The Strangers: Prey at Night Review

The Strangers: Prey at Night, is the sequel to the 2008 movie The Strangers starring Liv Tyler. This installment follows husband and wife Mike (Martin Henderson) and Cindy (Christina Hendricks) along with their son Luke (Lewis Pullman) and daughter Kinsey (Bailee Madison). The family decides to spend the night at a trailer their uncle and aunt own, upon arriving Mike and Cindy quickly discover that the trailer park is unnaturally quiet. Just as their night is about to begin, the family is visited by three masked psychopaths who push the family to do what no one should have to. Directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) this horror movie is well made and one to enjoy. Prey at Night was co-written by Roberts and Ben Ketai (30 Days of Night)

This installment of The Strangers dropped the scared couple to a more relatable family vacation gone wrong. The whole chemistry worked really well, Mike and Cindy the loving parents who are just trying to do right by their kids. Luke the golden boy who can do no wrong and Kinsey the damaged teen who thinks that she causes nothing but harm to the family. It’s always a struggle to have young stars carry your film, but Prey at Night has it lucky. The Strangers: Prey at Night, was a dark film, sometimes a little too dark in that you couldn’t make out what was going on in some scenes.

The film did a good job sharing the same tense, on edge feeling that the first movie had. For being a horror film, Prey at Night, only had a few jump scares, and not much else to scare you. There is some nice touching moments included in this film, but they are few and far between and don’t fit in where they were placed. Being a slasher film, Prey at Night is a little graphic with some throwback kills with a cleaver and other tools of the trade. If graphic films aren’t your thing, this film is not for you. Some old throwback tunes nicely wrap the entire thing together.

I personally like that the original movie got the sequel it deserved. However, 10 years is a long time to wait for a second movie because it makes it irrelevant and hard to remember what had happened in the previous entry. The killers said the same, but Dollface (Gemma Ward) was the only returning actress. Ward captured Dollface well the first time, so I’m glad she signed on to the sequel.

The Conclusion

The Strangers: Prey at Night is the sequel to the 2008 film The Strangers. This slasher film does an alright job fitting into its roots. The strong family ties make it easier to get into as we follow our victims through their vacation turned nightmare. With some jump scares and the feeling of being on edge the entire time, it not only falls well in the horror genre but maybe even breathes new life into it. Robert’s revamp of the series works out better the first, and would make John Carpenter proud.

The Strangers: Prey at Night Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Elevation Pictures

Rating Overall: 7.1