The Strangers
Slim pickings these days my friends, slim pickings. There’s not a great deal to draw me into the cinema these days with the exception of a new print of this which is only screening in one art cinema off Trafalgar Square, I’ll try to catch Lynch’s early celluloid nightmare next week when I’m in that neck of the woods. The only other picture of even remote interest is ‘The Strangers‘, a low key slasher horror which opened today in my local cinema so I took the time this afternoon to view this brisk 85 minute reasonably effective little chiller.
A young couple James (Scott Speedman) and Kristin (Liv Tyler) return to James’ fathers isolated summer house following a mutual friends wedding. James has proposed to his beloved but has suffered the ignominy of rejection for undetermined reasons, leaving a cloud of apprehension hovering over the film’s opening act. Just as they begin to attempt a reconciliation (yes, sex equals death in the film as per any other slasher film worth its chops) some mysterious masked figures arrive and begin a programme of intimidation and terror against our young lovers, an agenda that inevitably escalates to stomach churning violence and horror….
Its pretty much genre by the numbers, spending the requisite first 20 – 30 minutes establishing the characters so that when the terror begins you identify enough with James and Kristin to be squirming uncomfortably in your seat, silently praying for our heroes to get the fuck out of dodge. The sound design is delivered very effectively to tighten the thumbscrews with some clever use of the planes of field which reminded me very much of that grandaddy of the slasher film, ‘Halloween‘ – take a look at the third photo above to see what I mean. Unfortunately it then resorts to some genre cliches with James making some outrageously stupid decisions (Hmm, I think I’ll head over to the abandoned barn on my own, leaving my girlfriend alone..) which really dissolves the atmosphere of tension and dread that has been so professionally constructed. It is however quite ruthless at the finale with an outrageous reference to another US 70’s horror classic that I can’t reveal here for fear of obvious spoilers – worth a DVD rental but don’t start browsing for babysitters.
Unlike the 70’s and 80’s cycle of slasher/horror movies there is no real agenda for the maniacs in ‘The Strangers‘, no family secret, no humiliation or abused childhood to give psychological motivation for their horrific actions. I kind of admire that as it leaves the film as more of a sheer exercise in technique although as I said it does run out of steam toward the finale. Well, this all gives me an excuse to collate some of the most outrageous and depraved clips from slasher horrors of yore, peruse at your peril as they are occasionally and obviously very NSFW. Shows how accurate Eli Roth’s ‘Thanksgiving‘ trailer spoof was don’t it? Very American-centric I know so here’s a few moments from some of the European entries to the genre, plus the the film that kicked it all off. There’s also a couple of ‘The Shining‘ references in the film which again only highlights some of the films shortcomings, that does however lead me nicely on to next weeks definite cinema visit which is a screening of the luxurious ‘Barry Lyndon‘ at the NFT – can’t wait.
Right, just to go pretentious for a moment – I’m aware of how this might look and how simply the accusation of misogyny can be employed against people who vaguely enjoy films in this genre. Yes, the fact is that women are butchered and murdered in the most disgusting ways in these films but first of all so are the men and frequently it is the strong female character that triumphs over their nemesis. Some argue that these films reflect rather than maintain or support any patriarchal treatment of women, crucially certain Feminist film theorists even posit that these films are quite liberating in their conclusions. Minor spoilers aside it seems that female protagonists have partially usurped the usual male cypher in some more recent films from France, perhaps in part to a reaction to Gasper Noe’s ‘Irreversible‘ which caused huge controversy for obvious reasons. When it comes to cinema the French have been at the cutting edge since day one. The Slasher movies are certainly a product of their times and certainly can be considered a reflex to the emergence of feminism in the US and Europe during that period, to me that’s what makes them interesting on one level whilst I also simply enjoy the genre trappings of horror cinema and how it evolves like other genres during broader cultural trends. Besides, Ripley kicks ass. I mean um….
Anyway, have a look at Mastermind with a competitor answering questions on John Carpenter, via BBCi – I got 9 and was happy with that…….
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