10 Movies That Show You Shouldn’t Trust Strangers
Not everyone you meet is as nice as they appear to be!
We are taught from a very young age about the dangers of talking to strangers, but somewhere along the way we seem to forget this. The excitement of meeting new people and our natural susceptibility to charm and compliments makes us feel that we can trust people that we perhaps shouldn’t.
Many horror films are filled with situations that have the audience shouting at the screen in frustration at characters taking risks by choosing to believe people they have just met. It is easy to forget that everything is not always as clear cut when you are in the scenario yourself, rather than an objective bystander. If only reality accompanied bad people with creepy music!
Not all strangers are as obviously evil as in the film 'The Strangers', but even when the characters were as instantly distrustful of them as in this case, things still ended badly. Some of the most terrifying movie characters are those who seem to be likeable and nice at first, but then turn into nastier characters once it is too late for the victim's realisation to save them.
Let’s look at 10 strangers that definitely weren’t ‘just a friend you haven’t met’!
10. Psycho (1960)
The original dangerous stranger, Norman Bates appears as a charming, innocent, friendly face when he checks Marion Crane in on her rainy night on the run. His boyish manner makes him seem so unthreatening, so it is understandable that she would never have suspected how the events of the night would unfold. When she hears him arguing with his 'mother', this further cements this persona, as he seems to be so child-like that he still lives with her and needs her to look after him.
He kindly brings her some food and drink and tells her his story about the issues his mother has, making her sympathise with him as it draws parallels to her own life. Although her murder in the shower is so well known now, it was truly shocking to audiences at the time, which was a testament to how well Anthony Perkins portrayed the character.
He continued to fool the audience right until the horrible reveal at the end, showing that it wasn't just Marion who would have been taken in by him as a trustworthy person. He also stopped a fair few people using shower curtains after watching the film!