Modern horror has plenty of scary villains, but none of them match the level of Bryan Bertino's The Strangers (2008). The Strangers seemingly appear out of nowhere to wreak havoc and drive their victims crazy in the process, with simple acts like knocking on the front door repeatedly, yet slowly, just to put their victims on edge. You rarely see them in fully lit locations throughout the film and even then, they only appear occasionally, which adds to the mystique. The Strangers are a perfect blend of the silent killer, like Jason in the Friday the 13th movies, while still having some personality, which adds an interesting dichotomy to them as villains. The Strangers' unpredictability is very unsettling for both the characters and the audience, making them some of the most terrifying villains in modern horror.
Victims' Point of View
The story focuses on a couple, James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) and Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler), arriving to a cabin after attending a wedding. James and Kristen have been going through a bit of a rough patch, so James planned a romantic stay at his family's cabin. Unfortunately, his plan quickly goes out the window when they hear a huge boom that turns out to be someone knocking on the front door. Once they answer, they see a girl at the door shrouded in darkness who turns out to be one of the Strangers, Dollface (Gemma Ward).
After asking some creepy questions, she quickly disappears into the night and that's when the night turns into an absolute nightmare. At one point, when Kristen is alone, the Strangers start their psychological warfare by trying to break into the house. Afterwards, James and Kristen are stuck in a game of cat and mouse for the rest of the night and no matter what they do, they can't escape. They realize they're surrounded and decide to split up, which doesn't work out any better for them. Kristen is slowly looing it during this whole situation and seems like she's going to break down at any moment. James tries his best to calm her down while maintaining his own composure to find a solution. Slowly but surely though, the Strangers still get to him and even push him to the brink mentally.
The Strangers Themselves
The Strangers are some of the most terrifying villains on the big screen, and there are several key reasons for that. One is their simplistic yet unique look. As a trio, they look fairly normal from the shoulders down, but once you see the masks in tandem with the rest of their look, it's very chilling. This was also partially achieved by the fact that it was marketed as being based on a true story. The designs of the mask are also very distinct while not being too flashy, which makes it seem real. They're obviously human, but the way they creep around and seem almost undetectable as they stalk their victims make them understated yet effective.
They use all various human elements to scare their victims such as sound, sight, touch and occasionally a combination of all three. Like knocking really hard on the door repeatedly or suddenly appearing in the darkness then disappearing again just as quickly. It's very clear they've done this before, which creates a lot of questions that aren't ever answered. Plus there doesn't seem to be any connection between the Strangers and the protagonists, which adds confusion and paranoia for the audience. That feeling puts you directly into the victims' shoes as they try their best to deal with each of the Strangers and escape the mayhem.
Because You Were Home
Most horror villains have a backstory that explains their motives and what makes them tick. Then, there are also villains that have no backstory at all, and you have no idea why they kill but that just makes them much scarier. In this case, there is never an explanation as to why The Strangers chose these specific characters and invaded their home to kill them. Near the end of the film when Kristen and James have been knocked out and captured, they wake up to the image of the Strangers in front of them and ask why are they doing this. Dollface gives them an answer by stating four simple words: "Because you were home."
They literally had no reason to target them and that is terrifying. A killer who targets innocent people for no real reason is fascinating and baffling because there is no logic or sanity to it. They're completely void of human emotions and have no morals, which makes the Strangers seem almost inhuman. They also don't speak very much throughout the entire film. In fact, there are literally two scenes where there's any dialogue from any of them, and it's Dollface each time. Man in the Mask (Kip Weeks) and Pin-Up Girl (Laura Margolis) never say a word or make a noise. They're almost robotic in that sense, but seem to be highly intelligent at the same time.
Because you can't predict any moves they make, the Strangers become more menacing, but that never takes away from Dollface as a villain. She's just as effective as a villain if not more so because she rarely speaks while also seeming like she's the one in charge of the trio. The Strangers as horror villains are a bone-chilling example of less sometimes being more.
As modern horror villains go, very few can stack up against the sinister trio featured in The Strangers. They're appearances are so eerie and their brutal actions against their victims in the film are absolutely mortifying. There's no rhyme or reason to what they do or why, which leaves the audience on edge but completely invested and intimated all at once. All these years later, people are still terrified of these villains, which goes to show just how much they still hold up today.
Director Bryan Bertino set out to create a set of terrifying villains, and it's more apparent today than ever before that he succeeded in his mission to do so.