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"The film you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the F.B.I. there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005 Kristen McKay and James Hoyt went to a friend's wedding reception and returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known." - opening narration.

From this opening line, you get the sense that "The Strangers" is a film prepared to do its job horrifyingly well. It instantly creates a sense of suspense and dread that will chill you down to your bones and keep you seized in its grip despite the limited cast, location and lack of true gore.

Therein lies the true genius of the film. In a genre that has been taken over by elements of shock rather than suspense, this simplistic story is truly terrifying because something like this actually could happen. In fact, the narrator makes sure we're well aware that there but the grace of God go we. It taps into the survivalist mentality of its audience as their minds race and wonder, "What would I do in their place?"

As we watch with bated breath, we can only pray we never have to find out.

"The Strangers" is the story about a couple who return to an isolated vacation house after a wedding. They face dramatic emotional problems of their own, but that all quickly moves to the back burner once strangers begin to target them for a sick and violent game... simply because they were home.

Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman play the lead roles Kristen and James with disconcerting accuracy. They end up learning a bitter lesson of how far they're willing to go to fight back, to survive, when the odds are increasingly against them. The pace is slower, deliberate - hypnotic, and the emphasis is placed on the sheer terror of the unknown. The first time the ghostly masked face appears behind Kristen who is at home all alone, it's sure to illicit a dramatic reaction from its audience, proving one doesn't have to have extreme visuals to evoke true terror. A simple masked face in the darkness where you don't expect one can be more than enough.

Drawing inspiration from a real life event that happened in his childhood, first time writer/director Bryan Bertino pushes himself up to and over the edge and takes all of us with him. He uses the isolation of the area and the uncertainty of night to test us to our emotional limits; saving his shocking extremism for one graphic, disturbing scene at the end that, as my friend says, "You can't unsee once seen."

If you're up for a good scare, this might be the movie for you. But be aware it's a story and a concept that will stay with you long after the lights go up.

Learn more about this author, Ginger Voight.
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