The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Strangers: Prey at Night is the follow up to the 2008 film The Strangers. The premise is pretty much the same except it's at a mobile home park and it's a family of four.

Bryan Bertino did the original and wrote this follow up's screenplay. The dialogue and structure of the film is very 80s horror and throws in a lot of tropes that audiences have come to expect. It's formulaic and predictable if you're an adult. This film is rated R but for some reason, the kills that were used throughout the film were generally muted. Sure there's blood but I left the theater thinking that I saw a PG-13 film.

Johannes Roberts has improved since doing 47 meters down. Don't ask me why that film got a sequel. This man loves his horror films and it shows. There are some camera and editing problems but nothing too major. He used the zoom function of the camera so much in the film. There are parts where I could see intent on how he chose the shot and then others seem random. Randomness is a theme to the film so I suppose there's a connection there.

I wish there was more Christina Hendricks, not just because she was in one of my favorite movies of all time, Drive, but because she can act really well and I felt she was just briefly in the film even though she's credited first.

Daughter of Christina Hendricks was the wonderful Bailee Madison who you'll recognize from the television show Good Witch or The Fosters. I believe, maybe foolishly, but I believe that there was intent on how Kinsey emoted at the beginning of the film. I suppose I should say lack thereof. There is a bigger character arc if at the beginning there are little expressions on an actress's face so that when there's horror there's a drastic change in how the audience sees her. She nails the horror queen, Laurie Strode, scream, and whimpering.

The bigger problems with the acting come from the two males in the film. They were stereotypic with underdeveloped characters and poorly written excuses to separate the family from each other. The choices they make are a roller coaster of fickleness.

I disagree with some of the critics on just how bad of a film most believe it was. It's not that bad. Sure the final scenes are an eye roller and the first ten minutes aren't all that interesting, but I enjoyed the hunt and horror the rest of the film provided. I didn't like it as much as the first but I think Bailee Madison carried the film pretty well.

Result: C (The Ritual is a better choice and you don't have to leave home to watch that horror film.)

Comments

Reminders of Him (2026)

Reminders of Him (2026) is directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Colleen Hoover and Lauren Levine . The film clearly aims for an emotional romantic drama, but it struggles early on trying to manufacture relationship development and sexual tension. Much of the setup feels forced, stretching how people actually behave in relationships and leaning heavily into "fantasy" romance rather than something believable. Maika Monroe , known for It Follows and Longlegs , gives a decent performance with the material she is given. She sells the emotional weight of the character fairly well, but the script often puts her in situations that feel more engineered for melodrama than natural storytelling. Tyriq Withers , recognized from I Know What You Did Last Summer and Him , tries to bring sincerity to the role, but the lack of chemistry between the leads makes the central relationship difficult to buy. He does what he can, though the screenplay never gives the romance enough authe...

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Project Hail Mary (2026) is based on the novel by Andy Weir, who brought you The Martian, and directed by the duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller , known for The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street . They bring a surprising amount of heart and clarity to a story that could have easily become too technical or isolated. The film balances science, humor, and emotion well, never losing focus even when it narrows down to one man against impossible odds. Ryan Gosling , known for Blade Runner 2049 and La La Land , delivers a flawless performance. He carries much of the film alone, forced to express a wide range of emotions without always having another actor to bounce off of. It is a demanding role and he handles it effortlessly, making the isolation feel real without ever losing the audience’s attention. James Ortiz plays the alien, which is not a spoiler given the marketing. His performance brings personality and charm to a character that could have easily felt gimmicky. The in...

Whistle (2026)

Whistle (2026) plays less like a finished horror film and more like a theater kid’s passion project that somehow made it to the screen. The script tries to build emotional investment in the main character but never succeeds, and the horror elements are almost nonexistent. The scares simply are not there, leaving the film feeling hollow for a genre that depends heavily on tension and payoff. The screenplay comes from Owen Egerton , whose work here feels more like a personal self insert than a fully realized character. The protagonist, played by Dafne Keen , comes across almost like a gender swapped version of the writer himself. Keen, known for Logan and His Dark Materials , tries to bring intensity to the role but the material gives her very little to work with. The direction from Corin Hardy , who previously directed The Nun , feels restrained by the script. It is hard not to feel a bit bad for him because there is only so much a director can do when the writing does not provi...

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog