Kevin Doyle

***A REVIEW WORTH READING*** Preamble: I am a horror movie buff - that being said, I am more into thrillers than slashers. I think it will help the reader value my opinion more if they can relate to my taste in movies/shows so let me list a few that I genuinely enjoy (The Strangers (2008), Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007), Hills Have Eyes (2006), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), House of 1,000 Corpses (2003), The Conjuring (2013), The Ritual (2017), The Haunting of Hill House Series (2018), American Horror Story Seasons 1 & 2 (2011-2013), The Blair Witch Project (1999)... If you can relate to my tastes, then perhaps my review will help you determine whether or not you want to watch/pay for this movie. (I think you would have to pay considering it is not on Netflix, HBO, Cable, or Hulu) This movie falls into a slasher category, whereas the original Strangers movie was more of a psychological thriller/slasher flick. In the original the acting was good and the nature of strangers stalking strangers was exciting (in a terrifying way). This movie has less creepy stalking and more just straight to the point killing. Yes, they are stalked, but only for a short period of time before they are killed. In comparing this movie to its predecessor, I will say there is NO element of surprise. Predictability is HIGH. Bryan Bertino (writer/director) did more with a similar budget in his first movie which is upsetting to see because I tend to watch a writer's second movie in anticipation of it being better than the first. That was not the case here. Without giving too much away, just know people die on both sides. Meaning, both "good guys" and "bad guys" die. While I am a good person with a good heart, "bad guys" dying takes away a lot of the scary element for multiple reasons. (1.) It shows that the killers can be hurt (2.) They are no longer "out in the world" therefore no longer posing a threat to the viewer. Aside, from that fact - I also noticed some of the VFX (Visual Effects) were shoddy. For instance, a throat gets sliced and I am quite confident the blood color was visually enhanced so it can be seen in front of the dark background, and/or just straight up computer graphics. Blood should never be digital. Now that I've virtually torn this movie apart, let me build it back up. Despite my previous criticisms, this movie is nothing to scoff at. If you are at home alone (especially if you live in a rural area) and watch this movie at night, you are bound to get a good thrill and potentially have nightmares. This movie makes you not want to look out your window at night. The acting is decent and the camera work is as well. One thing this movie doesn't' lack is suspense. It is suspenseful from nearly start to finish. Most of the graphic scenes use pretty good special effects with the exception of the sliced throat I mentioned earlier. I also want to mention you cannot count anyone out, until you know for a FACT they are dead. Another reason this movie is so scary is because it shows a very normal American family get torn apart (literally and figuratively). Bottom line: My review is an opinion, which I've formulated from watching the movie my self. I recommend watching it as good horror flicks are very hard to come by. Statistically speaking - I would say a good one comes out once every 5 years (one that speaks to my preferences anyways). This is one of the better horror flicks out right now and since you've probably been re-watching all of your old favorites, spice it up with something new.