Coventry Review of The Stranger

The Stranger (XII) (2014)

Strangers in the night? Let the sunshine in!

[6/10 · 16 April 2015]

"Eli Roth presents…" and "from the writer of The Green Inferno" is what the poster of this film loudly and proudly proclaims… Writer/director Guillermo Amoede could perhaps benefit from his professional and personal link with Eli Roth for publicity and marketing reasons, but his very own long-feature "The Stranger" is definitely a lot more ambitious, fascinating and convoluted than anything that Eli Roth ever delivered himself! With "The Stranger", Guillermo Amoede single-handedly attempts to reanimate the sub- genre of vampire movies, complete with imaginative new ideas, profound character drawings and a thoroughly dark and harrowing atmosphere. The film perhaps didn't turn out to be a genuine masterpiece, but it's definitely a more than respectable attempt and one of the most unique and compelling horror efforts that I've seen during the past couple of years. "The Stranger" is also a very demanding film, with a tone that is continuously dead serious, sub plots and background stories that are all depressing and characters that are all melancholic. This surely isn't the type of movie that'll make you merry, especially because it also features a few very painful and 'unfair' death sequences, but it's guaranteed to leave some kind of lasting impression. Late one night in a remote little town, the 17-year- old graffiti vandal Peter receives a visit from a bearded stranger. He asks where he can find a certain Anna, but Anna has been dead and buried since many years. That same night, the stranger is attacked and killed by the local hoodlum Caleb and two of his friends. Peter witnesses the attack and alerts a patrolling police officer, but police officer De Luca is Caleb's dad and helps his son with hiding the body. But then the stranger miraculously turns out to be still alive and he aggressively refuses medical help from Peter and his nurse mother. Meanwhile Officer De Luca and Caleb found out that the body disappeared, so now they head out to kill both the stranger and Peter. This couple of sentences only covers a very small part of the convoluted plot. In fact, I already revealed a fairly major plot twist by stating that "The Stranger" is a vampire movie, since this only becomes apparent after a while. There is a lot more detailed subject matter related to the stranger's search for Anna, the link with Peter and the relationship between Officer De Luca and his troubled son. The scenario isn't always convincing or realistic. For example, I find it rather implausible that a corrupt police officer can sabotage a serious case so intensely and for so long without his colleagues interfering. The pacing is also quite slow, which might put off several viewers, but the slow pace definitely suits the sober ambiance and dark undertones. "The Stranger" also contains a bit of explicit violence and nasty make-up effects, so I won't immediately recommend it to squeamish people. However, if you have the stomach for it, and you're looking for a brutal thriller with a good plot, don't hesitate to check out "The Stranger".