There is a common saying that can be remixed for this narrative: there is more to the story than meets the smile in The Strangers: Prey at Night. This horror film is ideal for fans who enjoy the gore-filled, shrilled screams of victims who cannot see that they are in a conspicuous location.
The Strangers: Prey at Nightfollows as a sequel to The Strangers, which was released 10 years ago and starred Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman.
Whenever a horror movie is released, viewers look for the following: gory scenes, pale-faced victims, and a back story around the antagonist’s motive for killing the characters.
The Strangers’ sequel contains just two components of the above checklist - and that’s all there is to it.
The film introduces viewers to a family that travels to a secluded trailer park and are stalked by three villains whose faces are covered in masks.
The young villains are known simply as Dollface, Pin Up Girl and the Man in the Mask, who spend the entire night tormenting and killing the family, because, according to Pin Up Girl, “Why not? It’s fun”.
It is understandable to create a horror film aimed at scaring audiences with the gory actions of three masked villains. However, to link the film to its prequel is unnecessary because there are no factors that link them to one another.
Another point is that the plot is extremely weak, because it leaves the audience trying to understand what the point of the murders was and why masks were used at all.
There is no back story, nor a glimpse into the future of the victims of the movie.
The film is simply about the here and the now.