10 More Most Shocking Horror Movie Unmaskings

5. Man In The Mask, Dollface & Pin-Up Girl - The Strangers

Smiley Movie
Universal Pictures

Released in 2008, Bryan Bertino's The Strangers made a major impact of horror hounds when it first creeped its way to the silver screen.

Full of slow-burn, wince-inducing terror and delicate dread, this "because you were home" invasion picture centres on three masked killers who like to cause chaos and carnage on a random basis and purely for the sh*ts 'n' giggles. Unfortunately for troubled couple Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman), it's their remote summer home that ends up hearing an ominous knock on its door - and before you know it, the duo are sinisterly tormented by Man in Mask, Dollface and Pin-Up Girl.

Tied up and at the mercy of their attackers, our central protagonists realise their goose is cooked once these lunatics reveal their faces.

Much like in The Purge, this particular unmasking means that Kristen and James know that they're done for. The only difference with The Purge, mind, is that the Polite Leader at least gives the Sandins an ultimatum once he removes his mask. For Kristen and James, there's no such offer, and thus Man in Mask, Dollface and Pin-Up Girl all immediately stab the duo once their masks are off.

For James, these stab wounds prove imminently fatal, while Kristen would survive long enough to at least let out a spine-tingling scream as The Strangers ends.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.