Don’t talk to strangers faces a problem from the start. To surpass or equal the original version, a modern horror classic. Moreover, it is considered one of the most uncomfortable and edgy films of the last decade. So it is remake led by James Watkins, has a dual responsibility. Having its own identity and achieving the same unhealthy atmosphere as its predecessor. The other extreme is to explore a new vision of history, so as not to end up as a copy without an identity. or, at worst, a film that tells only what is known.
The film has neither. And if there is one regret, it is the constant feeling that it could have been so much better. Especially since all the elements are in the script and the direction is competently cast. Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis) are an American couple who now live in sophisticated London. Which forces them to struggle with feelings of isolation, living in an unfamiliar city and more, to overcome a sense of insufficient understanding of their surroundings. So a tour of sunny Italy gives them the perfect excuse to try to join the European culture that the film describes as extravagant or at best incomprehensible.
Don’t talk to strangers
Don’t Talk to Strangers has a difficult task: to maintain a grim atmosphere, while also creating discomfort through subtle twists in the script. But James Watkins, who is the director and screenwriter, fails to do so, and the film becomes predictable from the tiresome first half.
In fact, a significant part of the initial period Don’t talk to strangersseems to focus too much and tries with noticeable clumsiness to convey that Ben and Louise can’t feel comfortable anywhere. A feeling they convey to their eleven-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). The aim of the script, which the director is also writing, is to show that the little family wants to find a home. Or at least turn the whole experience of traveling to another continent into something profitable. While the premise is interesting, the film spends too much time and especially atmosphere on the optimism of its characters. Much more when the twist immediately appears to darkness that feels harsh and unnecessary. And at worst, artificial.
Tasteless horror
Halfway through their trip to Italy, the Daltons meet a carefree and happy British family. Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their young son Ant (Dan Hough) seem happy and don’t bother Ben and Louise. So much so that they ignore any overtly rude or awkward behavior. The idea of strangers trying to get along with each other can be uncomfortable, and in fact much of the film’s plot hinges on this subtlety. Or, at least, it should be based on.
The director and writer seem to lack the skill to turn this feeling into something more pernicious or evil. In fact, it is overlooked Don’t talk to strangers be unable to delve into the subtleties of your most uncomfortable moments. Instead, he opts for the usual horror, and it becomes clear almost immediately that the cheerful British family is hiding a terrifying secret. Worse, this secret turns them into predators.
The lack of tension and the complete lack of atmosphere means that when Ben and Louise accept an invitation to spend a holiday at Paddy’s house in the English countryside, everything becomes absurd. Especially since the film does not know, or cannot establish, what is dangerous about this meeting. Even more so, it cannot provide a map of events that explains what happens next. Namely, that a seemingly happy holiday will turn into a tragedy.
Nothing new under the sun in Don’t Talk to Strangers
In 2022, director Christian Tafdrup Gesternbased on the same story. And it crossed all boundaries, showing the horror of human nature and the darkness it can hide in its worst moments. Which made it not only a recent classic of horror cinema, but also an example of how to use limitations to the benefit of a story. In particular, giving cinema one of the most brutal and ruthless, as can be remembered in the horror genre of the last 50 years.
Of course, any comparison is odious, and that’s true because Blumhouse’s North American version doesn’t have to mimic the original to work. What’s missing is that based on an original idea that could have worked on dozens of different levels — from insanity to gratuitous violence — Don’t talk to strangers seems decaffeinated and absurd.
For its final segment and transformed into home invasion The film loses focus and power as it is used. Especially when it indulges in all sorts of cliches that turn the film into a series of scenes without any depth. This suggests that James Watkins lacks Tufdrup’s courage to scare with the simple idea of the monstrosity of the human being. Instead, he assumes the simplicity of the confrontation between villains and victims. The worst twist a movie of this kind could offer.
Source: Hiper Textual
