Skip to header | Skip to content

• Home
• Web Feeds
• Contact & Links
• FAQ
• Support
• Log in

7 Review »

1. 

   review by boon23:

   the prologue:
   I have watched a lot of horror movies. The original THE STRANGERS comes much in the spirit of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but is, although sick, a lot less disturbing, because less violent and less gruesome. I found the original to be a superficial b-horror movie, starting with an intro that already gave everything away and a finale that made me feel like being in a Rob Zombie movie, with the exception of the awakening scream that was just dumb and stupid (although a neat final scare). Annoying because it was not a ghost movie and not a fantasy movie.
   Now the last movie of this kind that I watched was FUNNY GAMES and that really kind of changed my watching experience. That was a satire that played all the time with the feelings of the audience and it did that masterfully. THE STRANGERS felt most of the time like something you have seen many times before. It is voyeur horror. No monsters, just disturbing sickness. No true horror, but pain and disgust.

   the edit:
   ThrowgnCpr took out what had to be taken out to really improve on this obvious and superficial movie. Liv Tyler gives a kickass performance and with the edits done she is moved in the complete focus. the movie starts emotional to give the audience a chance to connect to the characters, although they are not really likable, but that gives it a more realistic feel than the average happy couple being slaughtered.
   Taking out the intro speech was a great idea. The movie built up tension for me until about minute 50, when I got the feeling that it all repeated itself over and over. Hunted, hidden, found, played with, scared. It is pretty obvious very soon that the couple does not stand a chance against the attackers and will not get out of this alive and that premises kind of ruins the thrill for the finale, which is just the end result of what you already knew would happen.
   I found a bit strange that the attackers had so much fun in scaring Liv's character, when nobody was seen around watching it. That kind of let me miss the motive, which I would have needed to better understand what was happening and why. The solution: "BECAUSE YOU WERE HOME" is pretty much frustrating and disturbing. Should I now no longer answer the door? Never trust anyone again? Deny help? Is the world just a sick place and every day without harm a lucky one? Well, not in my life and I will try to avoid seeing it that way as long as I can. Without a psycho monster reality is present and makes you feel bad about the world in chaos.
   Not showing the death of the main characters in the end is two sided sword. The original ending was way not perfect, but it included the reunion of the couple (besides being stabbed at the same time). Now we don't get that, but only hear what happens. the violence of the scenes is not needed and I can live with the new ending, but it is also taking something away. The last ten minutes of the original are completely gone and it is good that way. The boys do not add to the story at all and only make the movie more superficial than it already was, when they meet the killers. Well done.
   Overall I see this movie very improved, still not a great one and not one to much remember for me.
   The editing was flawless. No plotholes, no hard cuts. great beginning credits
   editing: 5 of 5
   entertainment: 3 of 5

   video quality: I watched this on my computer and there was a slight flickering of the image during camera drives, also there was a very slight blurring effect in movements.
   4 of 5

   audio quality: perfect. great 5.1 audio.
   5 of 5

   presentation: the DVD comes with a very nice still main menu, animated chapter menus (very nice with the transparent effect) and a good looking info menu. All menus are with audio. Cover and disc art are included and look fantastic.
   5 of 5

   resulting in a 4 of 5 overall rating for this fanedit. You won't be disappointed by watching it. A good one.

   Review by boon23 — November 4, 2008 @ 3:29 am

2. 

   “Because You Were Home” A FanEdit by ThrowgnCpr.

   Contains Heavy Spoilers!!!!!!

   A couple in hysterical terror for over an hour is hard to take especially if there is not much sympathy with or for them.

   This could almost be a list of horror cliches in its own right. Girl uses kitchen knife, Girl runs, trips and falls. Wheezing evildoers that are masked. Not doing the logical and searching out every dark corner or strange noise. I could go on about tool sheds, old radios and record players but I won’t.

   I wonder why most horror films always seem to need the confined dark location as a prerequisite, coupled with extreme lapses in normal thought process.

   I think logic however twisted is the cause for most murder and torture, so the premise in this scenario ‘because you were home’ feels a little unconvincing. More so, that three equally minded psychos working in perfect unison could have found each other to perpetrate such crimes.

   Also the final reveal is made to the victims but not the audience. This left me feeling short changed.

   I am glad that the brutality and gratuitous violence of the end was handled in this new and very clever way, leaving the graphic images to your imagination, while showing idiclic shots in opposition to horrific audio. This for me was the most successful part of this FanEdit.

   The DVD is very well presented and easy to navigate. The quality of image seemed good maybe a little dark at times. The audio was perfect. The editing is seamless.

   Editing 5, Audio 5, Entertainment 2, DVD presentation 5. So a solid 4/5

   Review by Rock Savage — December 2, 2008 @ 12:48 am

3. 

   Review by Logan-5:

   “Here is one example where the editing significantly and qualitatively improved the ending, not just changed it. The edits themselves are technically perfect, and if you had not seen the original Strangers, you would not detect ANY of the edit points. My only suggestion is to restore JUST the “based on real events” text, because this contributes to the psychological atmosphere and makes the ending all that more shocking. In fact you could reveal the information at the END of the movie, for even more emotional impact! All other editing decisions are well justified, I think. Great work!”

   Review by ThrowgnCpr — January 2, 2009 @ 6:03 pm

4. 

   Review by Anti-Matter:

   “I basically agree with the previous comments (Logan-5). Although this edit probably didn’t present much technical challenge to ThrowgnCpr, I have to give the work 10 stars (out of 10) because (1) every edit was transparent to me, and (2) there is clever execution of the ending. The result is that this version is better than the original. If you have not seen The Strangers, it would be prudent to first watch “Because You Were Home” (contra the author’s warning notice).”

   Review by ThrowgnCpr — January 7, 2009 @ 3:13 pm

5. 

   ok so i’m going to mostly agree with boon and actually disagree with mollo (but, funny enough… both gave this 4/5 )

   this is a great edit. the excised choices really boost the psychological horror here. VERY uncomfortable. i enjoyed the heavily cut introduction and conclusion and the way that the *climax* is handled leaves your imagination to fill in the gaps – which is quite disturbing.

   some nitpicking… i think that removing the boys entirely would work better and jump straight to our unlucky couple at the beginning. also, as boon said, the “psychos playing with their prey” got a wee bit old and this could have been shortened for greater impact. also, the “This is a REAL story” revelation could add an even bigger mindf*ck at the end.

   regardless, this was thoroughly “enjoyable” (that seems wrong) and felt like a much improved edit.

   entertainment 9
   fanediting 9
   video 9
   audio 10
   original 7
   fanedit 8

   8/10

   Review by joebshmoe — March 2, 2009 @ 2:12 pm

6. 

   Nice little horror movie and your changes make it more subtle. Thanks.

   Review by stubbs20 — June 21, 2009 @ 9:23 am

7. 

   Just saw this with 2 friends the other night. None of us have seen the original yet, but I already know that I prefer your edit.

   Personally, scary movies are very effective on me. It apparently is not that hard to scare me. But I don’t enjoy a lot of gore, so I avoid a lot of the movies out there. Your edit gave me a pretty good piece of psychological suspense, and felt like a real movie (i.e. no noticeable edits).

   Review by CasmirRadon — August 30, 2009 @ 11:58 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Post a REVIEW:

You must be logged in to post a comment.