The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

Ten painful years of intimidation and slaughter have passed since the terrifying incident at the Hoyts’ home in The Strangers (2008), and the mysterious masked psychopaths–Doll-face, Pin-Up Girl, and The Man in the Mask–have now picked out their next victims. As Mike, his wife, Cindy, and their children, Luke and Kinsey, head to Lake Gatlin to spend the night with Uncle Marvin, while on their way to Kinsey’s faraway boarding school, the pitiless Strangers show up on their front door, intent on murder. Once more, an endless night of terror begins, and yet another family must fight tooth and nail to prevail. In this frenzied battle of survival, who shall live and who shall die?

The Strangers: Prey at Night is a 2018 American slasher film directed by Johannes Roberts and starring Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman. A sequel to the 2008 film The Strangers, it is written by Bryan Bertino (who wrote and directed the first film) and Ben Ketai. The film follows a family’s vacation to a secluded mobile home park, where they are attacked by three masked offenders.

The film was released in the United States on March 9, 2018, and grossed $32.1 million worldwide. It received mixed reviews, with some critics considering it more entertaining than the original and appreciating its satire of horror films, while others noted it as inferior to the original and called it cliché.

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

About the Story

In a dark and quiet trailer park, a van pulls up to one such trailer. A woman living in that trailer wakes up to hear the music playing from the car. She then finds the killer known as Dollface (Emma Bellomy) in her house, and she asks why she is there. Another killer, Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin), goes into the bedroom to lie down next to the woman’s husband.

Elsewhere, a couple, Mike (Martin Henderson) and Cindy (Christina Hendricks) are getting ready to go on a trip with their moody and rebellious teen daughter Kinsey (Bailee Madison). They stop by the park to pick up their son Luke (Lewis Pullman) as he is playing a game with his buddies. Kinsey is set to be sent off to boarding school due to her history of bad behavior. They first plan to spend a getaway with their Uncle Marvin at Gatlin Lake.

On the trip, the family stops at a diner, where Kinsey steps outside to smoke a cigarette. Cindy goes outside to talk to her, but Kinsey thinks her parents only see her as a fuck-up. The family arrives at the trailer park. Cindy enters the main shop to find a note and key supposedly left by Marvin so they can go to their trailer. Once they get there, they hear a knock on the door.

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

Cindy answers to find Dollface (without her mask but concealed in darkness) asking the infamous question – “Is Tamara home?” Cindy tells her she has the wrong place, and Dollface walks away. Kinsey leaves the trailer to get fresh air, but also to get away from everyone. Luke goes after her.

Luke and Kinsey walk together and come across a trailer with the door open. They enter and hear a banging sound. They open the door to find a dog, who runs out. The two then notice a rancid smell coming from one of the rooms. Luke sees “hello” written repeatedly in red on the window. Kinsey notices something covered with a sheet. She pulls it off to find Marvin’s horribly mutilated corpse. The two run out.

Dollface shows up at the family’s trailer again to ask about Tamara. After being sent away again, Mike and Cindy leave to find the kids run up to them looking terrified. Cindy takes Kinsey inside to call the police while Mike and Luke go back to Marvin’s trailer.

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

Cindy discovers that all of their phones have been smashed. Moments later, Dollface appears behind them with a knife. Cindy and Kinsey run into the bathroom and lock themselves in. Kinsey gets out through an opening in the ceiling as Dollface starts trying to break in. Cindy helps her daughter escape, but Dollface stabs her to death as Kinsey watches before fleeing.

Mike and Luke find Marvin’s body, along with his wife. They return to their trailer to find Cindy’s body, causing the two of them to break down. Outside, they are being stalked by the Man in the Mask (Damian Maffei). Mike finds Marvin’s gun and loads it, threatening to use it on the Man in the Mask, but he vanishes. They take their car to go get help, only for Man in the Mask to throw something at them and cause Mike to crash into another trailer.

After the two regain consciousness, Mike finds himself pinned to his seat by a wooden piece of the trailer’s porch. He gives Luke the gun and tells him to go find Kinsey and get out of there. Mike tells Luke he is proud of him. After Luke leaves, Mike tries to free himself, but Man in the Mask finds him and silently taunts him by playing music in the car before stabbing him in the throat with an ice pick.

Man in the Mask then chases after Kinsey in his car. She finds a hiding spot and yells at him to leave them alone, but Pin-Up Girl emerges next to her and says they are just getting started. Kinsey runs back to the trailer and is attacked by Dollface, who slashes her arm and stabs her leg. Luke finds her and holds Dollface off by threatening to shoot her. He grabs Kinsey and runs.

Luke tends to Kinsey’s wounds as they try to calm each other down. Kinsey blames herself for them being there, as they wouldn’t have had to take the trip if she wasn’t always being bad, but Luke tells her to stop talking like that. Man in the Mask then rams into the trailer with his car, forcing the siblings to run, but Luke leaves the gun behind.

The Strangers: Prey at Night Movie Poster (2018)

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

Directed by: Johannes Roberts
Starring: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson, Emma Bellomy, Lewis Pullman, Damian Maffei, Leah Roberts, Lea Enslin, Preston Sadleir
Screenplay by: Bryan Bertino, Ben Ketai
Production Design by: Freddy Waff
Cinematography by: Ryan Samul
Film Editing by: Martin Brinkler
Costume Design by: Carla Shivener
Set Decoration by: Kay Wolfley
Art Direction by: Paul Luther Jackson
Music by: Adrian Johnston
MPAA Rating: R for horror violence and terror throughout, and for language.
Distributed by: Rogue Pictures
Release Date: March 9, 2018

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