The Strangers (2008) (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Bryan Bertino

Cast: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler

Release Date: September 10, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and a haunting voice, Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler, The Leftovers) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman, Underworld) find that their remote getaway becomes a night of psychological terror as three masked strangers invade. Faced with inscrutable tormentors, Kristen and James must go beyond what they think they’re able to endure if they have any hope to survive.

The original 2008 film that started it all; ‘The Strangers’ tells the terrifying tale of a young couple that arrive at a secluded cabin where they hoped to have a relaxing night before a potential proposal went the wrong way. As they try to work through their conflict and make plans going forward, things are shaken up when a mysterious woman knocks on the cabin door. Initially believing it to simply be a case of the wrong door, they soon become plagued by three masked intruders who fight their way into the home with sinister intentions. As things become drastically more terrifying and concerning, the pair soon realizes that they will have to fight for survival against the strangers who continue their unrelenting attack, intent to harm them or worse for no reason they can fathom.

‘The Strangers’ was written and directed by Bryan Bertino who does a great job guiding along the creepy tale and keeping the viewer on edge throughout. The film’s limited cast includes Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler along with Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis and Glenn Howerton who each contribute solid and fitting performances in their respective roles for the most part.

‘The Strangers’ takes viewers on a brutal, wildly intense and well-constructed ride into terror along with a couple that becomes terrorized by a trio of masked intruders who seem intent on attacking or killing them for no logical reason. It’s a well-made horror thriller that never seems to get old or repetitive on repeat viewings and still holds up marvelously today more than fifteen years after it first graced screens in 2008. Utilizing an eerie premise and a group of villains that rarely speak and typically terrorize with calm, quiet calculation, it works as a great example of using general fears and a fittingly secluded setting to ramp up the intensity and horror of the all too believable chain of events.

The film is nicely guided along by writer and director Bryan Bertino whose capable work behind the camera is nicely complemented by a limited, yet solid cast led by Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, ‘The Strangers’ still delivers the creepy goods, and since its release has seen an unconnected sequel and a new rehash in the form of a trilogy expanding the lore and concept. If you’ve never had the pleasure of this original film but tend to enjoy a great genre movie done right, then it’s definitely worth taking the time to give ‘The Strangers’ a whirl whenever you have the chance.

‘The Strangers’ returns to your home for the first time in 4K Ultra HD with a new 3-disc Collector’s Edition release from Scream Factory. The new Collector’s Edition brings home the Unrated Version of the film with a notable new, full Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision from the original digital intermediate that has the beloved horror film looking better than it ever has prior. The gorgeous new UHD video presentation is nicely complemented by a fully capable and quite immersive 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack.

In addition to the new 4K disc featuring the unrated version, the new release also features both the Theatrical and Unrated versions of the film with each provided their own Blu-ray disc, along with a nice collection of bonus content. It is worth noting that aside from the 4K disc, everything else included appears to be mostly identical to Scream Factory’s 2018 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of the film with all of the same extras ported over for this version. For fans that don’t already own the Blu-ray release, this one is definitely highly recommended and offers the best release available of this eerie horror gem, although for those who do own the previous release it will come down to whether you want to double dip simply for the new UHD presentation, although many fans likely won’t have any problem doing so for the upgraded video presentation alone.

VIDEO:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Strangers’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation of the Unrated Version with Dolby Vision and the film’s original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio, featuring a new 4K presentation from the original digital intermediate. The video presentation looks great as a whole and delivers a sharp, clean and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that’s absent of any noticeable issues. Detail is outstanding, with improvements evident on character faces and clothing, along with the interior of the house and the various outdoor settings, while the Dolby Vision HDR offers more vibrant and lifelike colors noticeable on blood and other objects throughout, all beautifully enhanced by deep, clean and rewarding black levels. Overall, this is a pretty spectacular Ultra High Definition presentation that should have fans of the film thrilled.

AUDIO:

The Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack appears to be mostly identical to the soundtrack included on Shout’s previous Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘The Strangers’ but that’s not necessarily a bad thing by any means and it still delivers a clean crisp and well balanced audio presentation. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send music, eerie and action-related effects, plus more moving throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered problematic. Overall, this is a very nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that does its job well and should more than satisfy fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Strangers’ features a solid serving of previously released extras, all of which are spread between the two included Blu-ray discs and are identical to those featured on the Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release that came out in 2018. The full list of extras is detailed below by disc for easier navigation.

Disc Two (Blu-ray – Theatrical Version) includes a couple ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 5 minutes in length combined), along with a pair of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include behind the scenes footage and interviews/comments with the cast and crew: ‘The Element of Terror – Interviews with the Cast and Crew’ (running approximately 9 minutes) and ‘Strangers At The Door’ (approximately 10 minutes). The ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (1 minute) and 3 ‘TV Spots’ (90 seconds altogether) for the film are additionally included.

Disc Three (Blu-ray – Unrated Version) features some notable interviews that were created for the previous Scream Factory release including ‘Defining Moments: An Interview with Writer/Director Bryan Bertino’ (running approximately 30 minutes), ‘All the Right Moves: An Interview with Actor Kip Weeks (The Man in the Mask)’ (approximately 12 minutes), ‘Brains and Brawn: An Interview with Actress Laura Margolis (Pin up Girl)’ (14 minutes), and ‘Deep Cuts: Kevin Greuert on Editing The Strangers’ (20 minutes). A ‘Still Gallery’ is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Unrated Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this 4K UHD/ Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘The Strangers’ is Now Available to Own in a 3-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Set from Scream Factory!

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You can purchase ‘The Strangers: 4K UHD Collector’s Edition’ on Amazon HERE or purchase it directly from Shout HERE!

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