DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Bryan Bertino
Starring Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Glenn Howerton Release date Out now

Kristen (Tyler) and James (Speedman) arrive back at their home after a party and find themselves terrorised by masked invaders…

“It’s a new kind of terror movie!” enthuses director Bryan Bertino on the accompanying ‘making of’ doc – a rather dubious claim bearing in mind that The Strangers is uncannily similar to the superior 2006 French chiller Them. Both movies even claim to be inspired by a vague “true story”.

In fact, ‘home invasion’ is a concept that has been much visited over the years – including two versions of Desperate Hours, two versions of Funny Games, and a particularly disturbing sequence in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The idea of violent intruders breaking into a home and terrorising the occupants is a common fear, so it is perhaps little surprise that horrors and thrillers frequently exploit this.

So, The Strangers is far from original then. But what matters in horror movies is how well the scares are executed, and in this respect The Strangers certainly scores. Bertino cranks up the unease remarkably, creating an atmosphere of lingering tension between its central couple (following a disastrous proposal) even before the masked invaders have put in an appearance.

Shaky handheld cameras fashion a disorientating atmosphere right from the start, while brief shots of snaking, shadowy corridors suggest potential menace lurking in every corner. When the home-stalking action kicks in, Bertino treats us to some truly masterful sequences – one of the strangers subtly hovering in the background; a mobile phone suddenly disappearing; James’s friend being silently stalked by an axeman. If these moments are anything to go by, Bertino has a great future in the genre.

It does become a little repetitive at the halfway mark (it’s worth comparing to how the leaner Them switched locales in its final half hour to starve off monotony), while the ending doesn’t quite have the chilling impact its makers probably hoped for. For the most part, though, this is a simple and effective mainstream horror that's guaranteed to have you double-checking your doors are locked for days afterwards. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 7/10
A fun frightener that can’t quite sustain its tension over 87 minutes. Well worth watching for a handful of brilliant moments.