In a cash grab movie world that we live in, it’s really surprising it took ten years for 2008’s The Strangers to get a sequel. The original film had first been scheduled to be released in November of 2007 but was pushed back to May of 2008. For those with a bit of knowledge on schedule shifts, it’s not really a good sign when release dates are changed but The Strangers defied expectations and became a minor hit upon release. Budgeted at a very slim $9 million, the film went on to gross $82 million worldwide and while critics were mixed on the film (praising its suspense and atmosphere but criticizing the script and poor choices of the characters), horror fans embraced it as one of the better horror releases of the time. After its success was solidified, a lot of us waited for the eventual sequel announcement but it never really came.
Director and writer, Bryan Bertino, gave us little bread crumbs about doing a sequel but months and then years went by with no announcement of when we would see our unfriendly visitors again. I was one of those fans that really wanted a sequel but the more time that went by I simply forgot about it and just appreciated the one-off film we did get that turned out to be a surprisingly good exercise in tension and suspense.
Fast forward to this year and we finally have the sequel most of us forgot we wanted. The Strangers: Prey At Night does have time on its side. It’s not coming at us too soon that it feels old and tired and with some time, a real crafty horror film could’ve been made here. Director Johannes Roberts and writer Bryan Bertino (with co-writing credit to Ben Ketai) only use this gap half effectively. On the one hand, the sequel is nowhere near as suspenseful as the first film. The original still leaves me with anxiety while there aren’t really any scenes in the follow up that come close to that. On the other side of things, they have crafted a film that is so different in tone that you can’t really accuse it of simply repeating itself. The film utilizes 80’s horror tropes that give the narrative a bend of satire that is actually quite effective. If that was the intention, it mostly succeeds and it may end up being appreciated by horror fans in the long run on that level.
Cindy (Christina Hendricks) and Mike (Martin Henderson) are exasperated with their daughter, Kinsey (Bailee Madison), who’s a wild child, taking her on a road trip to a boarding school to help create distance and find her the help she needs. Kinsey doesn’t want to go, while her brother, Luke (Lewis Pullman), doesn’t want to join the car ride, but the family comes together for one last road trip. Stopping at an off-season resort for the night, owned by a family member, the foursome tries to settle into a small trailer, hoping to spend some quality time together. However, murderous strangers have other plans for the guests, with Dollface (Emma Bellomy), Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin), and Man in the Mask (Damian Maffei) emerging from the darkness to murder them all, commencing a night of survival in a remote area with limited ways to contact the outside world.
There’s really not much one can do with the idea behind The Strangers. The original film detailed a home invasion by the three masked killers, and the horror in all that is that you learned nothing about them. It was disturbingly unprovoked and that is the true fear in its premise. Maybe, even though some of us wanted a sequel, there probably was no need for one because you can’t really expand on the backstory on killers you know nothing about. Prey at Night simply revives the formula for another round of domestic disturbance, but this time the scope of the hunt is widened some, unleashing the killers inside a low-grade vacation destination filled with trailers and kitschy decorations. It’s a nighttime hunting ground that provides plenty of places to run and hide, but the terror doesn’t commence right away. The writers have to flesh out the characters and while they’re likable and relatable enough, the script makes them do asinine things to put them in horrific situations. Critics complained about the poor choices of the characters played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman in the first film but they are space cadets compared to the characters here. They maneuver through horror film cliches and I found myself audibly reacting to them putting themselves in situations that anyone with connective brain cells would avoid.
What I can credit director Johannes Roberts for is that he tries to create his own vibe for the sequel, crafting a more stylish chiller that takes visual and aural cues from 1980s genre franchising, charging ahead with a basic stalker situation that’s smoothed out by stylish cinematography from Ryan Samul and a soundtrack of period hits, with the titular monsters favoring tunes from Kim Wilde (the least plausible moment here is the Man in the Mask finding “Cambodia” playing on a commercial radio station but it’s still a highly effective moment) and Air Supply. Music plays a big part in Prey at Night, adding a jukebox quality to the suspense, livening up routine chases with a pop glaze that works surprisingly well for the effort, which otherwise doesn’t set out to break new ground. I mean “Total Eclipse of the Heart” has been used in horror before (notably in the opening scene for 1998’s Urban Legend) but it proves itself more useful here in one of the best chase and stalk sequences of the film.
All the performers are adequate in their roles with Bailee Madison being the standout as Kinsey. For a moment you think she’ll be the rebel teenager cliche but she finds some humanity in the role along the way and she’s very convincing seeming truly terrified by her situation. I had a moment of feeling old realizing this is the little girl from Brothers and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark but she has certainly grown into a capable actress. Lewis Pullman thankfully avoids the older brother cliche of seeming too cool to be around his family and actually has an honest chemistry with Madison as her older sibling. A lot of the scenes later in the film work because you care about them and their relationship. Christina Hendricks and Martin Henderson do a fine job portraying parents who come off relatable trying to handle a stressful family situation.
Torment is adequately handled by Roberts, making deaths anguished and violent. Editorial rhythms are a bit off, holding on horrified reactions for far too long, but the basics in tension are capably managed, with a few good scares as the Strangers find ways to pop out of the dark, delighting in the creation of fear. It doesn’t reach the true suspenseful level of the original but adequately utilizes its R-rating.
Prey at Night has the benefit of brevity, with the picture clocking in at just over 75 minutes (sans titles and end credits), leaving the viewing experience agreeably lean, essentially made up of the minor character building and murder sequences. Character stupidity is on full display here, but the follow-up keeps frustrations short by not overstaying its welcome. This is no major sequel, and it’s ten years too late, but The Strangers: Prey at Night finds its own groove with recognizable elements, even if they don’t reinvent the wheel or live up to the promise that was established back in 2008.
