Synopsis: Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous woman arrives at the door while James is out on an errand. When he returns, he accidentally kills his friend Mike (Glenn Howerton), mistaking him for an intruder. And then real danger does show up -- in the form of three masked torturers, leaving Kristen and James struggling for survival.
What I liked early in the film, and throughout was the use of showing and not telling by Bryan Bertino. We do get the flashback showing Kristen looking apprehensive when James proposes to her. Her rejecting his marriage proposal is something we have to gather from their moods when they go back to the house. This minimalism also makes its way into the villains. We never really know much about them either. There is not much info about these people before the movie starts allowing your mind to fill in the blanks. The tension between the couple is great early on because it sets up how much closer they get when they go through adversity. James drinking wine and looking dejected early on felt natural. Kristen feeling bad and wishing she could encourage her boyfriend also felt natural.
I do like how much time goes by between each incarnation of the home invasion. Pin-Up Girl knocks on the door around 4 A.M. Before more stuff happens James goes out to buy cigarettes. A lot of movies have made characters make stupid decisions and used cliches to make things worse for the characters in movies like this. One thing I liked about this movie is how that didn't happen much. There is one moment that feels cliche but for the most part the writing never made the character decisions feel dumb. I give Bryan Bertino credit for that. There is no moment where Kristen has no battery on her phone, or no reception. The film establishes they have been at a wedding reception all night, so it is no wonder why her phone is dead. James at one point leaves his phone in his car. That is something anybody could do at any time when they think everything is okay. Both of these characters show some fight. They try to get away from the house at one point, which they should do, and that is foiled.
Before I move into my spoiler section I wanted to talk about some of the suspense and camerawork. I always love it in movies when you see a character in the background of a scene rather than just jump scares. Movies like X, INSIDE, HALLOWEEN, have all done this well. There are moments where Bryan Bertino will switch to different camera angles, more close ups, and then cut back the previous shot and that thing or person will be gone. That to me has always been more impactful than jump scares because I always remember those moments more. The invaders moved objects around that were in a different spot. That is also memorable and just heightens the tension. For some reason sound design and editing also sounds better in these twenty-first century films. The sounds of the gunshots, knife stabbings, bangs against the doors and windows just sounds better in this film. Great use of music in the background in multiple scenes. Also, I mentioned how this has some of those great shots of characters in the background. This also has a great moment with a character hiding in a closet, one of the best in any horror movie. The natural yellow lighting of the house also heightens the real feel. It also reminds me of BLACK CHRISTMAS in that respect. Movies that have that kind of lighting just heighten the atmosphere to me.
SPOILER SECTION
It is hard to know when to start and end the spoilers with this film. This film has a simplicity that makes it scarier. You never see the killer's faces. There is no true motivation. They say the only reason they are doing what they are doing is because James and Kristen were home. Again death comes for us all. How many people around this time were killed in terror attacks across the globe just because they were in the wrong place and wrong time? It could happen to any of us. The movie does some other great things in the writing. Moving objects around that Kristen had previously set down, like the smoke alarm. I was thinking at one point, things like this are why the second amendment is so important in the United States. Yet when James gets ahold of a gun he doesn't really know how to load it. You could say that is stupid, but he does in fact find out how to use it. I've had a hard time loading gins and chambering rounds correctly. Its not as easy as it seems in video games or while watching movies. That actually felt real.
For all the things I loved in the writing, I had a small issue with Mike's fate. INSIDE had come out two years before this. I don't know if Bryan Bertino saw that film, but what happens to Mike definitely parallels a similar moment in that film. It did feel a little cliche for that to happen here. I did like Mike showing up in the first place though. That was a nice unexpected development. The scene where Kristen and James split up did feel a little stupid, but at the same time James probably had a bit more confidence because he had a gun. I would have felt the same way. The killers themselves had awesome masks. I'm glad that they came back in the sequel. I was thinking at times about how the killers were doing what they were doing. Where were they at certain times. Movies that make me think that are usually movies I like.
As for the ending, I had actually thought both James and Kristen were going to die. Her living at the end surprised me. What makes their ordeal more heartbreaking is her wearing the ring and saying I love you before James is killed. You get the feeling had they made it out of this, they would have married. Just as I thought about their relationship before the movie started, I wonder where she goes from here. Also where do these killers go from there? What do they do for a job? How many times have they done this? While a movie making me ask these questions could be a bad thing, in this it's not because I don't want the answers. I would rather let my imagination keep going through scenarios. While this movie is not my favorite in terms of what I prefer to see in horror movies it is a great, suspenseful home invasion thriller.
Rating: 8/10
Trivia: Bryan Bertino said the film is based on something that happened to him as a child. Someone knocked on a door asking if someone was there. Later they found out that the homes in the neighborhood had been broken into.
Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmNdhL9_nPM&list=PLDqc8t6GlTaY4LxWlFz-WiQ_P0rSP88jg
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbqELQHpmQM
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