The strangers what was the point

Indeed, while critical consensus remains split on The Strangers ' plot, the efficacy of the film's horror elements are unquestioned as a sadistic portrait of a home invasion. While The Strangers' insular premise introduces very few characters outside of Kristen Liv Tyler , James Scott Speedman , and the three strangers, its microcosmic nature allows an almost unparalleled ratcheting of tension as a young couple fights tooth and nail for their lives.

Despite the almost ethereal nature of its masked antagonists, The Strangers is based on several true stories. Several harrowing real-life crimes form the backbone of The Strangers ' core narrative, including several notorious murders. Here's the real-life crimes and true stories that inspired The Strangers. According to novice writer and director Bryan Bertino, The Strangers is primarily based on three alternate real-world events.

The first is the infamous series of murders committed by the Manson Family in , later nicknamed "Helter Skelter," which were organized by Charles Manson in an ill-conceived bid to start a race war the cult leader had predicted. In particular, the home invasion and killing of actress Sharon Tate stands out as a clear marker for The Strangers ' artistic direction, with its gruesome knife violence drawing close parallels to the stabbing at the Tate home.

The second inspiration for The Strangers is the infamous Keddie Cabin Murders, in which four people were killed in a small California resort town, including Sue Sharp, her son John, daughter Tina, and John's friend Dana.

Bryan Bertino wrote and directed The Strangers. He believes the strangers were casing the neighborhood, as several homes were burgled later on. Bertino has also said he was inspired by the murder of Sharon Tate and her friends by the Manson family.

They then brutally murdered everyone on the premises, even though they had never met any of the victims before that night. Manson had previously been to the home when it was being rented by Terry Melcher, a music producer who worked with The Beach Boys. Despite this, no care was taken to actually target Melcher. Though impersonal murders are typically less gruesome, the Tate murders were particularly violent.

Sharon Tate and her guests were gathered in the living room where nooses were put around their necks and then they were murdered one by one. Abigail Folger managed to flee the house but was caught in the yard and stabbed 28 times. For their roles in the Tate murders as well as other murders and crimes committed as part of their time with the Manson Family Tex Watson and Leslie Van Houten remain in prison.

Charles Manson and Susan Atkins died in prison. Patricia Krenwinkel is currently the longed incarcerated woman in California. The two listlessly wander about the house, ignoring the rose petals and trying to come to terms with the new, uncomfortable state of things. But, their bad night is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

There's a knock on the door. A blonde woman, bathed in shadow, asks for Tamara. After an awkward exchange, they send her on her way. James attempts to gather his thoughts and leaves on a night drive. Kristen puts on a record and examines her would-be engagement ring. Then, suddenly, another knock. Well, less of a knock than a banging. Kristen grabs a knife and starts charging her phone.

The landline is dead and she can't shake the feeling that someone is in the house. So begins "The Strangers," which barrels forward with nihilistic ferocity pitting the emotionally strained couple against three masked assailants. James returns to find Kristen a mess, and he soon finds out why. Together they attempt to survive in their own home, defend themselves, and call for help, all to no avail. These are everyday people with no survival skills; responding on impulse in a desperate bid to survive.

At the end of their terrifying night, James is missing and Kristen is badly injured. Her attempts to signal for help from a remote radio were a bust, upon returning to the house the power cuts out. Limping and surrounded by the masked intruders, Kristen attempts to find James only to be knocked out by the towering male in the group.

She awakes tied to a chair next to James, distraught and defeated with one searing question: why? Kristen wakes up to the sound of Pin-Up Girl opening the drapes. Warm sunlight floods the room. It's a beautiful day; early birds chirping and not a cloud in the sky. Kristen grunts against her taught restraints, kicking and whimpering as her three masked assailants stand silently over her and the defeated James.

We tend to expect horrific things to take place under the cover of darkness; to slink, creep, and strike while we're sleepy, vulnerable, and alone. Evolutionary psychologists have theorized that our fear of the dark lingers from the days when human beings weren't at the top of the food chain and nocturnal predators were a real threat. Horror films take advantage of our instinctual fear of the dark; allowing our imaginations to run wild and conjure up worst-case scenarios in the darkest recesses of our minds.

In genre cinema, horrific things tend to lurk in the shadows darkness does a cheap rubber monster good, after all. That said, there's no shortage of horror film baddies that trudge brazenly through the light. The man-eating shark in " Jaws " didn't confine its reign of terror to the shadows and neither do the titular trio of "The Strangers.

They open the curtains before killing Kristen and James, unafraid and unconcerned with the possibility that some prying neighbor might see. The fact that "The Strangers" ends bathed in sunlight is both unexpected and terrifying; further cementing the film's core theme that random acts of violence are exactly that.

Daybreak offers Kristen and James no solace or relief. This isn't the kind of evil that is miraculously banished by the sun. And that's an absolutely terrifying thought: that something as invasive and violent as this could unfold in broad daylight. There are few glimmers of hope in "The Strangers. Mike's a good pal. His friend's marriage proposal fell through and here he is at god knows what hour to pick up the pieces.

Unfortunately, Mike's good intentions lead to his demise. Waltzing into the house oblivious of the situation, he's shot in the face by James' itchy trigger finger. To be fair, when a person blows their best friend's face off, the first reaction isn't typically to steal his cell phone. Even as an audience member, in the flurry of bullets and tears, it's easy to forget that Mike has a phone that could be Kristen and James' chance to hail the police.