The Strangers: Prey At Night, directed by British film-maker Johannes Roberts (47 Metres Down) and co-written by Ben Ketai and Bryan Bertino, the latter of whom wrote the prequel The Strangers, is copy and paste film-making at its worst which is heavy on the copy and so light of paste that it barely holds together.

If you want to know the plot, rip a fag packet in half and write: 3 knife-wielding killers in clown masks hunt down a family of four in a trailer park – for no apparent reason. If you want to know my critique, rip the remaining half of said fag packet in half and write: a void, avoid.

The characters are so bland, one-dimensional and annoying (feisty daughter, sheepish son, himbo father and barely-holding-it-together mother) and the performances are so hammy and wooden that you want the killers to stick the knife in fast, deep and often.

But they refuse to do so, for no other reason than delaying the inevitable and padding out the running time to a scant 85 minutes; which together with a couple of classic tracks (designed to add style and depth where both are wanting) are the film’s only redeeming features.

Towards the end, feisty daughter asks long-haired killer “Why are you doing this?” to which she responds “Why not?” Which seems to be the rationale behind all involved. That and the small matter of making money which it pains me to say they have achieved, raking in five-times its $5m budget and counting.

A sequel beckons. As Joni Mitchell sung in A Case of You, “If you want me I’ll be in the bar.”

Director: Johannes Roberts
Writers: Bryan Bertino (original screenplay), Ben Ketai (screenplay)
Stars: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson
Peter Callaghan
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