The Strangers

[MacGuffin]

My thoughts:


When it was announced, The Strangers was mistaken for a remake of a recent French horror movie called Ils, or Them. It's not. But the truth is, The Strangers employs a style not too dissimilar from Them. Its minimalist roots are deep, and much can be said about the atmosphere, tone, and general vibe. Then, The Strangers also could be considered a throwback to 70s and 80s grindhouse slasher movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for its depiction of emotionally invigorating and sheer brutality, as well as its awkward, but never forced use of subtle black humor. Even the very beginning, where the title cards are read by an unreasonably distorted voice, recognizes the voice overs in trailers from the aforementioned movies.

Now, I've never been one to show utter praise towards sound mixing and audio technicalities within motion pictures, because they are just that. Pictures. Visual representations. But I feel inclined to do so, as The Strangers not only ups the ante with stunning use of a busy, but chilling audio track, but justifies doing so by letting it complement genuinely frightening imagery. The masks worn by our villains evoke qualities from nightmares. Put three masked psychopaths in a movie that takes place at 4 o' clock in the morning in an old cabin the forest, and you have yourself almost endless possibilities. Images of a masked woman off in the distance, staring towards the two protagonists in a basement. A masked man lurking in the dark shadows of the forest. Another masked woman stepping out of an old barn very slowly. These are moments that don't scare you; they haunt you.

The audio track only furthermore adds to the terror with its skipping record players, its crickets in the distance. The wind blowing in the night, the crackle of a fire. The sounds in the forest. The movie may have benefited further from dropping the score, but it's hard to complain considering what it does. It's almost so experimental that it nearly creates an array of sounds you could listen to outside of the movie. This is to say, the movie is almost like a musical.

Let it be known however, this isn't all chills. On the surface, The Strangers is a brutal, frustrating, disturbing, and sad horror movie. Uncompromising in its approach, I can't remember the last time those three words used so often in not just horror movies, but movies in general, left such an emotional impression of devastation on me. You'll know them when you hear them.

[trotchky]

Great review.

I'm going to try to see this within the next several days.

[Rowland]

Cool. I'll respond more in-depth when I see this tomorrow.

[MacGuffin]

Cool. I'll respond more in-depth when I see this tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[Ivan Drago]

Woah, wait:

No score? The opening credits whispered?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOohhhhh....

[MacGuffin]

Woah, wait:

No score? The opening credits whispered?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOohhhhh....

Huh?

[Ivan Drago]

Huh?

From your review, first paragraph:


Even the very beginning, where the title cards are read by an unreasonably distorted voice, recognizes the voice overs in trailers from the aforementioned movies.

And third paragraph:


The movie may have benefited further from dropping the score, but it's hard to complain considering what it does.

Oh...wait. Now that I read that again, I realize that I read that wrong. Never mind.

[origami_mustache]

I thought this film was pretty awful on many levels. The acting was subpar, and the script was dense, predictable, and rather petty. I hated the overuse of hand held dirty camera work, and felt that the aesthetic and directing in general was really uninteresting and generic, lacking a variety in shot selections and compositions. They must have cut back to the insert of the record player at least a dozen times without much motivation for it. The character's behaviors really seemed irrational most of the time, and I don't think the director ever allowed us to really care for them in the first place. The sound design was pretty standard for a horror film, with an abundant use of thumps and bumps resulting in cheap scares.

[megladon8]

I don't understand the gripes with the villains' motive - "because you were home".

I haven't even seen the movie, and I think there are many interesting ways this can be taken.

Maybe they were going to rob the place, but since they were home, decided to torment and torture them?

Maybe that is their home, and they are "defending" it.

Maybe it's just the sheer sadistic pleasure of it.

[origami_mustache]

I don't understand the gripes with the villains' motive - "because you were home".

I haven't even seen the movie, and I think there are many interesting ways this can be taken.

Maybe they were going to rob the place, but since they were home, decided to torment and torture them?

Maybe that is their home, and they are "defending" it.

Maybe it's just the sheer sadistic pleasure of it.

I didn't have a problem with that aspect either;in fact I liked not knowing why they were doing it, it makes it a bit more chilling. I was more disappointed with the victims decisions in the film. Not much of what they did, made any sense. I felt this film had a chance to break away from the standard genre film, but it ended up being more of the same forgettable garbage.

[Silencio]

I don't understand the gripes with the villains' motive - "because you were home".

I haven't even seen the movie, and I think there are many interesting ways this can be taken.

Maybe they were going to rob the place, but since they were home, decided to torment and torture them?

Maybe that is their home, and they are "defending" it.

Maybe it's just the sheer sadistic pleasure of it.I haven't seen the film but am pretty sure it's the latter. Sort of like a "wrong place at the wrong time" type of deal for the victims and a random act of sadistic pleasure for the killers.

[megladon8]

I haven't seen the film but am pretty sure it's the latter. Sort of like a "wrong place at the wrong time" type of deal for the victims and a random act of sadistic pleasure for the killers.


I still find that interesting if it's executed well.

No one complained about Michael Myers' motives - he didn't have any. He was just evil incarnate.

[number8]

I still find that interesting if it's executed well.

No one complained about Michael Myers' motives - he didn't have any. He was just evil incarnate.

It's kind of spoiled in the marketing, but the problem is placement. Carpenter showed from the get-go that Myers was born psychotic (by showing his childhood) and built up this unstoppable murder machine that we can accept as evil incarnate. In The Strangers, Bertino built up this mystery of three faceless goons attacking the couple, and the questions raised throughout it were, "Who are they, what do they want, and what are they doing this?" The "Because you were home" line occurs at the end of the movie as a big reveal. It's just a cheap-ass tactic to seem edgy and chilling -- They have no motive, see?! It's scarier that way! Maybe so, but the fact that a whole movie is created with seemingly no other reason but to supply that real-world reminder... It's just really pathetic.

[MacGuffin]

Maybe so, but the fact that a whole movie is created with seemingly no other reason but to supply that real-world reminder... It's just really pathetic.

Horror movies also exist to scare people, you know.

[Ezee E]

I shall find out tomorrow.

[DrewG]

Such a frustrating picture....very well made visually, feels incredibly real but the story's unfolding (STOP. SHOWING. THE END. AT THE. BEGINNING.) and incredibly lackluster second half are truly upsetting.

[DrewG]

Eh...I just finished writing this and didn't proofread at all. Apologies if its incoherent:

------------------------------------------

The Strangers is an inconsistent, but admirable feature: it isn’t a pussyfoot festival like throwaway PG-13 horror fare, or flavor of the week like the torture porn of the Saw series but rather a barely gory yet disturbing R-rated horror/suspense flick. The key word is the 2nd one, because this is where most of these films fail merely relying on startling images and buckets of blood, where The Strangers has to work much harder and smarter to get our hairs standing.

The movie falls into the trap of attempting to pass of its story as a true crime (when it’s much inspired than actually based, the story is merely in vein of the Manson family) as we see boyfriend and girlfriend James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) awkwardly shuffle off to James’ isolated vacation home after a friend’s wedding. The already peculiar situation (a botched marriage proposal) is made downright nightmarish as anonymous figures in spooky masks begin to terrorize the house, everything from some foreplay door banging to the not so subtle stealing of cell phones and axe’s breaking this and that. From here The Strangers brings us in on the lovers in peril, their desperation and the villains weaving in and outside of the house like sadistic ghosts.

Writer and director Bryan Bertino works his debut focusing more on aspects of gritty, “real” visual set up as opposed to the screenplay, which though serviceable, might also be the movies biggest deterrent in its construction. The opening half is the more dialogue oriented one, which isn’t saying much because even here the conversations between James and Kristen are appropriately hesitant and scarce. You can feel that uncertainty from the preceding proposal lingering over every line which makes their subsequent conflict all the more effective for their bond is being asked to be stronger than ever. But as intriguing as this is, much of the films potential for extra intensity or unpredictability is squandered by the incredibly superfluous “show the end first” storytelling technique. Its execution is even more frustrating by the fact that it doesn’t lend itself to any ending twist or layer for the story, just a terribly premature indicator of where the movie might be going.

This uneven, constant pro/con nature is what makes The Strangers merely good instead of great, the most obvious example being the disparity in freshness and scares from the first half to the second. But I don’t want to sound too disparaging, because there is a fair amount of well done minimalist suspense at work here. Bertino keys in on what many modern horror filmmakers are missing, the balance between style and realism; the images in The Strangers have a hypnotic mixture to them, an unfinished mixture of handheld cinematography and the houses light as our protagonists work through the corners of the house, the shooting and editing style complementing their urgency.

Combined with the careful use of sound or lack thereof, such as the eerie deep breaths of one villain or the grainy, old record player overpowering any way to hear oncoming footsteps, The Strangers is cinematically savvy to register tension without being overbearing or subjecting us to MTV editing. Any horror film that can set back and let true silence take over is one working hard for you to scare, thankfully only using the fitting chaotic score in the more action oriented sequences. But when the story begins to weaken, so does the effectiveness and smarts of this approach and the movie begins to fall on the foundation it works hard for.

Shortly after the films middle is when it begins to lose momentum, for two main reasons: one being that it begins to spin its wheels whilst no longer progressing forward and another being its succumbing to over the top chase sequences that tie themselves into its adoption of some irksome horror clichés. In terms of being repetitive the film loses its stronghold when it begins to settle for countless “scary mask peering in through window” boo scares that no longer retain the awesome shock factor they did when first revealed only minutes before. James and Kristen also begin to mentally lose grip, splitting up to wander alone or falling and injuring oneself useless, requiring more suspension of disbelief from the audience than further crafting for intense set pieces. Though one can perhaps argue their shattered nerves may have altered their senses, it doesn’t change the fact that the screenplay eventually lures them outside, causing the movies essential claustrophobic to be removed in favor of less graceful sequences where characters run and accomplish nothing.

The Strangers is by no means terrible, but its noticeable flaws are made more severe by the fact that there are a lot of positives at work being either rung too dry or dragged down. It’s an issue of potential, especially in light of the performances of Speedman and Tyler evoking their trouble in paradise through gestures and expressions, the exasperated sighs and the dead eyes as opposed to the lazy filmmaking route, just having the characters say them outright. Accusations of the derivativeness of the film (its connections to the 2006 French film Ils or Them) are also a bit excessive considering while their outlines are the same, couple stalked in seclusion by unknown psychopaths, their set-up’s and revelations of “them”, or the torturers, are completely different.

The Strangers has some redemption in its finale, though it feels somewhat flat, almost rushed considering what has come before it. But this might just be what makes it work, the way we wonder: what if these killers are as seemingly normal as the couple were observing but with the offbeat hobby of home invasion on the weekends? That’s the scary part of a serial killer like Ted Bundy or Fred West, their ability to assimilate into society under a veil of normalcy. It is in the company of that phenomenon that makes this mystery in The Strangers looms perfectly large. Maybe The Strangers could have hit a home run, but as stands it seems like it was caught extending a single into a double, a recommendation and better than most entertainment in the genre, but a film that had a chance to be much better.

[Qrazy]

Horror movies also exist to scare people, you know.

I haven't seen it but I think their point is that it's difficult to be scared when the overarching purpose of the film reveals it's insipidity.

[Morris Schæffer]

It's kind of spoiled in the marketing, but the problem is placement. Carpenter showed from the get-go that Myers was born psychotic (by showing his childhood) and built up this unstoppable murder machine that we can accept as evil incarnate. In The Strangers, Bertino built up this mystery of three faceless goons attacking the couple, and the questions raised throughout it were, "Who are they, what do they want, and what are they doing this?" The "Because you were home" line occurs at the end of the movie as a big reveal. It's just a cheap-ass tactic to seem edgy and chilling -- They have no motive, see?! It's scarier that way! Maybe so, but the fact that a whole movie is created with seemingly no other reason but to supply that real-world reminder... It's just really pathetic.

Would you argue that without the "Because you were home" line the movie would have been better?

How do you feel about Spielberg's Duel? Perhaps that one was more visceral, even more minimalistic & devoid of mystery than The Strangers. Mind, I haven't seen The Strangers so it's possible I may side with you. Nonetheless, it seems entirely reasonable that the beleaguered folks would ask such questions and that some crazy fucks would consider doing this.

[Rowland]

Thoroughly mediocre, it's this year's Vacancy in conception and execution, only I liked that movie more. I did admire the craft at work here though, as well as the director's sensibilities in his approach to the genre, and there are some really creepy moments, but there are also too many missteps. I'd recommend a rental for those interested.

[Skitch]

I should be seeing it this week...

[Ezee E]

Damn. While this will be grouped in with the torture-porn horror movies that have come out as of late (some of which I do like), this one does something that the rest don't do. It makes you scared. It actually resonates with you instead of thinking about how gory it was, or what an insane kill it was. I legitimately cared about the two key characters.

Now, what makes this movie work so well is that it builds on a certain type of fear that everyone has. The feeling of being alone in an unfamiliar situation. That feeling that you are being watched looms in the back of your head when weird noises start popping up. In this movie, they obviously are being watched, and surprisingly Liv Tyler displays it extremely well.

The weird noises is next. Every creak, fire crack, and step causes tension. The end is inevitable, heck, it's even spoiled at the beginning, but we still remain hooked.

That's not to say that there aren't flaws. I, for one, think the final scene hurts the movie. I think it would've been creepier had we not seen them get stabbed. The cut to black as Liv Tyler is peeled away from the wooden floor was effective already. The next shot, during daytime, as we see two kids walking with their bikes, would've been much more affecting in the end. It's the forced nature of this scene that puts it with movies like The Ruins, Saw, and The Hills Have Eyes. Luckily it still has a lot more going for it.

There are few horror movies that can engage me. This one is a visceral one. It makes the heart beat faster. You feel immoral for seeing what's happening, but you can't turn away.

Good stuff.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm torn. I admired Bertino's craft and his occasional deference to silence (the first shot of Baghead Guy is a great one), but his soundtrack piles on the stingers, and he's not above brain-dead cliches like:

a) The characters actually choosing to split up.
b) The fake shock from one protagonist touching another one unexpectedly.
c) Villains knowing a house better than the heroes who live there.

::sigh::

I think I liked The Ruins more. At least it had a fresh setting and a more assured sense of pacing and camerawork.

[Rowland]

This review pretty much expresses all of my mixed thoughts regarding the movie. (http://robscheer.blogspot.com/2008/05/strangers-12.html)

[Skitch]

Ninjas with masks. OH NOES!

6/10

[Ezee E]

This review pretty much expresses all of my mixed thoughts regarding the movie. (http://robscheer.blogspot.com/2008/05/strangers-12.html)
He has some nice observations, although I find each sequence engaging still. I never did think about how it is a lot like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" which uses the same approach, but never forces it on us like one of the final scenes in Strangers.

[Rowland]

A fascinating analysis of the movie. (http://cinepinion.blogspot.com/2008/06/strangers.html)

[Henry Gale]

SPOILERS

This started off so well, but the somewhere along the line I just lost interest. Then when it starts to reveal it's tying itself back to the opening of the film, I thought maybe there would be a good final confrontation to redeem itself somewhat, but it just goes and suddenly ends (on a horrible recent horror cliché, no less).

The analysis in the last line of that review Rowland posted is indeed interesting, but I really wish the film itself had made more of an effort to add something like that to elevate it past whatever it's actually trying to display in the final act. Plus, the only time outside of the first act that the engagement is referred to outside of the ring sitting around is when they say they love each other near the end.

I would actually say that the engagement setup of the film is the most engaging thing in it. It could have just as easily been the beginning of a good drama (and I may have even been fooled into thinking that too if it weren't for my prior knowledge of it and the creepy reading of the "these are true events" opening titles). The way it starts with Tyler's character visibly emotional in the car, and then slowly cutting back bit by bit to show them only an hour or so earlier with them happy and then just the indicating moment. From there we see where things went wrong followed by them, in the house decorated with rose pedals and candles, wondering where their relationship will go from there. Very good stuff. But then you start hearing the banging on the door and the score doing very thriller-ish things as all the other typical horror elements begin to find their way into the story as it becomes increasingly disappointing.

It would have also been maybe more interesting if yes the "because you were home" response was muted and all you saw was a slight shrug from the girl instead of making that the one thing for the audience to go by for these motives. I also could have gone without the confrontation they have with the boys.

So yeah, kind of rambling at this point to try and get at the fact that maybe with even a few minor edits this could have been much better. But as it stands, it's a miss.

** / ****

Edit: I forgot about Dennis from It's Always Sunny's role in it. That made me smile a bit at first, but then angry when I realized what a manipulative plot device he was.

[Noisotika]

And the danger, danger drawing near them was a whiiiiiite coat
And the danger, danger drawing near them was a broaaaad boat
And the water, water running clear beneath a whiiiiiite throat
And the hollow chatter of the talking of the tadpoles
Who know th'outside
Should we go outside
Should we break some bread
Are y'interested

[Bosco B Thug]

Haha, is the song actually in the movie? Brilliant. Joanna Newsom and horror. That's a dream come true.

[Noisotika]

Haha, is the song actually in the movie? Brilliant. Joanna Newsom and horror. That's a dream come true.

Yeah it's in the movie. Liv Tyler listens to it on vinyl.

[Pop Trash]

Rented the DVD last night. I was quite impressed. It takes itself seriously, it's well made (shot compositions, focal lengths-particularly when we see the white mask fellow out of focus deep in the background in the far left of the frame, sound design, use of silences) it doesn't use fashionable post-modern glibness (Funny Games and Teeth I'm looking at you) the screenplay is extremely minimal (it must be like 30 pages long or so) and last but certainly not least, it's pretty fuckin' scary! The only reasons why I wouldn't rate it higher is that it is very influenced by classic slashers-particularly the original TCM and Halloween and it's minimal to the point of wondering what the point is really other than to create a formally well made film that exists simply to scare the pants of you. And really there is nothing wrong with that.

Rating: 7/10

[Boner M]

I quite liked this. I imagine it would work better on the big screen, with the audio as loud as possible (I had to turn it down a bit in the store to not bother customers). The scene where Speedman accidentally shoots his friend was really well done, if a bit cheap. I suppose that could be said for the entire film, but it's refreshing to see a film so intent on scaring the audience shitless rather than just indulging in the usual torture porn shenanigans. I suppose it isn't too high a compliment to say that Liv Tyler gives her best performance here, but I found her really impressive and empathetic. The final shot was perfect too.

[Raiders]

I'll repost this here:

The Strangers is a coy film. Bertino is more sadistic than any of the three killers, playing cat-and-mouse with the audience at the expense of two characters caught in the director's web of cinematic foreplay. The whole film is foreplay in fact, and the director gets mileage out of intimate locations and by completely shredding any sense of barriers between victim and killer well before the film even gets to the halfway point. The opening is both not enough and too much (it is slight enough to show the director doesn't really want us caring too much about these characters--but also too much in the he could have given the same level of depth via the two shots of the traffic light and the empty house filled with rose petals). The killers are ridiculous ghouls and Bertino fills the film with shots of them that are effectively spooky but ultimately kind of lame in their uselessness (why would one of them run up behind an injured Liv Tyler only to not be there when she turns around-- that isn't classic Michael Myers-type stalking, it's to further the audience's blue balls).

The camera work is the film's most effective technique, highlighting often times the spatial relationships between the characters. Bertino certainly knows how to create suspense, but the ending is the biggest letdown of all. Brief and ultimately more confounding than scary, it tries to revamp our sympathy when there wasn't much to begin with and it provides an answer to the "why" question that is eye-roll worthy and would have been exponentially better left unsaid. And how rote of Bertino to end on a lovely horror film cliche.

[Ezee E]

The why question isn't really answered though is it? Sure, the killers say it at the very end, but I hardly think that's their motive.

My main criticism is that I wish we didn't have the audio of the phone call at the beginning. It'd have been a total shocker otherwise. And if they used the "Funny Games" element of how you almost know that they'll get back to the robbers at the end with a planted knife or other escape routes, that'd have made it even better as well.

Nonetheless, it's a visceral movie that has worked both times I watched it. One of the better movies this year I think.

[Raiders]

The why question isn't really answered though is it? Sure, the killers say it at the very end, but I hardly think that's their motive.

I think the movie's horror comes from the lack of a motive, and her answer only furthers that point but does so in a rather lame way. To answer the question with silence would have been about 100x more effective and unsettling than the useless, pat answer.

[Ezee E]

I think the movie's horror comes from the lack of a motive, and her answer only furthers that point but does so in a rather lame way. To answer the question with silence would have been about 100x more effective and unsettling than the useless, pat answer.
I'll agree on that.

[Rowland]

The entire ending where they are tied to the chairs, and the aftermath with the children struck me as an unfortunate means of closure, especially when one interprets the strangers as manifestations of the disconnect in their relationship. It would have also rendered their ability to seemingly warp all around the place less objectionable.

[Boner M]

especially when one interprets the strangers as manifestations of the disconnect in their relationship.
Eww.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I think the movie's horror comes from the lack of a motive, and her answer only furthers that point but does so in a rather lame way. To answer the question with silence would have been about 100x more effective and unsettling than the useless, pat answer.

Really? I found that the movie's horror came from Bertino's success with the craft of suspense. I found both the protagonists, villains, and story undefined to a fault.

Maybe the problem is that I have an instinctive dislike for horror movies who offer no personality and no hope.

[Dukefrukem]

I think the movie's horror comes from the lack of a motive, and her answer only furthers that point but does so in a rather lame way. To answer the question with silence would have been about 100x more effective and unsettling than the useless, pat answer.

Id agree with this. I don't like how organized the people are and how easily they can appear and disappear any time they want. I realize that's part of what makes this movie tense, but i feel it takes away from the seriousness of the movie and how they want to present it. They wouldn't have said the movie is based around real events at the beginning if this wasn't considered. The masks are really cheesy.

[Pop Trash]

Id agree with this. I don't like how organized the people are and how easily they can appear and disappear any time they want. I realize that's part of what makes this movie tense, but i feel it takes away from the seriousness of the movie and how they want to present it. They wouldn't have said the movie is based around real events at the beginning if this wasn't considered. The masks are really cheesy.

Ack! Duke! :frustrated: You ever seen Fargo or Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Ack! Duke! :frustrated: You ever seen Fargo or Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Even interpreting the "based on true events" as a stylistic choice, which it is (Bertino's admitted as such), neither Fargo nor TCM stray far from realism. They're warped, but not fantastical.

The omnipresence of the Strangers pushes too far against the film's sense of reality.

[number8]

You know, every movie I make in the future will have a "Based on True Events" at the beginning. Since apparently we can just throw that in there without any real events to back it up.

[Dukefrukem]

Even interpreting the "based on true events" as a stylistic choice, which it is (Bertino's admitted as such), neither Fargo nor TCM stray far from realism. They're warped, but not fantastical.

The omnipresence of the Strangers pushes too far against the film's sense of reality.

Couldn't have said it better. I'm glad you agree.

[transmogrifier]

Raiders had it right when he said that the whole film is pretty much the director trying his darndest to give his audience blue-balls. I mean, when it ended, I was frustrated with some of the stupidity on show (the guy leaves the girl alone in the house for the second time despite knowing that the strangers are wandering all through it! the cellphone sits next to the dead body the whole time (I assume) but is never noticed until the next day! having Liv Tyler unaccountably walk sloooooowly towards every single little noise just to build up another jump scare! etc) and the eventually dull repetition (Tyler's entire trip to the shed is an absolute snore), but there was something else unsatisfying that I couldn't put my finger on when it ended.

But then I read Raider's post, and it dawned on me - SO much of the film is the strangers looming in the background looking like they are going to strike, but then disappearing suddenly when the character turns around, and thus never knowing they were in danger in the first place. So, you've got to ask - in real life, how would you be able to explain that behaviour on the part of the antagonists? Getting close and then disappearing without the victim ever knowing? I guess you could invent some sort of bullshit explanation like they are playing some sort of game between themselves to see how many times they can tap the houseowners on the shoulder or something, but in reality, it's the director simply giving the audience what it wants, with no regard of actual human behaviour. And it gets very predictable very quickly.

It's all a bit shit, really. I liked the fact that the couple were in the middle of emotional upheaval when the horror strikes, rather than being the cliched happy couple torn apart, but the film really does just go downhill after that.

38

[Ezee E]

I never looked into the logics of what "the strangers" were doing, except that they were torturing their victims, and had no qualms about it whatsoever. If they planned on them never getting anywhere, then maybe it is fun for them to mess them up... I don't know. Still think this was good.

FOrgot the director though. Has he done anything since?

[transmogrifier]

I was especially contemptuous of Nick Schager's reaction, where he basically writes off Haneke's Funny Games as hectoring and then goes on to celebrate the blatant mindless impending-violence-as-entertainment-in-itself that Haneke wanted to investigate. I mean, this is the exact type of film Funny Games riffs off, the kind of movie that feeds on the audience's anticipation of violence and offers very little else, and is in fact a slave to the whole idea. I mean, The Strangers begins with bloodstained walls, so the audience can whet their appetite for the impending carnage and go in safe in the knowledge that someone is gonna bleed. Then it runs through the bad guys basically performing for the camera in a way almost as blatant as the winks to the camera in Funny Games, and has the main characters make stupid decisions to keep the terror going.

I don't have anything against the use of violence in movies - it is a tool like anything else - but it can be misused, and in The Strangers, it definitely is - a hollow, shallow game with the audience.