The Strangers [DVD] [2008]

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Total RRP: £55.97
Price For All Three: £16.94

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• This item: The Strangers [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Liv Tyler

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• The Happening [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Zooey Deschanel

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• The Abandoned [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Nacho Cerda

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Amazon.co.uk Review
A lean, briskly paced and exceptionally creepy thriller, The Strangers earns its scares the old-fashioned way: through atmosphere, sound design, and a simple yet undeniably upsetting central premise that allows for maximum tension throughout its running time. Attractive young lovers Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are already having a bad day--she's turned down his marriage proposal--before a knock on the door in the middle of the night announces a full-fledged siege on their remote vacation home by a trio of masked assailants. The film's first third delivers the most consistent shivers as the visitors make their presence and intentions known to Tyler; the second half grows more frantic and bloody before a gruesome finale that may leave viewers either rattled to their core or bothered by its empty nihilism. Speedman is fine as the downtrodden male lead (who's seen tucking into a carton of ice cream after being rejected), but it's Tyler who impresses the most by shouldering the lion's share of the terror. First-time writer/director Bryan Bertino impresses by forsaking the current passion for over-the-top violence (save for the finale) in favour of more traditional means of generating fear, and if his project borrows heavily from other films, most notably the French chiller Them (which shares its "inspired by a true story" origin) and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, at least he's taking from the best. The sound design is among the many technical standouts, and the unsettling score by tomandandy (The Hills Have Eyes) pleasantly evokes Ennio Morricone's fuzztone-heavy work for Dario Argento in the early '70s. On a completely unrelated note, LP fanatics should appreciate how both the film's heroes and villains share an affinity for folk and country music on vinyl. --Paul Gaita

Synopsis
For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation home in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted by the sound of a heavy knock at the door. They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we watch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger.


Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and much of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and ready to push a chair against your own front door.

The Happening [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Zooey Deschanel 2.2 out of 5 stars (52)  £4.98

The Mist [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Thomas Jane 3.5 out of 5 stars (66)  £4.98

The Orphanage [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Belen Rueda 4.4 out of 5 stars (64)  £5.98

The Abandoned [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Nacho Cerda 3.2 out of 5 stars (11)  £4.98

Tropic Thunder - Single Disc [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Ben Stiller 2.9 out of 5 stars (72)  £6.98

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39 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (7) 3 star:  (7) 2 star:  (5) 1 star:  (14)           Average Customer Review 2.6 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   31 of 37 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Turning up the tension, 16 Sep 2008 By  R. Fisher "entertainment lover" (west midlands uk) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    The strangers,a thriller/horror proves to be a gripping hour an half of twisted entertainment. James and Kristen's relationship lies in tatters after a rejected marriage proposal, isolated in what was to be an idyllic getaway late into the night a stranger comes a knocking appearing to be lost, they attempt to help her on her way little realising she's not going anywhere and she's not alone. The strangers is an interesting film in the fact its a very visual experience, there's little dialogue using mainly visuals and sound or in some cases silence to crank up the tension. A lot of the films scary moments are classic 'BOO' moments which most of time you can see coming if these types of scares do little for you it probably wont be a film for you. But for those of us who do it proves to be an enthralling ride that flies by. Also anyone who has seenVacancy [2007]may get a feeling of deja vu as the films are rather similar in certain aspects but if you enjoyed vacancy chances are you'll enjoy this. All in all the strangers proves to be an effective thriller mixing psychological scares with sparse disturbing violence which gives the end product a lasting impression. If your a fan of psychological thrillers/horror it's worth checking out P.S- you may want to avoid S. Ahmed's review while its good to see he enjoyed the film it does ruin the ending Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   16 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars A complete waste of time, 13 Jan 2009 By  KM (England) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)       `The Strangers' stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman who are a young couple who have just returned to their remote holiday home after a wedding where Tyler has turned down a marriage proposal. The couple are then terrorised by some masked strangers throughout the night and won't let them get away. I watched this last night with high hopes as the DVD cover looked very scary and the clips I'd seen previously looked very tense and exciting. What we have here though is a dull, pointless "thriller" that failed to impress or scare me in the slightest. For a start, I didn't care for the couple at all as they were both incredibly annoying and unlikeable from the opening minutes. The strangers themselves also weren't very scary at all, just popping up here and there giving the odd, cheap jump. The premise of the remote house in the woods, with only a small lamp for lighting was so clichéd it was laughable. The ending was what topped this off as the guff that it was as there was just no point to it all. No twist, no surprises, nothing. What a waste of time. I'm just glad I rented this as this would have been such a waste of money. Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   4 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Contrived..., 2 Jun 2009 By  Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Liv Tyler ("Lord of the Rings", "Jersey Girl") and Scott Speedman ("Underworld") play a couple with a dissolving relationship spending the night in a vacation home. Claiming to be `inspired by true events', it's not difficult to believe. The story is a rehash of possibly every slasher film from the seventies. The real star here is the sound effects. The viewer is initially spooked by loud knockings on doors and other things that `go bump in the night'. After ten minutes, it becomes wearisome and nearly the entire film is a series of sound effects to fill in the voids. This is particularly annoying if you have surround sound. The plot is remarkably static and contrived. A portly man and two women wearing masks besiege the couple throughout the night. They appear and disappear, seeming to just enjoy terrorizing the couple. But this couple does all the typical `do not go there' and `do not do that' stuff you've seen before. Why would the guy leave his girlfriend alone in the house to get cigarettes with this going on? Why would the gal leave the house and run in the dark to the barn to try and make a call? How could the guy claim to not know how to work a shotgun and then make a pinpoint perfect hit? Thankfully, director Bryan Bertino keeps the gore to a minimum until the end. However, even that has been done before. If you remember the end of "Carrie", you won't be shocked like you supposed to be. Thankfully, this film is only 86 minutes long. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 39 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Good lord, what an awful film... I guess I should consider myself lucky as I only rented the film for the night rather than purchased it. The whole film overall was just terrible. Avoid. Published 11 days ago by Scott 3.0 out of 5 stars not bad at all I think some of the reviewers have got the wrong end of the stick here. One says " we do not get to find out why they did it". Read more Published 1 month ago by JONESY 1.0 out of 5 stars Boring waste of time What a load of rot this is. No wonder the trailers for it showed so little, there is really nothing much to see. Read more Published 1 month ago by Charles Gosling 1.0 out of 5 stars The strangers Nae good .......better to go out for a pint. Probably get a bigger fright if you end up buying the round. Published 1 month ago by Andrew J. Fisher 2.0 out of 5 stars slow moving and rather dull I had heard this was a scary film with lots of suspence - sadly I was very dissapointed. The basic plot concerns a couple in a broken relationship who are terrorised by three... Read more Published 1 month ago by David 3.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic victims. This is certainly not a horror film, it^s a psychological thriller. A couple are staying overnight in his parents remote cottage. Read more Published 1 month ago by Edna Little. 1.0 out of 5 stars I HATE THIS FILM I originally saw this at the Cinema where it was meant to be one of the scariest films ever made and it's meant to be based on a true story, plus the trailer for the film looked... Read more Published 1 month ago by stuart 1.0 out of 5 stars rubbish this film is absolute rubbish, went to the cinema to see it and wanted to walk out in the first half hour, thought it was an absolute joke, enjoyed the popcorn though !! Published 2 months ago by Ms. D. E. Kelly 4.0 out of 5 stars Have I been here before? I saw this on its cinema release and I really thought I'd seen this before!It's another of these "invasion" movies along the lines of "They" only better. Read more Published 3 months ago by D. Laidlaw 3.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Strangers If you like blood and gore in your horror films then this film is not for you on the other hand if being on the edge of your seat is your thing then you should enjoy this movie... Read more Published 3 months ago by Mrs. N. A. Winder Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 39 customer reviews...

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