Review by Emily Craig (@emillycraig)
Directed by: Guillermo Amoedo
Starring: Cristobal Tapia Montt, Lorenza Izzo, Luis Gnecco, Ariel Levy
Produced by horror expert Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever), The Stranger is a tale of a man (Cristobal Tapia Montt) fighting a mysterious blood thirsty disease whilst on the hunt for his wife, Ana (Lorenza Izzo).
When Martin returns to his previous hometown in Canada, he ends up knocking at the old home he shared with wife Ana, only to be greeted by a young boy named Peter (Nicolas Duran). Peter lets out that Ana passed many years ago but Martin senses a connection between the boy and Ana and decides to stick around. Martin is brutally attacked by the town’s bully Caleb (Ariel Levy) and his henchmen, only for Peter to save him and keep him in his house. When Lieutenant De Luca (Luis Gnecco), who also happens to be Caleb’s father, hears the news, events spiral out of control.
When I heard the words blood and Eli Roth associated with this film, I automatically assumed it would be a gore fest (something that Roth does exceptionally well) but I was wrong; whilst having the occasional gory scene, The Stranger is much more than that. The story holds more heart than any previous films connected to Roth.
The film is definitely a vampire movie, although it is never labelled as one; Martin has a hunger for blood and it seems can only be killed by daylight or by being set on fire (all of which are common in vampire lore). It has been increasingly popular to have more sympathetic vampires on screen becoming the victims rather than the predators; for example Let the Right One In, Thirst and Only Lovers Left Alive all show vampires as protagonists. The Stranger is another film to add to this trend and it’s not one to be missed.
The fabulous direction from Guillermo Amoedo keeps this film afloat; it’s shot beautifully and all actors show strong performances. I somehow can’t help being disappointed by the way the film has been marketed. It has been labelled as a bloodbath and of course Roth fans will be expecting turmoil and disgust, which isn’t this film.
I felt for the well-developed characters and wanted to see the outcome, but I wasn’t exactly feeling it as the film it was intended to be. While suffering from some obvious plot flaws, The Stranger is a great addition to the ever rising vampire trend. It’s a great mystery with horror elements, but don’t watch it expecting hardcore horror, because it isn’t there.
