Speaking of horror movie logic, Bryan Bertino’s “The Strangers” is practically a case study. While it remains a horror classic, even receivng the reboot treatment, it’s worth remembering that after a stellar first half, the latter end devolves into cliché. Structurally, “The Strangers” was disadvantaged from the start. Pursuant to the adage of what’s unseen being scarier, the trio of masked strangers, often hidden at first, make more regular appearances, undermining the efficacy of Bertino’s scares. It’s still terrifying, but just a little more familiar.
Luckily, Bertino course-corrects, ending “The Strangers” with one of the most disturbing lines in horror cinema. When asked why they were being targeted, Dollface (Gemma Ward) replies, “Because you were home.” Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are stabbed to death, ending the nightmarish ordeal they and the audience were subjected to. It’s a brutal, unconventional way to end a mainstream horror movie, though a beat later, it’s incredulously undone. As a young boy arrives at the house, Liv Tyler awakens and screams, ending the movie with Hollywood’s infamous final scare. It’s cheap, hoary, and, as noted, painfully cliché, pretty much the opposite of everything “The Strangers” had been trying to do up until that point.