The Strangers: Based On A True Story

[Ivy]

Summary: After returning from a wedding reception, a young couple, Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman), staying in an isolated vacation house receive a knock on the door in the mid-hours of the night. It is from a young blonde woman, who asks if someone by the name of Tamara is home. The couple tells her no, that she must have the wrong house, and she leaves abruptly. Over the course of the night, however, the girl returns several times, and it becomes apparent that there is more than one person lurking outside. There are in fact three of them altogether - the blonde girl who later dons a doll-like mask, a man with a sack mask over his head, and another woman in a pin-up girl mask. What ensues is a violent struggle, as the three masked strangers infiltrate the couple's home, terrorizing them repeatedly, as Kristen and James attempt to make it through the night alive. The antagonists in this film do not give reason for their visit to the couple, and as Kristen asks them "Why are you doing this?", the reply is "Because you were home".

Review: According to most sites, and other people's view on this movie, it is clearly classic and intense pyschological horror. However, I've got a little extra knowledge on the movie's background, see the title, "Based on a True Story"? Well, it's not, not in the torturing and murdering aspect anyways. The Director had a childhood innscedent in which someone showed up at his house at 4 in the morning, just like in the movie, but after learning the person wasn't there, left. When everyone woke up that morning, they heard all the empty houses in the area had been vandalized, thus, "The Strangers" came about. It was also based off some things from the Manson Family, but this movie is truly fictional. There are some scenes in which you jump, and the ending can be a shocker to some, but if you're used to the "Normal" horror hollywood endings, it'll give your mind a little twist...