The Strangers: Prey at Night

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The Strangers: Prey at Night centers on a family running afoul of the titular strangers while in trailer park for a sort of weekend getaway. Parents Mike and Cindy (played by Martin Henderson and Christina Hendricks respectively) have grown tired of their daughter Kinsey's (played by Bailee Madison) troubled behavior. As a result they are sending her off to boarding school. Their son Luke (played by Lewis Pullman) is pretty much just along for the ride, despite being old enough to take care of himself. Before Kinsey is sent away, the family is visiting her and Luke's aunt and uncle, who live year-round in a trailer park. Naturally, it doesn't take long before things start to really go wrong. If you're someone who's wondering whether or not you need to see the first Strangers movie before seeing this one, you don't. Full disclosure, I've actually never seen the first movie. The story that Prey at Night offers is actually self-contained and really easy to follow. I'm also going to warn you right now that there might be spoilers in this review. The reason is because there are things I like in this movie that might make getting around the spoilers difficult. I 'm going to do my best to avoid them, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. The first half of this movie really builds up this family as characters, so that you can relate to them and sympathize with them when the shit hits the fan. There is a potential drawback because that first half is pretty slowly paced, but it was really effective for me. It also helps that the performances are legitimately really good. Bailee Madison really stood out to me as the daughter. She essentially has to carry the movie, and she really steps up to the plate. The strangers themselves are really effective villains. Their masks are creepy. What really makes them work is that they don't really have motivations for their actions. One of them is asked and her answer is simply: "why not?" This is all we really learn about them, and I think that makes them scarier. It's especially freaky because they really put this family through the ringer. Even the soundtrack gives off a sense of unease. A lot of the songs played during the movie are upbeat pop ballads like Kids in America, Makin' Love Out of Nothing At All, and Total Eclipse of the Heart. These are all either buildup or the backdrop to some of the heinous acts committed by the strangers, and I was surprised at how effective I found it. I've had plenty of movies that I've liked despite the reviews not being the best. This is a movie I loved. I had some minor issues with the pacing in the beginning, but I genuinely loved everything else.

9 / 10