By Geno McGahee
In 2008, a movie hit the theaters and has done quite well featuring a couple tormented by a group of teenagers. THE STRANGERS has made over 51 million dollars at the box office, which is very good for a horror film, and it was a good horror film with actual actors as opposed to the models that they fill the typical PG-13 flicks that they keep putting out there. A movie with a similar plot: FUNNY GAMES was released in 2007 and it follows the same path as THE STRANGERS but proves to be a better production with more interesting characters and shows even less mercy.
George (Tim Roth) and his wife Ann (Naomi Watts) and their son Georgie (Devon Gearhart) are headed to their vacation home for some rest and relaxation. With Roth and Watts in a film, you know that it will probably be a decent flick, and event Gearhart did a fantastic job in his role. This movie’s cast is perfect and this movie becomes unsettling in the first fifteen minutes and you remain on edge until the very end of the film.
As George and Georgie go for a boat ride on the lake, Peter (Brady Corbet) shows up, stating that he would like to borrow four eggs for the neighbor. Ann gladly obliges, but Peter’s demeanor is very strange and he is very odd. When he drops the first four eggs, he demands four more, and she resists, but to get rid of him, she gives them to him.
As Peter walks to the door, Ann overhears the dog barking and when she goes to investigate both Peter and now Paul (Michael Pitt) are standing there. Both are dressed like tennis players and both are wearing gloves. They demand more eggs. Ann now senses that something is up and asks them to leave her house, but they refuse. When George comes home, he demands that they leave the house and they attack, breaking his leg and now holding the family hostage.
Both Corbet and Pitt put forth great performances and you hate them right from the bat. They have no sympathy and are just thrill killers, finding pleasure in the pain and agony of the family that they are holding hostage. They don’t want money and they are working off of each other, finding new ways of traumatizing the family. You keep hoping that they will get theirs…somebody will kill these two scumbags.
In one of the most memorable scenes in film history (spoiler), the duo uses a shotgun and kill the young boy, and then leave the house, saying “have a nice day,” disturbing the audience and husband and wife. Now Ann and George are overwhelmed with grief. George is nearly paralyzed with it, while Ann is desperately trying to release herself from the restraints that they put on her arms and legs. The tension is at an all time high as you root for the duo to get away and for the two teens to be killed. When Ann gets loose, she and George have to plan an escape and you keep waiting for Peter and Paul to show up and storm back into the house. I can’t emphasize just how tense these scenes are. You are on the edge of your seat.
The bad guys resurface to torment the family even more. I can’t remember bad guys that I have hated more than Peter and Paul, and I have to applaud the actors as well as the writer/director, Michael Haneke. This movie does what THE STRANGERS and VACANCY did, but does it better. As much as I like the other two films, I have to say that this film is more unsettling, with two normal looking teens, not wearing masks, and acting kind while they torment the family. I think that the horror genre is beginning to find its footing again with these three flicks. This is the type of movie that stays with you. It’s still with me. It really bothers you and the way that they end this film is brilliant. They knew what the fans wanted and elected to say: “Screw You.” They end this the same way that they did the rest of this film. They weren’t going to give us a happy ending. They made sure that you were disturbed and pissed at the same time. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Scared Stiff Rating: 9/10. A great and disturbing thrill ride.
