“The rules are simple, just pick your favorite horror film for each day! However, you can’t pick the same horror film more [than] once. So once you pick say THE EXORCIST for your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell, you can’t [pick] it again for any other day [whatsoever,] including favorite horror film.”
Source: Dollar Bin Horror
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Day 25 – A horror film that you used to hate, but now like
Film: The Strangers (2008) – dir. Bryan Bertino
I cheated yesterday. I feel badly, but there was no other way around it. Getting back on track today, The Strangers is an easy choice for me. Readers of my site may remember me mentioning how much I disliked The Strangers on first viewing. I wasn’t getting what I expected when I walked into the theatre. I was expecting to be scared from the beginning, but that isn’t the case. Instead, The Strangers starts as a character study, and then becomes a survival film.
For whatever reason, even though I hated the movie when I saw it in theatres, I wanted to give The Strangers another chance when I saw it for cheap on Blu-ray at Blockbuster one day. It was the best (horror movie) decision I’ve ever made. I’m not sure if the film just works better while watching at home (being a home invasion film), or what, but there are so many things to love about The Strangers.
I cannot recommend this film enough. Give it a chance, but know that it starts out more slowly than a lot of horror films. Patience pays off because the characters become more important, and the scares are allowed to marinade. The Strangers is an excellent, underrated gem. They better release the sequel sometime soon because I’m getting impatient.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
