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Spoiler Points for The Strangers (2008) [R] 90 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.00
DVD Release Date: 21 October 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Click to read the non-spoiler review
Spoiler Points for The Strangers (2008)
• James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) arrive at his father's vacation home. She's visibly upset. Turns out she just turned down his marriage proposal. He's embarrassed and upset that he misread her readiness turning all of his romantic plans and rose petal baths upside down. He phones best friend Mike (Glenn Howerton) to come pick him up in the morning.
• As they are contemplating their situation, there's a knock at the door. It's a young woman who seems lost. She's kind of creepy though, so they don't invite her in.
• Kristen runs out of cigarettes, and James leaves to get her a pack.
• While she's gone, the knocking on the door continues, she hears noises outside and banging on the house. She pulls back the curtains to see a Man in the Mask (Kip Weeks). She screams as he pounds on the window. She tries to use her cell phone, but there's not enough battery. She calls James on the land line and reaches him begging him to come hom soon. Then the phone line is cut.
• When James returns, she's hiding in the bedroom. He thinks she's crazy for a while, until he looks outside and sees the girl standing outside staring at them.
• The full-fledged terrorizing begins. They bank on the house, come in and move stuff around, disable James car, and so on.
• Eventually, he locates his father's old hunting shotgun and shells. They try to hide out and protect themselves, but when Mike arrives early to pick up James, James mistakes him for one of their assailants and shoots him dead. So distraught over killing his best friend, he loses all of his ability to reason. He plans to get to the shed and try to use a only radio for help. On the way, however, he runs into the Man in the Mask and there's a shooting. It's not clear if anyone is injured. The focus now turns to Kristen. She continues to be terrorized with sounds. Eventually, she has an altercation with Dollface (Gemma Ward) but then is later tackled by the Man in the Mask. She and James wake up tied up on chairs in the living room. The three assailants de-mask.
• Kristen asks, "Why are you doing this?"
• Dollface replies, "Because you were home."
• Then the three take turns stabbing each of their victims in the gut.
• Next, the three are traveling down the road in their pick-up truck past two little kids on bicycles passing out Christian literature. They stop and Dollface asks if they can have a copy. The little kid asks, "Are you a sinner." To which she replies, "Sometimes." He hands her a copy. They travel on down the road. Dollface says, "Next time it will be easier." Implying there will be another time and, perhaps, this was not their first time.
• The little kids bike up the road and see the house with the front door sitting open. They enter to investigate. They find blood and bodies. One kid goes to touch Kristen and she grabs him. The ending credits scroll and the ominous music continues.
• There is nothing after the credits.
Discussion Topics:
Which is better and why?
movieEVERYday.com thinks that…
• Vacancy had the best plot of the three.
• Funny Games has the best cast and acting of the three.
• The Strangers is the simplest and most effective at generating a true sense of morbid fear.
What do you think? Post comments below.
Is the title good?
movieEVERYday.com thinks that…
• The title wasn't very good. It should have been called, "Because you were home".
What do you think? Post comments below.
What should the Psycho twist have been?
movieEVERYday.com thinks that…
• The twist should have been that James called Mike and had him set up the scare tactics hoping that it would push Kristen into (a) seeing him as the strong savior, (b) just like a good scary movie, pushed her into his strong arms, and (c) caused them to bond against a common enemy. When James leaves, he meets up with Mike and gives him keys and the creepy mask he makes from a gunnysack of sand he has in his trunk. "This will be perfect," he says as he cuts the disfigured eye and mouth holes. What he doesn't know, however, is that Mike is sick and longs to have Kristen for himself. So, he seizes this opportunity to get a couple of local crack head girls involved in his plot to terrorize the couple but ultimately kill James so he can have Kristen to himself. When Mike in the mask comes after him, he realizes that something's gone wrong with his plan so he tries to shoot Mike and kill him. But, he misses. Inside the house, he realizes he's made a big mistake, but he cannot tell Kristen, obviously. The plan to push them together, however, is working. She holds him and they console each other. Mike sees this through the window and flips out. He now intends to kill them both to punish her for not loving him. So, he takes the plan to its final, ultimate conclusion. When the threesome pull off their masks, James knows the Man in the Mask is Mike, but he doesn't say anything as he's stabbed in the gut three times. He knows no appealing to mercy will work with this psycho. But, of course, Kristen would say something like she does in the film now, only her comments would be directed toward Mike. She would not know, however, that the entire mess was made by James in the first place.
What do you think? Can you come up with an even better Psycho-like twist? Post comments below.
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