The Strangers: Prey at Night is the frustrating, bland sequel hitting theaters today, almost a decade after the original. Directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down), the film penned by original director Bryan Bertino and Ben Ketai (The Forest) switches gears from home invasion to slasher and is riddled with plot holes and questionable character choices that will push the viewer’s suspension of disbelief as well as tax their patience. Stepping into this entry as a big fan of the original, I can say if that’s what you’re expecting more of, you will sadly be disappointed with this latest offering.
Prey at Night follows a family on their way to drop their off their troubled daughter Kinsey (Bailee Madison) at boarding school. The daughter is your typical one dimensional goth/bad girl stereotype, as evidenced by her gothed out bedroom, chain smoking, Ramones t-shirt, and black nail polish. We never find out exactly what she did to push the family to this point; all we do know is she’s completely alienated her mother and father, yet still speaks with her older brother, all of whom are on this family outing to see her off. While stopping overnight at a trailer park the family encounters The Strangers, who, after laying a trap for them, hunt them down one by one throughout the night with their playground going from the confines of a house to an entire trailer park.
Watching this film I couldn’t help but wonder if the filmmakers had revisited the original recently or even knew what made it so effective. The first film was so unsettling not just because of the home invasion aspect, but the randomness of the attack, how it could have happened to anyone. That line when asked why they attacked the couple in the original, “because you were home,” still makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. In this film the attack is premeditated; after The Strangers kill Kinsey’s aunt and uncle who own the park, they stick around to kill the visiting family, whom they just so happened to know were stopping by. I tend give horror films a lot of slack being a fan, but there are a lot of moments like that in Prey at Night which just don’t seem to add up.
The moment that pulled me out of the film was the fact that two “teenagers” going for a walk at night in an unfamiliar place BOTH left their cellphones behind, so they could conveniently be written out of the scenario. Also, The Strangers once unmasked appeared to not have aged at all since the last film (they have all been recast) and now have the ability to teleport. Jason and Michael Myers have nothing on The Strangers’ ability to appear out of thin air or behind characters, even after the camera has established there is nothing behind them. It makes for a frustrating watch that will test even the most seasoned horror fan as we watch The Strangers ultimately bested by the teens in moments that felt both cheap and lazy no matter how you spin it. It doesn’t help that both Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman turn in cringeworthy performances that feel more ridiculous than sympathetic.
The original film was a shot of pure nihilism that was highlighted by the very humanistic performances turned in by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. It was a rough and bleak film to watch that stuck with you long after the credits rollled. Prey at Night instead is a clumsy slasher that only gives us a glimpse of a new batch of characters who aren’t close to fleshed out before our antagonists show up to try to take them out. It almost feels like the film Johannes Roberts made was a spec script with The Strangers placed in there as an after thought, and Bryan Bertino’s credit is due to an unused draft.
Instead of checking out The Strangers: Prey at Night, check out Scream Factory’s amazing special edition of the original that surpasses this excuse for a film in almost every way shape and form.