12 Underrated Horror Movie Gems From The 2000s
6. The Strangers
Another awful advertisement for vacation homes, this time in South Carolina. Liv Tyler’s Kristen and Scott Speedman’s James are the ill-fated couple coming home from a wedding. There’s an uncomfortable vibe about the 2, a distance brought about by Kristen rejecting James’ marriage proposal. For James, he probably figures that’s the worst moment of his night, if only it were all so simple...
Director Bryan Bertino took inspiration from various real life sources when crafting this home invasion horror. Like so many films in the 21st century, Bertino took a lot of inspiration from the Manson family Tate murders. He also studied the Keddie Cabin Murders and took ideas from multiple break-ins that occurred in his neighbourhood as a child.
The Strangers’ domestic brutality is reminiscent of Michael Haneke’s infamous Funny Games. Unlike Haneke’s nihilistic thriller, however, The Strangers is devoid of any fourth wall breaking. Instead, it provides a more realistic take on the terrors of home invasion. The leads are unsuspecting civilians, hopelessly outmatched in the face of an evil they could never have expected. Atmospheric and tautly paced, The Strangers is an excellent thrill ride of slasher sadism.