New Release Birb- The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Strangers: Prey at Night
Starring: Bailee Madison and Christina Hendricks
Directed by Johannes Roberts
US Release Date: March 9th, 2018
My First Viewing: March 8th, 2018
image credit: imdb.com

Ten years after the release of The Strangers (starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman), The Man in the Mask, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl are back in The Strangers: Prey at Night.

In an unknown timeframe after the events of the first Strangers, we see at the beginning of the film picking off an older couple. While making a trip to drop their daughter off at boarding school, Cindy (Christina Hendricks), Mike (Martin Henderson), and their kids Kinsey (Bailee Madison) and Luke (Lewis Pullman) stop by a family members trailer park, where they are soon terrorized by the three masked murderers. The reason the trio is going after them, much like in the first film, was because they were there. There are some fun callbacks to the first film, and some of the scares were earned, but the film falls apart in the initial premise and a mind-boggling ending.

While both films do have to rely on jump scares to build tension, the original Strangers was more toned down then Prey at Night. As subtle as getting hit over the head with an axehandle, the film has to rely on jump scares and ramped up violence to garner any form of reaction. The story and acting were all fine, but Prey at Night, unfortunately, fell short of any expectations I may have had, which begs the question why a sequel had to be made in the first place. I really enjoyed The Strangers, but Prey at Night by comparison just seemed adequate at best.

The Strangers: Prey at Night is rated R for horror violence and terror and for language. What are your thoughts on the film? Follow me at twitter.com/moviebirb or facebook.com/moviebirb and leave me your comments on the film.

-birb

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