The Strangers poster

The Strangers (2008)

Film · 1h 26m · Rated R

Horror

A remote getaway turns into a psychological night of terror as masked strangers invade.

Suspenseful and tense. A full-attention watch that takes its time. Emotionally it is heavy.

Streaming on Netflix and Peacock.

The Strangers parents guide

What we could confirm fits an R: intense fear and several jump scares.

Scare
Terrifying
Our top level for fear.
Jump scares
Several
More than a couple of sudden jolts.
Gore
Graphic gore
Blood and wounds shown clearly.
Violence
Brutal violence
Our top level for violence.
Sex and nudity
None flagged
It is rated R, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Strangers scary?
Yes. The Strangers is one of the scariest titles in the CouchRot catalog.
How gory is The Strangers?
Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
What is The Strangers rated, and is it OK for kids?
Rated R, and it earns it: intense fear, several jump scares and brutal violence. Not one for kids.

What is The Strangers about?

After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt’s remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

No. Brace yourself.

Cast and crew

Directed byBryan Bertino
StarringLiv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton

More like The Strangers

The Strangers is on our Scariest, Slashers, Horror on Netflix and Horror on Peacock lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

Lists with the same feel: Most violent and Slow burns.

Five more like The Strangers

Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.

Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.