The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Strangers: Prey at Night

Starring Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman

Directed by Johannes Roberts

The Story:
Troubled teen Kinsey (Bailee Madison) is about to be sent to boarding school for her reckless behavior, but before that happens the family decides to spend one last vacation together at their aunt and uncle's trailer park.  Mother Cindy (Christina Hendricks) feuds the most with Kinsey, but also has the most in common with her, while her husband Mike (Martin Henderson) is pretty much oblivious to everything, and their son Luke (Lewis Pullman) is the golden child, who also wishes for his sister to return to her senses.

When they arrive at the park, they find it completely deserted, but it's common because people often leave during the off-season.  However, things turn sinister quickly when they discover they're not truly alone - they're being stalked by three people -  Dollface (Emma Bellomy), Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin), and Man in the Mask (Damian Maffei) - who wear masks to hide their identity.  The family must unite and fight back if they wish to survive the night.

The Synopsis:
Ten years ago, the sleeper hit "The Strangers" unnerved audiences across the country due to its true story basis and the concept as a whole - this wasn't a horror film featuring some unkillable killer, out-of-this-world aliens, or zombies, but rather three psychopaths who torment a couple simply because they were home.  It's a terror that many people experience in life, and many others fear will happen to them, and it's not something that one can truly prepare for: how can you think that three total strangers would one day invade your home and torture you just for kicks?

So when the sequel was finally made, there was a sense of excitement as once again we'll be dealing with the three psychopaths as they once again stalk, torture, and kill an unsuspecting family.  However, while the first film seemed fresh and new, this one seemed stale and cliche.  It pretty much held to every horror sequel trope in the book - a bigger setting, more characters, more kills, more gore - but there was still the hint of the unknown, as what the characters had this time around going for them was a sense of survival where you actually think one or more of them will make it out unscathed, at least physically.

Director Johannes Roberts doesn't have a good track record for me personally (his last work was last year's abysmal "47 Meters Down," and his next project is its sequel, "48 Meters Down"), and here he doesn't do himself any more favors as he reaches in the horror sequel grab-bag and pulls out all the typical stops along the way.

First there's the bigger setting.  The first film saw the hapless couple trapped inside their home, with very few events occurring outside it.  Here, it's an abandoned mobile home park, with several trailers that can be used to hide in, as well as roads and an office building with a huge pool in the back.  To that end, the terror doesn't become as personal as it did in the first film, because very few people have ever had the moment where they stay at a mobile home park all by themselves, whereas a home invasion can happen to anyone, at anytime.

Second there's more characters.  The first film centered on five people - two victims, three killers - while here there's seven main characters - four victims, three killers - who are still more well-rounded, but still only seem to exist for a bigger body count.  Oddly enough, the family here seems to be the most dysfunctional, disjointed family I've ever seen on screen.  The mother is maternal sometimes, but also seems detached from her family as well.  The father is aloof most of the time, and doesn't seem to notice his own hand in front of his face.  The son is a valued family member who's the light in his parents' eyes, but also has a semi-rough side that's somewhat there but also somewhat not.  The daughter is the most developed, and newcomer Bailee Madison gives the best performance here as a young girl who's troubled by the sins of her past, and also has enough gusto and street smarts to possibly make it out alive.

Third, there's the kill count.  Whereas the first film had only a few deaths, this one amps it up from the very start.  I won't give away the total so as to not spoil it, but needless to say it's more than the first.  This is also due in part to a more subdued script, where suspense and dread is not as built up as the first film, and instead the killers get to work almost from the get-go.

Finally there's the gore.  This is the highlight of the film, as there's plenty of gore to go around.  Again, not to spoil the film, but the movie earns its R-rating here, and doesn't flinch when it comes to the blood.

So there's all the basics for a generic horror sequel, with the added bonus of thinking that some of the victims could possibly survive.  There's several scenes of intense action (including a poolside fight that's equally unsettling and violent), as well as deeply spooky moments of the killers watching from the peripheral, eyeing their prey like a wild cat on the hunt for a mouse.  That's what made the first film so effective, so thankfully they kept that concept here, which elevated the film slightly from your typical horror sequel flare.

Plus, it's interesting to think about how times have changed.  Back ten, twenty, thirty years ago or more, when there was a knock at the door, people never thought twice about it, and welcomed whoever was knocking with open arms.  Now, when we hear an unscheduled knock at the door, we panic and wonder what terror could be waiting on the other side.  In an age where everyone has a cell phone and we always communicate when we're coming over, to receive a surprise knock can be the most terrifying thing you can think of, and once again "The Strangers" play on this simple fear with excellent precision.

The Summary:
While the first film preyed on our fears of home invaders, "Prey at Night" takes away that fear but adds in more death and gore, which is a fair trade but also diminishes the overall sense of fear.

The Score: C+