The Strangers: Prey at Night Review: A Future Cult Classic
By Matt Conway
The Strangers: Prey at Night is a slight improvement over its predecessor, offering a bevy of stylish scares to horror fans.
The Strangers is one of the most beloved horror films of the 21st century, with the film gaining a cult audience after its initial theater run. Known for its shockingly gruesome depiction of a home invasion, the film has left a haunting impression on audiences that still remains today.
After a nearly ten-year wait, fans of the original can now look forward to the sequel The Strangers: Prey at Night. The film follows a family staying in their families’ trailer park. Once they realize that their family has been murdered, they must fight to survive against a trio of mysterious strangers.
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Differentiating itself from its predecessor with an 80’s-synth aesthetic, some may be split on whether this sequel does the series justice. Surprisingly, I actually prefer this to the original, with Prey at Night offering a deliciously sinister slasher flick that will resonant with hardcore horror fans.
With director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) taking the helm from Bryan Bertino (who co-wrote the sequel), Strangers: Prey at Night comes to audiences in a package they might not expect. While the original built a quiet atmosphere leading to a big climax, this sequel embellishes into John Carpenter-esque stylistic flourishes that harken back to slasher films of the 80’s.
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Thanks to Roberts’ skill as a director, this style choice feels fresh when it easily could have been redundant (Stranger Things anybody?). The film is at its best when Roberts is playing up most to his 80s inspirations, with gorgeously colored visuals matching up perfectly with a stinging synth score that lingers during tense moments. His skills shine most in the film’s climax, which is some of the most fun I’ve had in a horror film in some time. It’s a great mixture of tense scares and campy fun that holds together due to Roberts’ grasp of tone.
Unlike a lot of modern horror films, Prey at Night doesn’t hold any punches back when it comes to scares. This is a slasher film that delivers buckets of bloodshed and creatively impactful kills, a fact that will surely make it a favorite among horror aficionados. I love the creative ways Bertino and co-writer Ben Keitai use this interesting environment and craft some truly memorable kills.
This certainly isn’t a great film, however, as it sometimes suffers from its unevenness. It takes Roberts quite a bit of time to find his voice behind the camera, with the first third of the movie being the type of played out drama we’ve seen done to death in previous horror films. These mundane moments are made worse by some pedestrian dialogue and a mixed-bag of performances. Young Bailee Madison is a clear standout, but her older counterparts mostly fail to convey natural performances.
Next: 5 reasons The Strangers: Prey at Night is a success
The Strangers: Prey at Night might not please all fans of original, but its an excitingly bold new face for the franchise. This film has cult potential written all over it, with its loving homage to 80’s slasher films being beloved by a horror fan like myself.