The Strangers (2008 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Bryan Bertino |
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| Written by | Bryan Bertino |
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| Music by | tomandandy |
| Cinematography | Peter Sova |
| Edited by | Kevin Greutert |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Rogue |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $82.4 million |
The Strangers is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film follows a young couple who are terrorized by three masked assailants over the course of an evening at a remote summer home.
Writer-director Bertino was inspired by two real-life events: the Manson family Tate murders, a multiple homicide that occurred in California in 1969; and a series of break-ins that occurred in his own neighborhood as a child. Made on a budget of $9 million, the film was shot on location in rural South Carolina in the fall of 2006. At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con, Bertino appeared with stars Tyler and Speedman, and premiered a teaser trailer promoting the film.
Originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007, its release date was postponed, and it received a wide theatrical release on May 30, 2008. It grossed $82.4 million at the box office worldwide. Although a commercial success, it received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its atmosphere and tension, and others criticizing its script and characters. Contemporary film scholars have interpreted the film as a criticism of the perceived safety of pastoral life, as well as an exploration of stranger-on-stranger violence.
James and his girlfriend Kristen arrive at James' childhood summer home, tired and irritable after a long evening at a friend's wedding reception. It is revealed through flashback that while they were there, James proposed to Kristen and she refused. James calls his friend Mike and asks him to come pick him up in the morning. Shortly after 4 a.m., there is a knock at the door, surprising since the house is so remote and far from any civilization. A young blonde woman, whose face is obscured by low lighting, asks for Tamara. When told that she is at the wrong house, she leaves with the casual caveat that she will "see them later."
Due to the tension between them, James leaves to go for a drive and purchase a pack of cigarettes for Kristen; before he departs, he starts a fire in the hearth. Shortly after he leaves, smoke emanating from the fire sets off a smoke alarm, which Kristen attempts to disarm when she is startled by another knock at the door; she drops the smoke alarm on the floor and retreats to the bedroom, unnerved. She calls James' cellphone from the landline, but their call is cut short. When she returns to the living room, she sees the smoke alarm now sitting on a chair, and realizes someone else has been in the house. When she hears a noise from the backyard, she arms herself with a knife, and opens the curtains to find a man wearing a sack mask, staring at her. Panicked, she hides in the bedroom and hears people outside banging violently against the walls of the house.
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Wikipedia