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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 29, 2008

THE STRANGERS

The opening scenes of first-time writer/director Bryan Bertino's "The Strangers" will test the patience of any audience expecting a nonstop roller-coaster ride of terror and suspense. We are introduced to the couple who will inhabit nearly every frame of the film, and from the moment we meet them, they're not exactly pleasant company.

James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) drives girlfriend Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) to his family's vacation home, but it's clear that this is no holiday. James is glum and belligerent; Kristen looks puffy and sad. It slowly emerges that James had proposed earlier in the evening and that Kristen had rejected him.

Nothing much happens for a while after they arrive at the somewhat remote ranch house. (It's not out in the middle of the woods, but it's not in the center of town, either.) There's some moping about and stilted conversation and downbeat songs on the stereo, and there's a whole lot of people shifting in their seats in the movie theater, itching for some release. At 4 in the morning there's a knock at the door, and Bertino has you right where he wants you.

For the next 30 minutes or so, "The Strangers" is the scariest movie in years. It begins with a girl on the doorstep, her face in shadows, asking if Tamara is home. Informed that she has the wrong house, she leaves. James heads out to the store to get a pack of smokes. Kristen is alone. There's another knock at the door, and then the voice asking a second time: "Is Tamara home?"

The deliberately paced quietude of the movie up until this point is what serves to make what follows so effective; our senses are sharpened, every nerve raised. Bertino creates unbearable suspense and genuine dread from a few raw materials: sudden loud noises, lingering tracking shots, a hulking, shadowy figure in a burlap mask.

It wouldn't be sporting to reveal too much of what happens next. Suffice it to say that James returns to the house, a friend unexpectedly arrives early, and all means of communication and escape are effectively cut off by the three Strangers - The Man in the Mask (Kip Weeks), Dollface (Gemma Ward) and Pin-Up Girl (Laura Margolis).

The tension begins to dissipate once Bertino's effects become repetitive.

"The Strangers" is a must-see for horror fans, but the fewer questions you ask, the more effective it will be.

R (violence, terror, strong profanity); 90 minutes

Scott Von Doviak,

McClatchy Newspapers

SON OF RAMBOW ***

Like "Be Kind Rewind" from earlier this year, the small comedy "Son of Rambow" has a love of movies and is bursting with unbridled imagination.

But unlike Michel Gondry's film, which got too gooey toward the end, "Son of Rambow" maintains just the right tone throughout with its guileless, makeshift charm.

Writer-director Garth Jennings ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") based the story on his own preadolescent adventures. His affection for this time in his own life, and a period in pop culture that influenced him, is evident without seeming self-indulgent.

He follows two 11-year-old boys who become unlikely friends in early 1980s England: the quiet, sheltered Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and brash bully Lee Carter (Will Poulter).

Lee is sent out to the school hallway one day for misbehaving. Will, who's been raised in the conservative Brethren religion, is sent out at the same time because the teacher was showing a documentary on television - something his religion will not allow him to watch. But Lee is able to coerce Will into performing stunts for his movie, a take-off on "First Blood" titled, appropriately, "Son of Rambow." Will is overwhelmed by the idea of seeing a movie, much less making one, and gladly finds ways to sneak out of prayer meetings to frolic with Lee in the woods.

Becoming a tiny John Rambo forces him out of his shell and emboldens him, and his transformation is a joy to watch. Will had already shown the seeds of creativity through the elaborate flip books he designs in his bedroom at night, but making "Son of Rambow" allows him to flourish. Granted, his moviemaking activities initially consist of being flung about on catapults and flying into a lake, even though he can't swim.

Still, he's having the time of his young life. So is Lee, and it's infectious.

PG-13 (violence, reckless behavior); 96 minutes

Christy Lemire,

The Associated Press

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