much more numbing. Just because I watched Kristen wander around and cry for a little longer — shaking onscreen thanks to a carelessly tossed handheld and cabled camera — doesn't mean I cared for her plight any more.

In fact, her actions were all the more infuriating when given extra time to see and think about them. These are some extremely stupid characters! (Kristen, James, and James' friend, played by Glenn Howerton.) Sometimes the horror and thriller clichés in film are so tried and true, that they are comforting and actually welcomed (giving us, the audience, what we want). But in this case, the cat and mouse game simply doesn't work. Afterward, especially with the uncut version, you might feel as though you just walked a marathon.

I will admit that there are some excellent moments bracketed within the boredom. There are some arresting visuals, and few genuine feelings of heart-sinking tension that's reminiscent of the opening scenes in the seminal Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer. There is hope for writer/direct Bryan Bertino, so I'm just holding my breath until his next film, rumored to be Alone, is out.

In addition to the extended scenes, there is a decent Making-Of documentary (short, and to the point… no revelations, but not too terribly self-congratulatory), and a few deleted scenes.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson