Part of Midnight Movies
When young couple Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) arrive at an isolated holiday home belonging to James’ parents, they are looking forward to getting some much-needed rest after traveling back from a wedding reception. But terror awaits them when three masked strangers burst into the house in the middle of the night — turning their peaceful retreat into a living hell and forcing them to fight for their lives.
One of the bleakest mainstream horror flicks in recent memory, this dread-fueled day-ruiner has spawned a sequel — and has a trilogy reboot in the works. But why try to improve on such an effective and unsettling film?
“This is no splatter movie: spare, suspenseful and brilliantly invested in silence, Bryan Bertino’s debut feature unfolds in a slow crescendo of intimidation… Even as the campaign of terror escalates, the movie remains levelheaded, smartly maintaining its commitment to tingling creepiness over bludgeoning horror.” —Jeanette Catsoulis, NYT Critic’s Pick, New York Times