The Strangers

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The Strangers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bryan Bertino
Produced by	Nathan Kahane Doug Davison Roy Lee
Written by	Bryan Bertino
Starring	Liv Tyler Scott Speedman and Gemma Ward
Cinematography	Peter Sova
Editing by	Kevin Greutert
Distributed by	Rogue Pictures
Release date(s)	May 30, 2008
Running time	90 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Strangers is a 2008 horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film score was composed by Tomandandy. The film was rated R by the MPAA for violence/terror and language.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Inspiration 3 Cast 4 Production 5 Marketing 6 Critical reception 7 Box office performance 8 Soundtrack 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

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The film begins with a voiceover stating:

"The film you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the F.B.I. there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend's wedding reception and returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known."

While staying at the isolated summer home in South Carolina, a young couple, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt, are terrorized by three masked individuals. Much of the film revolves around the strangers first cutting off their means of communication (such as destroying and stealing the phones in the house) and then lowering any other chances of escape (such as destroying James' car and then setting the friend's car on fire). After this is done, the strangers then continue to carry out their plan of murdering the couple, which is revealed when the doll-faced masked stranger says to Kristen, "You're gonna die here." The couple is soon overpowered by the sheer number and terrorizing antics of the strangers and then knocked unconscious and tied up. The shades are opened to show that morning has come, and the three strangers begin taking off their masks. Although their faces are never fully revealed to the audience, removing their masks shows that they will soon carry out their plans to kill the couple. The male stranger then picks up a chef's knife and begins stabbing James slowly and repeatedly, then hands the knife to another stranger who then stabs James until the third stranger takes the knife and begins stabbing Kristen. The three strangers are then seen driving away in a pick-up truck. One proclaims, "Next time, it will be easier." Although it is presumed that the main characters have been killed, the last scene shows the couple untied and James dead, with Kristen presumed dead. Suddenly Kristen wakes up and begins screaming wildly.

[edit] Inspiration

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

The movie is inspired by an event from the director Bryan Bertino's childhood, among other things.^{[citation needed]} A stranger came to his home at 12:00 a.m. asking for someone who did not live there. Later, he found out that empty homes in the neighborhood had been burglarized.^{[citation needed]} With that memory in mind, Bertino created this screenplay.^{[citation needed]}

The screenplay is also inspired by the events of the Charles Manson murders.^{[citation needed]} The core of the story is based^{[citation needed]} on the murders that took place in Cabin #28 at Keddie Resort, in the remote township of Keddie, CA, where three people were found tied up, stabbed, bludgeoned by a hammer. A fourth victim who had been with the group was found some months later, the body dumped 90 miles away.^[1]

[edit] Cast

• Liv Tyler as Kristen McKay
• Scott Speedman as James Hoyt
• Gemma Ward as Doll Face
• Kip Weeks as The Man in the Mask
• Laura Margolis as Pin-Up Girl
• Glenn Howerton as Mike
• Alex Fisher as Mormon Boy #1
• Peter Clayton-Luce as Mormon Boy #2

[edit] Production

The Strangers was filmed in the United States in Florence, South Carolina beginning on October 10, 2006 and finishing in 2007. The production's estimated budget was around $10,000,000. The release of the film was postponed twice. The producers originally intended to release the film in Summer 2007, but due to complications, the date was pushed back to the Autumn. The release was pushed back yet again to May 30, 2008.

[edit] Marketing

A short promotional teaser trailer for the movie was released in August 2007 on the internet, and can be found on YouTube^[2] and on Apple's Quicktime.^[3] It was not until March 2008 that a full-length theatrical trailer for the film was released, which is available at Yahoo Movies.^[4] This theatrical trailer began showing in movie theaters soon after to promote the film, first being attached with Rogue Pictures' Doomsday.

There were two promotional one-sheet posters for the film that were released in August 2007, one displaying the three masked Strangers,^[5] and the other displaying a wounded Liv Tyler.^[6] In April 2008, the final, official one-sheet for the film was released.^[7]

In addition to traditional promotional activities, there is also an active viral marketing campaign. The viral campaign includes a hoax web site with message board for people to discuss the crime which the movie claims to be based on.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Critical reception

The Strangers received mixed reviews from critics. As of May 30, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 44% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews — with the consensus that the film "provides a few scares, but offers little else to distinguish itself from other slasher films." The film has a 57% rating based on the reviews from Top Critics.^[8] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.^[9] The movie received an average score of 51.2% from 50 film critics according to Movie Tab.^[10] On IMDB, the movie has received a 7.0/10 with 6,115 people rating it.^[11]

[edit] Box office performance

The Strangers opened in the United States and Canada on May 30, 2008 and in its opening weekend the film grossed an estimated $20.7 million in 2,467 theaters, ranking #3 at the box office and averaging $8,393 per theater.^[12]

[edit] Soundtrack

In addition to the film's score by Tomandandy, "The Strangers" features the following songs:

1. "Ariel Ramirez" - Richard Buckner
2. "Hopeful" - Jennifer O'Connor
3. "At My Window Sad and Lonely" - Billy Bragg and Wilco
4. "Sprout and the Bean" - Joanna Newsom
5. "My First Lover" - Gillian Welch
6. "Mama Tried" - Merle Haggard

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• The Strangers at the Internet Movie Database
• The Strangers at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Strangers at Metacritic
• The Strangers at Box Office Mojo
• The Strangers at Allmovie
• Official trailer at alliancefilms.com
• Rogue Pictures