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Michael Packner (32 KP) rated The Strangers (2008) in Movies

Jun 15, 2019

The Strangers (2008)

2008 | Horror

6.9

(21 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The suspense is off the charts. Bryan Bertino creates tension like very few can. You can't even breathe at times, especially on a first viewing. (5 more)

The Strangers themselves are crafted to perfection from the iconic masks to their mannerisms to their lack of a true motive.

The symbolism is heavy throughout. It takes multiple viewings to catch it all. Look at the busted windshield at the end for one example.

The use of music as another character is absolutely brilliant. Each tune was used to perfection.

The camerawork and set design are off the charts given the budget Bertino had to work with.

The ending. Not every horror story has a happy ending. This one was a beautiful and glorious gut punch.

The very last scene. If Bertino had been allowed to keep the exact ending he wanted this would've been 1000 times more impactful. (1 more)

The sound. When things are quiet you can hear a pin drop, but when a noise comes it blows out your eardrum.

Why are you doing this to us?
Because you were home.

This is my favorite film of all time. To me, this film is literally horror nirvana. This remains to this day the only film to ever truly scare me. This isn't some fake supernatural hocus pocus. This is reality. While the film may only be INSPIRED by true events, and not something that actually happened, it could happen, and it does happen...every day, whether you want to come to terms with it or not. The crazy thing is that if Bertino had been able to do this his way without any studio intervention, this film would've been 10 times darker and 10 times better. I don't care what anyone says, this film is a horror heavyweight that pays true homage to the birth era of horror.

Kudos

Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Secrets of the Weird in Books

Jun 5, 2018

Secrets of the Weird

Chad Stroup | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Chad Stroup’s novel, Secrets of the Weird is a piece of bizarro fiction that leaves me with more questions than answers. That’s not to say the book is bad by any means; I just feel that it does not live up to its full potential. Sweetville is a decidedly dark setting, with its own underground that we as readers get a brief glimpse of and nothing more. It’s as if Stroup teases us.

What I loved: the dynamic cast of characters Stroup creates. His ability to write lifelike and engaging characters is astounding. The main character, Trixie, is so real in her struggles that I imagine she’s quite relatable for several people. Her trek to being a woman is filled with bump after bump, and yet she still finds a reason to carry on, to seek her own happiness. In fact, much of this book focuses on her journey to self-acceptance, culminating in a beautiful metamorphosis. Other characters are equally fleshed out, but in ways that make my stomach turn. For instance, Cypress and the Angelghoul are despicable. Were either character to perish, I’d be fine. But its these anti-heroes that open up a lot of unanswered questions – if they can be called that.

First, there’s the Withering Wyldes. A creature whose purpose is to convert others into joining their cult like organization. Their history is explained, and they consistently show up throughout the book, but after a few chapters in which a linguist tries to understand their method of communication, they become background noise. The Angelghoul’s quest for enlightenment goes uncompleted. Trixie’s boyfriend fades away into nothing. And finally, Cypress’s threats seem to… well, not come to fruition.

The book is most definitely a fun read, but with those plot issues it falls short of a five skull rating for me. I’ll have to give it three.