As previously announced here, each day I will be posting a film to get you in the Halloween spirit. Each film is picked strategically based on what will excite you closer and closer to the big day.
DAY 26: The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018) | Rotten Tomatoes Score: 39%
I will start off with the bad news: this movie is a filler on this list. I really only added it because I had just watched it a few days prior to finalizing the list for this years celebration. That being said, I still feel it fits into the list pretty cohesively with the idea of camp and horror’s influences continuing.
The Strangers: Prey at Night comes 9 years after rumours swirled of a sequel to the successfully scary The Strangers (2009). A family finds themselves the targets of three maniacs heinous crimes when they find comfort in a vacant trailer park.
Backed by solid performances from all the stars (including the talented but *SPOILER* short lived performance by Christina Hendricks) and some good scares, Prey at Night is a much different turn on the masked killers than the first film. I covered The Strangers last year and it is notorious for its slow burn scares and atmosphere, whereas this film is highlighted by its slasher tendencies and 80s soundtrack. It also features one of my favourite sequences in a horror film towards the end in a neon-soaked swimming pool.
I mainly revisited this film because my first experience with it was absolutely dreadful as I had one of the worst cinema audiences ever. People didn’t shut up, phones were out, and a family walked in at the middle of a tense scene then made a big deal when they realized they were in the wrong movie. I never realized how much a shitty theatre-going experience can effect your overall opinion on a film as a whole.
All-in-all, Prey at Night is a popcorn slasher film that can definitely add some atmosphere to your Halloween and offer some last minute costume ideas if you have a burlap sack and brown suit hanging around, like all normal people do…
Check out 2018’s Day 26 entry here for more Halloween fun! You can stream The Strangers: Prey at Night on Netflix.
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