| Posted by: Rick-James at June 19, 2008, 3:21 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I was shocked by how much I liked this movie. Very well down. The ending was kinda of weak, but the rest of the flick had great tension. 7/10. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Mugroar at June 13, 2008, 12:04 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I ended up enjoying it (especially when the GF was jumping at every single scare). I loved how the tension and suspense was successfully stretched out from frame one, and never got boring at any second. Masterfully done in that respect; I can understand a lot of people being bored to death within twenty minutes. However, I realized five minutes before the movie ended that, in the end....we knew how it was going to end, and that was the movie's own fault. Right in the beginning, that voiceover said there was a massacre. So OBVIOUSLY those two main characters are NOT going to live. In retrospect, that made me a little unhappy with the movie as a whole - they basically told you how it'll end, now you just have to sit through 70 minutes before you actually see it. It still doesn't sit well with me. But the biggest, second, and the only other gripe I had was in the last five SECONDS - you know, when Kristen grabs the kid's arm and screams, supposedly to get one final freakout from the audience before it ends. Wel... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Lebowski707 at June 10, 2008, 10:22 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | How come they show us the killers all throughout the movie but then at the end but when they take off their masks they wont show us what they look like? Now they decide to be all mysterious. It was a big let down. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Mr.HyDe807 at June 9, 2008, 8:55 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | :SPOILERS!: Quote: Originally Posted by MadsenOMC Agreed. SPOILERS I also wondered why he took the shotgun and left her alone in the house halfway through the movie. I tried to make some sense in it, considering he just killed his borther and didnt want to be around him, but it was still a really stupid idea, also considering that he tried to shoot the fucking woman a long range with a damn shotgun | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ehsp703 at June 9, 2008, 8:47 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I'll tell you why MadsenOMC, because the writers were following the tired formula of separating the characters in peril (what could possibly happen?) BOOOOOOOOOOOOO, HISSSSSSSSSSSS. I really could rant for hours on the myriad problems of this piece of crap movie (and by calling this movie a piece of crap, it is really an insult to crap!) | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ehsp703 at June 9, 2008, 8:42 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | ......Some of the dialog in this movie was just plain silly! Ex: When the couple is looking out the window at the girl standing in the yard, they look at each other for a moment and when they look back out in the yard, the stranger is not there, whereupon Liv Tyler says "She's gone". No shit???!!!!! Wow! how fucking observant!!!! Bad Bad BAD!!!!! | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 9, 2008, 8:39 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by ehsp703 Who here didn't totally see it coming when he accidentally killed his friend? Who here didn't also see it coming when the Mormon missionary touched Liv Tyler and she screamed?! Cheap Cheap CHEAP!!!!!! Agreed. SPOILERS I also wondered why he took the shotgun and left her alone in the house halfway through the movie. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ehsp703 at June 9, 2008, 8:36 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Utterly predictable, paint-by-numbers crap! Totally unlikeable characters. 2 minutes into the film I was already rooting for "the Strangers" to do away with Liv Tyler and whoever the hell this total pussy of a man was. Sorry folks, but if I had just proposed to a girl and she turned me down, the LAST thing I would do would be to take her to a remote cabin in the woods. I would have left her at the reception and headed off to the nearest titty bar! And I certainly wouldn't have offered to let her keep the engagement ring! What a fucking pussy! When she ran out of smokes, he should have told her to get her ass up and walk to the store to get them herself or, short of that, when he left to get them for her, he should have just left her ass there and never come back! Who here didn't totally see it coming when he accidentally killed his friend? Who here didn't also see it coming when the Mormon missionary touched Liv Tyler and she screamed?! Cheap Cheap CHEAP!!!!!! And tell the camera guy to lay off the... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 9, 2008, 7:33 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Bourne101 Have you seen REC? I have not seen Rec or Quarantine, therefore I have no idea which one will be better. Since no one has seen Quarantine, even if they have seen Rec they have no idea which one will be better. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ilovemovies at June 8, 2008, 6:53 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | And Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman weren't? I thought the characters in Blair Witch and Open Water were relateable and likeable and those movie had real psychological intensity/suspense and a real mounting sense of dread and aura of doom that eventually manifested to real phsyical danger with frightening endings. The Strangers was just, as Madsen said, 80 minutes of loud noises and boo scares. Plus the threat in those other two movies were more believable where as the threat in The Strangers were just kids. Laughable and unconvincing to me. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Jig Saw 123 at June 8, 2008, 6:22 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by ilovemovies The Blair Witch Project and Open Water are great horror movies that are heavy on atmosphere and low on gore and leave everything up to the audience. The Strangers I found to be boring and completely unscary. Well I thought The Blair Witch Project and Open Water were both over rated. Open Water seemed like a Discovery Channel documentary gone wrong. And in the Blair Witch they were just some stupid motherfuckers... | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Bourne101 at June 8, 2008, 5:56 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by MadsenOMC Maybe, maybe not. No way to know at this point. Have you seen REC? | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 8, 2008, 5:42 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123 I don't think it brought anything new to the genre, but it was defiantly not terrible. Seeing horror movies to today the relies only on gore and loud noises. The Strangers used atmosphere and characters who seemed mysterious. I loved how basically everything is left up to the audience. I think it was pretty terrible, and The Strangers totally relies on loud noises and boo scares. It's nothing but loud noises and boo scares for 90 minutes. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 8, 2008, 5:41 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Bourne101 There is no way in hell that Quarantine will be better than REC. It's basically a shot-for-shot remake with not nearly as much atmosphere and will most likely have bad acting. Maybe, maybe not. No way to know at this point. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Shockwave at June 8, 2008, 1:39 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I still hate the Blair Witch Project to this day. Maybe its just me, but if i was one of the two guys in that movie, i would have tied the girl up to a tree and left her. Twat kept losing all the supplies! | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ilovemovies at June 8, 2008, 1:33 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123 I don't think it brought anything new to the genre, but it was defiantly not terrible. Seeing horror movies to today the relies only on gore and loud noises. The Strangers used atmosphere and characters who seemed mysterious. I loved how basically everything is left up to the audience. The Blair Witch Project and Open Water are great horror movies that are heavy on atmosphere and low on gore and leave everything up to the audience. The Strangers I found to be boring and completely unscary. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Bourne101 at June 8, 2008, 11:44 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Some things? They give away pretty much the whole damn movie. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: dellamorte dellamore at June 8, 2008, 11:39 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I couldn't tell if the acting was any good in REC , maybe that's the exotic aspect of a foreign language film , as long as the lips are synched with the dialogue , it seems okay to me . It' s not like REC set some sort of standard for acting in a horror film , so what iv'e seen so far with Quarantine , in the acting realm looks fine to me . They do give away some things in the trailer , but i wouldn't worry , it's the journey there that will be entertaining , not the destination , i'm totally enamored with the makeup fx , some good old fashioned latex goodness , we need more of that . In the original , well , it was mainly grey makeup from what i could tell , | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Bourne101 at June 8, 2008, 9:55 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by MadsenOMC Yeah I liked the Quarantine trailer. It's creepier and more effective than all of The Strangers, which is 90 minutes of boo scares & the same scene over and over again. It bums me out that for so many that constitutes a good horror movie. I'm afraid that the Quarantine trailer pretty much just gives away the whole movie. It's a shame that it has been spoiled for you. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Bourne101 at June 8, 2008, 9:53 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by dellamorte dellamore at least we can agree on something , the Quarantine trailer does look scary , i think it may surprise some people , even the ones who swear by the original , REC . people are totally dismissing it offhand because of the idea that a remake can never be as good or better than the original , especially if it's a foreign film being remade , i say bollocks , it will be better . There is no way in hell that Quarantine will be better than REC. It's basically a shot-for-shot remake with not nearly as much atmosphere and will most likely have bad acting. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Jig Saw 123 at June 8, 2008, 9:12 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by ilovemovies I thought it was boring and stupid and unintentionally hilarious. And not even close to being remotely scary or suspenseful save for one or two decent jump scenes and one scene that did manage to shock and surprise me. But the rest of the movie was awful IMO. I don't think it brought anything new to the genre, but it was defiantly not terrible. Seeing horror movies to today the relies only on gore and loud noises. The Strangers used atmosphere and characters who seemed mysterious. I loved how basically everything is left up to the audience. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 8, 2008, 9:10 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by dellamorte dellamore That's what gets me , the horror films being touted lately , is there really that much of a dearth of even serviceable horror that even mediocrity is praised now . I think is true. I also think anything rated R is given extra slack just because it isn't PG-13. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: dellamorte dellamore at June 8, 2008, 9:07 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by MadsenOMC Yeah I liked the Quarantine trailer. It's creepier and more effective than all of The Strangers, which is 90 minutes of boo scares & the same scene over and over again. It bums me out that for so many that constitutes a good horror movie. This is coming from someone who enjoyed REC but felt there was room for improvement , i seriously think they improved upon the original . The makeup , the camerawork , the lighting , it all looks like an improvement over REC , but i'll stop talking about that in this thread . | | Static Link |
| Posted by: dellamorte dellamore at June 8, 2008, 9:03 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | That's what gets me , the horror films being touted lately , is there really that much of a dearth of even serviceable horror that even mediocrity is praised now . I can't really say much about Strangers , i'm just going off of your review , but i never really thought Ils ( Haute Tension had a 10 or so minute house invasion that was more effective than anything in Ils , but that was only one part of it ) was anything special , so that could have turned me off to a movie with a similar premise . | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 8, 2008, 8:57 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Yeah I liked the Quarantine trailer. It's creepier and more effective than all of The Strangers, which is 90 minutes of boo scares & the same scene over and over again. It bums me out that for so many that constitutes a good horror movie. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: dellamorte dellamore at June 8, 2008, 8:52 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | lol , yeah that doesn't make any sense , unless somehow he missed your review and only read some of your other shorter posts . i was never high on this thing from the beginning , and now my expectations are even lower , everything i thought it would be it is , according to your review , i'll wait for dvd . at least we can agree on something , the Quarantine trailer does look scary , i think it may surprise some people , even the ones who swear by the original , REC . people are totally dismissing it offhand because of the idea that a remake can never be as good or better than the original , especially if it's a foreign film being remade , i say bollocks , it will be better . got off topic , i'll just finish with , the Strangers looks like a cliched thriller with boo scares , i'm not even mildly interested in it now . | | Static Link |
| Posted by: MadsenOMC at June 8, 2008, 8:36 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by someguy Madsen, you know I think you're great and all but it's not going to help if you keep replying with little one-liner jabs at the movie. What are you talking about? Not going to help what? I wrote a detailed review of the movie. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: PreySlayDisplay at June 8, 2008, 2:13 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | I didn't mind it. It was nice to get away from all this torture porn lately with something that has some atmosphere to it. 7/10 | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ilovemovies at June 8, 2008, 2:05 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123 What made The Strangers one of the worst movies of the year? I thought it was boring and stupid and unintentionally hilarious. And not even close to being remotely scary or suspenseful save for one or two decent jump scenes and one scene that did manage to shock and surprise me. But the rest of the movie was awful IMO. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: truth_be_told at June 7, 2008, 6:45 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Agreeance on that the wedding flashback was really unnecessary - we're not idiots. Having read the original script for the film, I can say that the script did a much better job at dropping hints at what made the two so distraught at the beginning of the film, and eventually it's realized that James had proposed with Kristen saying no (her Mom had just died, therefore it wasn't the best time). I can also say that the "final scream" shot isn't in the script either. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: psycheoutsteve at June 7, 2008, 12:20 pm | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by MadsenOMC SPOILERS!!! Well I finally got around to seeing it. Now, I wish that I hadn't. It saddens me to see so many give this pile of shit and poor excuse for a horror movie a pass. I actually found the beginning to be promising. An unsettling mood is created quite well in the first 10 or 15 minutes. It's eerily quiet, the couple is clearly in distress (though they ain't seen nothing yet), and we all know the shit is about to hit the fan. My only beef is the flashback in a flashback. I don't think they needed to go back to the wedding. It's a case of treating the viewer like an idiot. We can easily figure out what's going on without that scene. Other than that, though, my main impression at that point was a positive one. Then, it all goes badly oh so quickly, and for such a short movie, I truly felt like I was sitting in the theater for half a day. The Strangers does an excellent job representing much of what is wrong with modern American horror. The most accurate word to descri... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Bourne101 at June 7, 2008, 9:31 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by veddhead83 This doen't tell me shit about the movie other that it is in Spanish and that the audience had some sort of reaction to it.... I am sober now...... It's better to go in not knowing anything about it. Let's just say that REC is one of the scariest and best horror films in recent memory. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Jig Saw 123 at June 7, 2008, 7:37 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by ilovemovies The Strangers on the otherhand is one of the worst movies of the year, let alone one of the worst horror movies. It's not the worst horror movie though. One Missed Call was even worse. There are times when Shutter comes close to matching these two movies in pure awfulness. Not quite, but it does come close at times. What made The Strangers one of the worst movies of the year? | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Frank the Tank at June 7, 2008, 2:55 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Yep, I definately agree with Teeth/Cloverfield/[REC] owning The Strangers for 08 horror. Hell, If you want to get technical Teeth isn't horror and [REC] is probably 07, but still they are so much better than The Strangers. Hell, I thought Storm Warning (Well, it got a DVD release in 08), Mandy Lane, Diary Of The Dead (Which I thought kind of sucked as well, but the gory moments brought it up a bit), and even Wrestlemaniac (Cheesy as hell, but still fun and had some memorable scenes which is more than I can say for The Strangers which nearly bored me to death and has maybe one scene that really got me interested.) were all better than The Strangers. I really can't wait to see The Ruins. I just can't get the love for this movie especially coming from those that have already seen Ils which is just so much better. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: tbone at June 7, 2008, 1:54 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | The movie wasn't too bad -- people will initially be caught up in the scares, and it does deliver beyond the typical slasher flick. Tyler does a decent job, but I wanted something more to it - the premise and all was fine but yet was lacking. 7/10 | | Static Link |
| Posted by: veddhead83 at June 7, 2008, 1:47 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by someguy http://youtube.com/watch?v=nfgZlMYj_NU http://youtube.com/watch?v=ib5ZSj6ST0U This doen't tell me shit about the movie other that it is in Spanish and that the audience had some sort of reaction to it.... I am sober now...... | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ilovemovies at June 7, 2008, 12:33 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | The funny thing about the Prom Night remake is I actually liked it during the non chase/scare scenes but whenever one of the characters were being chased/killed, it was so ineptly directed and executed that it was just laughably bad. The Ruins is definitely my favorite horror flick of the year so far although I actually liked The Eye as well. And I don't know if Cloverfield is considered horror but I liked that too. Not sure if [REC] is considered to be this year or last year but that was pretty good too. The Strangers on the otherhand is one of the worst movies of the year, let alone one of the worst horror movies. It's not the worst horror movie though. One Missed Call was even worse. There are times when Shutter comes close to matching these two movies in pure awfulness. Not quite, but it does come close at times. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: someguy at June 7, 2008, 12:30 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by veddhead83 WTF is REC??? http://youtube.com/watch?v=nfgZlMYj_NU http://youtube.com/watch?v=ib5ZSj6ST0U | | Static Link |
| Posted by: someguy at June 7, 2008, 12:29 am | | Topic: The Strangers Forum: JoBlo | | Madsen, you know I think you're great and all but it's not going to help if you keep replying with little one-liner jabs at the movie. My expectations weren't very high for The Strangers (I expect(ed) it to just be at most an enjoyable horror movie) and it's slowly been lowering. Your review helped ground it in reality a bit more. I like the idea of more 'subtle' type scares like things barely visible in the background but I was worried that it would overdo that and ruin the exact reason why it can be creepy. Bourne, I really mean no offense here when I say this but I think you can't compare Ils to The Strangers since you watched one in theatres and the other on a streaming youtube-like site. I would hardly call that a proper experience for watching a movie, especially for a horror film. I think that if you watched it on DVD you would have enjoyed it more. I was thinking about a good example of that 'ominous thing in the background only aware to us' shot which pops up in horror films. The most recent example... | | Read Entire Entry |
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