When Strangers Appear

source: When Strangers Appear

source: When Strangers Appear

source: When Strangers Appear

Am I the only one that disliked this? I found myself rooting for the villains. For surely Radha Mitchell was absolutely the worst actress ever. Her screaming, over acting and generally annoying presence made me want the three guys to do her in. No such luck. She survives. I didn't even find her that attractive. With acting talent that maybe goes to a 2 level, she ruined this film for me. Scott Mitchell who wrote and directed this must have been in cloud nine when he cast her, as everybody else wasn't that bad. I liked Josh Lucas and Barry Watson and would like to see more of these guys in a more likable movie. Glad this was on LMN TV as I didn't have to pay for it. If I did, I'd ask for my money back. What kind of a name is Radha anyway?

I say this film a couple of nights ago when I couldn't find anything to watch. Having seen the first couple of minutes I was wondering if I'd made the right decision, I'm glad I stuck with it because this is one very cool film. Twists that keep you guessing, fantastic acting, an unusual ending, splendid locations. And, the absolutely gorgeous Radha Mitchell. See this film, you won't be disappointed. One question though - what is it with Volvo's? They appear in almost every film I've ever seen!

When Strangers Appear has a mostly American cast in the leads, the only name though that is any kind of recognizable to American audiences is Barry Watson from 7th Heaven. Being unknown the rest of the cast has an opportunity to escape with reputations intact because they have no reputations. We call the film a Kiwi Klunker because though the story location is American it was shot in New Zealand. They too, were smart not to be associated with the movie. Radha Mitchell who bears a slight resemblance to Christina Applegate from Married With Children is the owner/proprietor of a small restaurant that is dying on the vine for lack of business since a new Interstate took a different route. This isolation is partly the reason for the strange goings-on. Barry who is a surly loner comes into her place and she's not quite believing him. Later on three surfer type dudes come in and he takes to hiding. Radha of course doesn't know who to believe and spends the rest of the film trying to figure out who the good and the bad guys are. No life gets breathed into this film at any time. You get to the point where you absolutely don't care about halfway through the movie. As for Barry Watson, he was better served in his career with Sorority Boys. Pass this Klunker from down under right on by.

WHEN STRANGERS APPEAR is the most derivate, amateur and dull feature film I've seen all year. Shot in New Zealand but set in Oregon, this evocatively titled (ahem!) `thriller' has all the twists and turns of the Brooklyn Bridge. In a small Smalltown inhabited by half a dozen people, a young woman opens up the `off-the-interstate' diner called `Weekers'. Suddenly, a young stranger appears outside and waits-tantalisingly out of focus, till she brews the coffee. Then the stranger enters and they mouth inanities at each other till the stranger excuses himself. In the bathroom he reveals that he has a strange stomach injury. Then three more strangers appear and order breakfast, but the first stranger signals her from the kitchen that the other three strangers are really dangerous. They're stranger/killers after a strange computer disc that the first stranger has in his possession. Who can she believe? Which of the strangers can she trust?. Reynolds tries to create a `style' by inserting pointless close ups of brewing coffee sizzling on a hot plate. This is supposed to contribute `atmosphere', but it all feels forced and second-hand. The mis-en-scene is all meaningless camera moves and mismatched cuts. It's almost worth sticking around for the climax, which is a new benchmark in blithering incompetence. After a car crashes into a petrol pump at a gas station (imaginatively named `GAS'), petrol sprays everywhere soaking villains, heroes, cars, well.... everything. After a ridiculously hokey plot-device (which I won't spoil because it's too synapse-draining) ignites a spark, the villains become engulfed in flames while the heroine, mere inches away, magically avoids immolation (remember they're all soaked to the skin in gasoline). Ummmmm....how? Oh, I guess it must have read really cool on paper, but onscreen it unfolds like it's been shot by a kid with a handicam. It's the Curse of Watching too many Michael Bay Movies, (and worse-actually finding them inspirational). Fast cuts and close ups are frantically plastered over mortal wounds in logic. This is a dot-to-dot reconstruction of what a stay-at-home video nerd thinks a film should deliver. If only post-Tarantino parasites like Reynolds would drag themselves away from memorising Maltin's Movie Guide and actually live a little, get laid, travel or get into a fight, then maybe, they'd have enough life experience to make something worth watching, rather than churning out this recycled garbage.

I'd never heard of it before either, but it was on TV in the middle of the night, and I copped Radha Mitchell's name in the credits. Radha Mitchell could make a root canal an engaging watch, bless her heart. The story goes like this: Beth runs a diner and a motel on a desolate stretch of highway. She's a bitter loner, justifiably distrustful of the local authority and wildly unpopular with her neighbours. The only person who bothers speaking to her is the jealous hellbitch sending her hatemail. Her routine is broken by a scruffy, antsy stranger coming to the diner in a stolen car. Grateful for the interruption, and out of sheer bloody-mindedness towards the local lawfolk, Beth gives him a breakfast. She figures out that his agitation is closely linked to the fresh stab wound in his gut, but she figures this out just as more strangers arrive, this time a group of laid back surfers. Stranger #1 freaks out and threatens to kill her unless she hides him from the newcomers. Either the first guy or the second guys are nuts... which is it? What follows is sort of like... Duel, on foot. There's no background music, the desert locations are few enough to feel claustrophobic, Beth barely survives by only her wits and stubborn guts, and the questions just keep coming. Are the surfers a threat? Is the guy crazy? How did he get hurt? How come that fountain of gasoline looks so much like water, and how do three people and a stab victim brawl around in it without any irritation? Why is said gasoline so selectively flammable? Why does the local crazywoman hate Beth so much? Since when does Oregon have desert? But then it stumbles. After three quarters of a wire-tight, cat and mouse thriller, a major plot-point turns out to be largely redundant, and our characters get all MacGuyver on each other. It's a shame that the ending is so madly out of step with the rest of the film, but three quarters of a great film will do me fine, and Mitchell remains predictably and apparently effortlessly excellent, whether she's freaking out or fighting back.

Granted the premise has been done, but this is a fun suspense film and also as Josh Lucas in it, so add a few stars. Radha Mitchell is basically a restaurant/motel owner in a desolate Oregon town. She has a customer (Barry Watson, child actor from "Seventh Heaven" for anyone who recalls that series, circa 1997). Anyway, odd things start to occur and her doctor friend becomes a victim. Three strangers apparently on vacation drop in, and proceed to terrorize her. Radha Mitchell is believable though, and has since been in a Woody Allen film ("Melinda and Melinda") so she does a few things right. Watch for Josh Lucas in recent period piece "Stolen" also with Jon Hamm (from "Mad Men") a nice suspense film recently made in 2009. Overall give "Strangers" a chance. 8/10.

I'm a fan of psychological thrillers. A big fan. I'm also a person that dislikes clichés and scenarios that are overused (most often in this type of movie.) I believe this movie had a lot of promise in the beginning, then when you got to know Radha Mitchell a little better, something about her really bugged me. I think she's capable of better. She overacted her attitude. Her kind, sweet face leaves you feeling betrayed. Why couldn't they give that girl a little more personality and (considering her personal story, which is very fuzzy at best) a little move savvy sense? Josh Lucas was *brilliant* in this movie. I think he honestly was the best of the bunch. His character's weirdness was so believable. Likewise, I enjoyed watching Barry Watson. I hope that his future roles give him a little more "meat" to act from. I honestly believe he played this role the best he possibly could have. There just wasn't a whole lot there to draw from. Overall, I was left with a feeling of slightly having wasted my time at the end, because the end of this movie was a huge blank. It left me with a feeling that the movie was not the same one I started watching so long ago... too long to get to that empty ending. I honestly wish they would have at least told what was on the CD. Big bummer.