A family of four staying at a secluded mobile home park for the night are stalked and then hunted by three masked psychopaths.
Review
I'm conflicted. The Strangers: Prey at Night is one of the rare instances of a film that I don't know how to feel about. Prey begins with the introduction of a family of four - led by Christina Hendricks (The Neon Demon) and Martin Henderson (Everest) - as they road trip to stay at a mobile home park - which for all intents is empty. Once they arrive, the film becomes home invasion, but on a weirdly large scale, with everyone running around in an empty gated community.Written by Bryan Bertino (The Monster) and Ben Ketai (The Forest) and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) there is some serious talent behind the camera. The story flows well, and Roberts direction ranges from good to excellent. The talent in front of the camera is spot on too, as are the scares, effects, and pretty much everything else.
My conflict comes with the much harder to define feel of the film. It doesn't feel - particularly in the first act - like there is any connection to the original 2008 The Strangers, either thematically, or emotionally. This, assumedly, comes from the change in director, but I personally found it to be bewilderingly off-putting. And I can't quantify that statement either. This said, I did really enjoy the film, and no one should avoid watching this because of this reviewers bizarre foibles.
Extremely entertaining.
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