‘The Strangers’ Movie Review - Worst Horror Film Ever?

Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh. It’s not the worst horror film ever made but it’s certainly one of the worst commercial big budget horror films ever made. I’d put it on a par with The Blair Witch Project, except it’s an even more ill-conceived plot for a film and even more boring.

The Strangers has been out for a few months in the States but has only just reached us over here in the UK. And to be honest, I wish it hadn’t - I want those 85 minutes of my life back. The film is torturous from beginning to end, but not because it’s a thrill-a-minute, edge of the seat spectacle. It’s torturous because it’s so poorly executed.

The film is said to be “inspired by true events”, and that is probably the scariest part of the film: the realisation that this sort of stuff could happen to you. But assuming that something like this did happen to a real couple, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good plot for a film.

I feel sorry for the people who actually experienced the events like those seen in the film but it makes for a truly boring and unspectacular movie. It’s on the short side at 85 minutes long but even that feels like the plot is being dragged out.

Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, who play the couple chosen at random by The Strangers, do a fairly good job with the storyline they’re given, but with so little to play with, their performances are hardly spectacular. As for the three masked intruders, I could have played any of those roles and I’m the worst actor you have ever met.

Every effort to incite fright in the film is overplayed and predictable and I personally was left wondering how this film ever got made. The Strangers is shallow, uninspiring and not worth seeing even if you’re paid to watch it.

Watch the trailer and leave it at that - it has all the best bits in it anyway.