The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
A family staying in a secluded mobile home park for
the night are visited by three masked psychopaths, to test their every
limit.
Director:
Johannes RobertsStars:
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 March 2018 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Strangers: Part 2 See more »Company Credits
Production Co:
Take the 2008 horror film The Strangers, add two more
potential victims and you essentially have its long-belated, completely
unnecessary sequel. Replicating the tropes of its predecessor to a
slavish degree, The Strangers: Prey at Night pretty much wastes
all its inspiration on its punning title. It's as rudimentary as
slasher films go, and although it may not be fair to make the
comparison, that will no longer cut it after Get Out proved that the horror genre is capable of a lot more than mechanically depicting people getting stabbed to death.
The first film at least showcased a claustrophobic intensity with its
single setting of a house being invaded by three masked crazies. The
sequel dissipates the impact by having its sacrificial lambs, a family
of four, getting into trouble at a seemingly abandoned trailer park
where they're intending to stay the night. It's a typical family unit,
consisting of harried parents Cindy (Christina Hendricks) and Mike
(Martin Henderson), their jock son Luke (Lewis Pullman, son of Bill) and
surly teenage daughter Kinsey (Bailee Madison) who naturally doesn't
stop complaining or looking at her phone.
The mundane set-up is merely a prelude to the main event, which, as
with the first film, begins when a young woman knocks on the door and
asks for someone who isn't there. Seems innocent enough, until she does
the same thing a few minutes later. As Scooby Doo would say, "Ruh roh!"
When the teenagers take a late-night walk around the deserted
environs, as kids are prone to do in slasher films, they enter an
abandoned trailer and discover a dead body. They immediately head back
to their folks who, much to the audience's derision, decide that now
would be a perfect time to split up. Mike and Luke set out to
investigate the situation, sans weapons or cell phones, natch, while
Cindy and Kinsey go back into their trailer only to discover that all of
their cell phones have been destroyed.
That's when the perfunctory hell breaks loose, as the family members
find themselves besieged by the same anonymous masked strangers who
terrorized Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler ten years ago. The murderous
trio — Dollface, Pin-Up Girl and The Man in the Mask — don't say very
much. But they carry some very large knives. As if to make up for their
lack of personality.
Director Johannes Roberts, who scored a surprise hit with last year's low-budget shark thriller 47 Meters Down,
stages the violent mayhem with proficiency but little stylistic flair.
Several characters get dispatched, or nearly dispatched, in an order
inversely proportional to their likeability. Suffice it to say that
Hendricks, who at this point in her career truly deserves better
material than this, may not have stuck around the set long enough to
enjoy craft services.
This is the sort of exasperating horror film that whips audiences
into a frenzy. Not because they're having fun, mind you, but rather
because the characters behave so stupidly and self-destructively that
yelling profanity-laden advice to the screen becomes a bonding exercise.
The dialogue is risible, rarely rising above the level of, say,
"Leave us alone!" Screenwriters Bryan Bertino and Ben Ketai (the former
wrote and directed the original) nod to the film's predecessor in
numerous ways. Those who recall the most chilling line from The Strangers,
"Because you're home," will appreciate this one's equally punchy
rejoinder, "Why not?" And fans of '80s horror flicks, which this film
closely resembles, will enjoy the ironic use of the classic power
ballads "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at
All." Both songs were written by Jim Steinman, so he, if not audiences,
will have something to cheer about.
Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.
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