HorrorOHorror Review of The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

Come for the sequel, stay for the fun

[7/10 · 9 March 2018]

First off, let me start by saying I am a massive fan of The Strangers and I have been keeping an eye on this sequel since 2008. Finally the day has come and it did not disappoint. The film starts with the three killers rolling up in their 1972 Ford F-100 on a sleeping elderly couple, all while "We're The Kids in America" spills out of the truck windows and onto the deserted foggy road. Our leading family made up of Kinsey (Bailee Madison), Luke (Lewis Pullman), and mom & dad (Christina Hendricks & Martin Henderson) find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time when what is supposed to be a quick overnight stay turns into the longest/possibly last night of their lives. Times have changed and the strangers seem to be continuing what they started with new victims (how often is not known), but they are as brutal as ever with their kills remaining uncomfortably personal. (*SPOILER* Dollface grabs mom, Christina Hendricks' face as she stabs her in the side, all while her daughter watches) Bailee Madison gave it her all as troubled teenage daughter, Kinsey. Madison was the true standout of the film. "It'll be easier next time" they said. They were wrong. Madison brings the final girl fight that you root for when wrapped up in this horror universe. "Give me the gun, I will shoot her." Kinsey shouts as her brother Luke hesitates. We see about one and a half stranger's faces, so their mystery is kept intact. There's not much expansion on the mythology of the killers. Pin-Up Girl basically doesn't little to nothing but Dollface does have a few line and Pin-Up Girl has her "but we're just getting started" line which is quite honestly the worst part of the film. Her voice just felt silly, out of place and voiced over. Man in the Mask is persistent as all hell, once again. A showdown with Luke by the pool surrounded by neon yard decorations to 80s power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart" made the film feel like a new classic. The film's score didn't really wow me, but there were definitely a few cool moments in there that give off a creepy tone. I just wish the score was more drawn out, maybe even sampled some from the original 2008 film. While feeling reminiscent of some of John Carpenter's work, Prey At Night manages to stand on it's own two feet. We get another look into this world where three people come together to wreak havoc with reckless abandon, but this time they may have met their match. I keep seeing a lot of "not like the first one" whining etc to which I will say: then go watch the first one, but I will willingly accept Prey At Night as a badass entry to this horror franchise.