Watching the film I had a feelings it was going to be crap..

but from start to finish i thought the film was amazing!

One of the best and scariest horror movies in years.

Horror and comedy together actually make a great movie.

Def Check This one out! 8.5/10

I had been anticipating to see "The Strangers" for over a year before its release. I got the chance to go to a midnight screening, and I can honestly say it is one of the scariest, if not the scariest, movie I have ever seen in the theater. The story centers on troubled couple Kristin McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman), who, after a wedding reception and an upsetting rejection, arrive at James' family country house late in the evening. Both upset and confused, the couple's current worries are thrown out the window when they receive a knock on the door and a strange girl asking for "Tamara". What ensues is a terrifying battle between the couple and three masked strangers invading their home, violently terrorizing them for no apparent reason.

First-time writer/director Bryan Bertino proves himself with an impressive debut here, because I haven't seen such a well-done horror movie in a long, long time. "The Strangers" gets off to an interesting start that hooks the audience with an upsetting subplot between the lead characters, and then drags them along for the remainder of the film on a truly thrilling ride in which the 'strangers' start to toy with the couple in increasingly violent manners as the movie escalates to its climax. And wow, what I ride it is. What I admire so much about this movie is that it uses simple tactics to get under the audience's skin - a knock at the door, a record player spewing some creepy old country songs, writing on the windows, the clinging of wind chimes - oh, and a trio of menacing masked psychopaths lurking around in the dark. The use of shadows, stillness, and especially sound, is effective here, and there are a handful of scenes that take place in this movie that I will probably never forget.

This movie tries to take the "based on a true story"-angle (complete with the "what you are about to see is based on true events" prologue), and while it really appears to just be inspired by unrelated true stories, the events that take place do seem like something that could actually happen in the real world, which makes it unsettling nonetheless. During the first thirty or so minutes, the spooks are subtle and slow (the entire segment in which Tyler's character is at the house alone had me chewing my nails), and as it progresses, the scares become much more in-your-face, "boo!"-type jolts, which are damn effective and well-executed, whilst a feeling of hopelessness grows as the strangers cut off the couple from any possible chance of getting help. I will admit, yes, there are a few clichés here, but just a few - and luckily they don't ever get our protagonists into real trouble, so they are forgivable. The vast majority of the film is like one twisted cat-and-mouse game, in which these strangers initially just play head games with the couple - unfortunately, for them, the strangers' intentions become quite apparently murderous.

The performances in the film were excellent here, which strengthened the already sturdy script and cinematography. Liv Tyler has a very calming sense about her, but she performs well in the intense situations, and gains plenty of sympathy from the audience. Scott Speedman plays her good-hearted boyfriend, and you also feel for him off the bat after his being rejected by the woman he loves. Playing our three masked crazies, we have Kip Weeks as the man in the potato-sack mask, supermodel Gemma Ward sporting a plastic dollface, and Laura Margolis in a pin-up-girl outfit. All three actors here play the strangers perfectly. They aren't invincible superhumans, but rather just everyday people in masks, which makes it seem much more realistic, thus more frightening. They all have an eerie stillness about them, and hardly speak, but they really don't need to. Their body language tells enough as they hide in hallways, swing on swingsets, and lurk around the property, giving no reasoning as to why they are terrorizing their innocent victims. As for the film's conclusion, it's rather bold and tragic, but I like the fact that it did what it did. It kept the core mystery of the film alive, and while some may be disappointed, I thought it was great. Sometimes leaving questions in your mind is more unsettling than giving all the answers.

Overall, "The Strangers" grabs hold of you from the beginning and doesn't let go till the nerve-shattering ending. I honestly can say, as a seasoned horror-buff, I have never been so frightened by a movie in the movie theater, let alone at all. I'd go as far as to say this is quite likely the scariest movie I've ever seen. The suspense is solid, the acting is believable, and it maintains that constant uneasiness of someone watching you from the shadows. So far, the best horror movie of the year for sure, and quite possibly the best horror movie of the decade - I have to applaud all those involved, because they put together an extremely well-made movie. For any horror fans (or general audiences that want to be seriously scared), this is a must-see. I guarantee you will leave the movie theater with an uneasiness that will follow you out to your car, and quite possibly back to your house. 10/10

The new spanish movie El Orfanato (The Orphanage) was just released on DvD on Tuesday. This Drama/Thriller movie was amazing! Luara moves back into her old orphanage with her son-Simon and husband Carlos where the problems start to come. Once there Simon discovers many invisible friends and soon goes missing and luara is now hearing and seeing disturbing images and sounds in the search for her son.This movie has alot of jump scences with a freaky little deformed boy with a sack on his head! and it is not to unrealalistic. The writer I belive also directed Pan's labyrinth and did a fantastic job. The locations of spain and the creepy house are beautifuly filmed, O yea this movie is also in spanish and for some reason just makes the movie alot more creppy..dont ask why lol. This movie is for sure now one of my Top favorite movies for sure.