It was really a matter of time. We are getting a sequel to every successful horror movie ever made these days and that is because we are living in the era of the horror genre. A well made scary movie makes a lot of money and draws a lot of crowds and the production companies took a note of that. Last year IT broke box office records and Get Out won countless awards including an Oscar early this week. Even the ridiculously bad sequel Jigsaw (8 films now in that astonishingly bad franchise) made money. The Strangers: Prey at Night is exactly what you expect from a sequel especially if you have seen the first one. Multiply the violence and the tension by two and take out any of the logic and common sense that was in the first part and you will have an idea what to expect from this one.
Instead of a couple like in the first part The Strangers, the filmmakers decided to raise up the stakes in terms of characters and tension throughout this one so they introduced a family of four. Unfortunately for this lovely family, they decide to stay in a mobile home that is currently occupied by the three masked psychopaths who enjoy killing innocent people in the most violent of ways. If it is blood, violence, tension, and some good scares that you are looking for in this sequel then you will get it aplenty. But the cost is a familiar story line, no originality, and sadly no logic at all.
If we are ok with a familiar storyline, and feeling forgiving towards a horror film with nothing new to offer like this one, what about the smarts? The characters take some of the weirdest and most illogical decisions and that is how the filmmakers infuses the scenes with tension, based on some calls that is hard to imagine a normal person would make.
The Strangers: Prey at Night is short but aware of what it is offering and who it is targeting. It is the same old formula used to maximum effect but offering nothing new. It is either you are a fan or not, and if you are then you won’t be either very impressed or regretful for those 80 minutes subtracted from your life.
Rating: 5.5/10
THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT opens in theaters on Friday, March 9th.