‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’ Slashes Hopes

It’s the middle of the night and you’re all bundled up on the couch when a loud knock on your door startles you.  As you peek through the peephole, you see her. A young blonde girl standing on your porch in the dark. You slowly crack your door open. “Is Tamara home?” the creepy blonde asks.

That whole entire scene is believable. That’s what “The Strangers (2008)” relied on: realism.  It’s very possible that masked murderers could invade your home.

Despite being based on true events, that is not the case for the new “The Strangers: Prey at Night”, released March 9. The most realistic scene in the entire movie is an angsty teen’s tangled earbuds.

“Why are you doing this?” Kinsey, portrayed by Bailee Madison, asks a bloody Dollface, portrayed by Emma Bellomy. “Why not?” Dollface replies with an arrogant laugh.

Those two lines sum up the entire movie. “Why are you doing this?” the loyal fans ask. “Why not?” responds director Johannes Roberts.

The movie revolves around a very cliche family of four: the mother Cindy, played by Christina Hendricks; the father Mike, played by Martin Henderson; the youngest daughter, Kinsey; and big brother Luke, played by Lewis Pullman.

The family decides it’s a great idea to spend their weekend in a deserted trailer park, where they are terrorized by three psycho killers.

From the slow build up, to the insanely stupid decisions the family make; such as dropping their weapons, it’s clear that this sequel does not live up to its expectations. The movie felt forced and unneeded.  

The cast performed their roles well enough, but failed to make the audience feel their fear.  You could practically see the entire audience roll their eyes at every cliche moment. Before the credits started rolling, half of the audience had already left.

Although “Prey at Night” is not the worst horror movie of 2018, it’s definitely not the best. I’d recommend for horror fans to wait until it’s released on Netflix or Redbox to watch it.