Rating: 8 of 10
A bleak vampire movie, though it doesn’t name itself as such, viewers will either love or hate.
Synopsis: “A supernatural thriller, laced by flashbacks, and set in Canada’s North-West, THE STRANGER turns on the mysterious titular figure of Martin, who comes to a small quiet town seeking to kill his wife Ana who suffers from a very dangerous decease [sic] that makes her addicted to human blood – just like himself. However, when he arrives to the town, he discovers that Ana has been dead for a couple of years and decides to commit suicide to definitely eradicate this dangerous decease [sic], but, before he can do it, Martin’s brutally attacked by three local thugs led by Caleb, the son of a corrupt police lieutenant, and the incident suddenly starts a snowball that will plunge the community into a bloodbath.” (source)
My thoughts: THE STRANGER is a quiet movie, that is, until the explosions of bloody violence. It never panders to the audience and refuses to be anything it’s not. A slow-burn story with a payoff only for those receptive to the love story hidden beneath the brutality. Cristobal Tapia Montt was riveting; the angst, the inner turmoil, the suffering – intense!
Highly recommended if you enjoyed movies like CANNIBAL or AFFLICTED.
Check out THE STRANGER on IFC Midnight | on IMDb | Watch the trailer
(Watched on Netflix 10/8/2015)