The Strangers (2008)

I had heard that this was so scary that my 19-year-old nephew wanted to leave the theater within the first half hour. Excellent for Halloween, then. Right? Well...

The initial half hour beautifully sets the tone -- the atmosphere of sadness and isolation was perfect. The couple at the center of the story were already on different wavelengths, so throw them a curveball and they're unlikely to work together to handle it. And, boy, do they get one hell of a curveball.

Unfortunately, there were way too many "why are they doing that" moments that I just wound up complaining rather than screaming. What a waste of that good initial vibe.

C