Not for the faint-hearted
In a key scene in this horror film, the young protagonist asks a sadistic stranger why she and her fellow psychopaths are tormenting her family, and the stranger answers, “Why not?” In the mind of evil individuals, violence must be unleashed for violence sake or no reason at all. But whether this is so in the case of the twisted trio that terrorises the hapless family in the film under review is a matter of conjecture, since the unholy trinity mask their faces.
The Strangers: Prey at Night is a sequel to 2008’s hit The Strangers and revolves around a small family consisting of a couple, Cindy and Mike (Christina Hendricks and Martin Henderson) their older son Luke (Lewis Pullman) and younger daughter, Kinsey (Bailee Madison). The parents decide to spend some quality time with a relative at a lakeside mobile home park before dropping off Kinsey at a boarding school where they hope the girl will mend her rebellious ways. Kinsey of
FILM: The Strangers: Prey At Night
CAST: Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman, Emma Bellomy, Damian Maffei, Lea Enslin DIRECTOR: Johannes Roberts
RATING:
course thinks her parents don’t love her and only want to get her out of the way, so they can be the trio they “always wanted to be.”
Soon enough, the family begins to hear strange noises and see armed and masked persons outside. Then all hell breaks loose, aided and abetted by the film’s competent director, cinematographer and (eighties) music. Hendricks, the sex bomb from Mad Men is convincing as the mom of two teenaged kids. That goes for Henderson too as Dad.
Madison and Pullman stand out as exasperating teenagers. The girl stupidly wanders off in the dark, desolate park. Her brother (and father) stupidly leave their cell phones behind. It’s not easy to predict who’ll survive the carnage. Be warned: This film is gory and insanely horrific.