Released on March 9, “The Strangers: Prey at Night” hit theaters 10 years after the original film, “The Strangers, ” which in all honesty is tremendously better.
“The Strangers: Prey at Night” was still scary, don’t get me wrong, but it was also predictable and lacked a complex plot.
Where “The Strangers” originally followed a couple's fight to survive in a secluded cabin in the woods, “The Strangers: Prey at Night” takes place at a trailer park and features a family of four.
The family’s vacation turns into something horrendous when three masked murderers arrive, and the family members are forced to fight for their lives.
Directed by Johannes Roberts and featuring no well-known cast members, the word that I think best describes the film is “okay.”
Like the original film, the newer version is pretty realistic in that it was not at all paranormal. We have all been scared, at some point or another, of someone trying to break into our home. This might have been a feeling that occurred in childhood, but “The Strangers: Prey at Night” still pulls off this fear.
Many movies do this better, though, such as “The Call” (2013) and “Hush” (2016), which all follow more realistic and well-thought-out home invasions, along with the first “The Strangers.”
The film simply lacks depth.
The family is not very well developed, there isn’t much background to the story, the killers don’t have much of a plan, their weapons are nothing fancy and we don’t know why they want to kill the family.
This movie would probably be a good one to play at a tween/teen birthday party.
If you are easily scared of horror movies, or you have never seen one before, this movie might scare you. Keyword: might.
If you like and have seen many horror films, the most you will get from this is a few jump scares. Other than that, the film is really just your average “scary” movie that will probably make its way to Netflix in the future.
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It was also hard for me to stay interested while watching it. The film is not too exciting, although it tries to be, and throughout it, I was just waiting for it to get scary, but the time never came.
I would recommend watching “The Strangers: Prey at Night” on Netflix — if it makes its way there.
I would suggest not spending money on a movie ticket, because I truly think it wasn’t that impressive, and if you are looking for a good scare and an engaging film, this one isn’t for you.
Timber Mabes is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @timbermabes.
