The True Events That Inspired The Strangers (2008)

I’ve often and loudly proclaimed that The Strangers (2008) is incredibly offensive to me because it’s based on real life events. Now, this is somewhat bold and contradictory of me, considering I have an entire brand and podcast focused on exploring the history of horror. Horror is the exploitation of human fear. All horror films do this. So why did I take issue with The Strangers? So what if The Strangers was inspired by real events, is that more upsetting than Psycho (1960) being inspired by Ed Gein? Let’s talk about the true events that inspired The Strangers (2008) and figure it out together. 

“What you are about to see was inspired by true events.” After this opening disclaimer, and some text about how a woman named Kristen McKay and a man named James Hoyt were killed on February 11th 2005, The Strangers (2008) flashes audiences with a series of drive-by shots of suburban homes. These homes range in style and value, presumably the filmmakers wanted to set up the home invasion story to follow but also make viewers feel like this could happen to them. Another mechanic the filmmakers employ, showing us the end of the movie at the beginning. Two kids stumble into the house and find a bucketload of blood and the dead bodies. All before the title card flashes across the screen. It means with every move the characters make throughout the movie, no matter how hard they fight or how clever they are, we think we know where this is going. 

We don’t hear our main characters speak until about 5 and a half minutes into the movie. Liv Tyler breaks the silence. We encounter a couple in the midst of an argument. Some sort of unnamed but serious tension. (We later find out that he tried to propose to her earlier in the night, at another wedding (a wild move), and she wasn’t into it.) 

So, when the strangers finally arrive to invade said broken home, the house is covered with rose petals and unused champagne glasses. Though, to be fair, our main characters are about to have sex when someone knocks on the door. They are greeted by a blonde woman, asking for someone who doesn’t live there. 

The Strangers is shot in a mostly handheld style. The few shots that aren’t shaky, have pans and zooms and other sources of movement. I like this style of cinematography in horror. It makes the audience feel uneasy. But that’s only one of many tactics the filmmakers used to build foreboding in this movie. I’ll admit, it’s done masterfully. It’s still, even years later, a very unnerving film to watch. Scott Speedman (our male lead) leaves Liv Tyler alone before the strangers return, he goes out to get her cigarettes. And because we had seen the trailer, and the beginning, we know that that’s not great for Arwen. 

The sound design is also incredibly intentional. The knocks at the door are noticeably mixed much louder than any other sound we hear in the movie. It is truly a scary movie. 

The Strangers was written and directed by Bryan Bertino. And it was a huge success, at least financially. With a budget of about $9 million, the film grossed $82.4 million in the box office. I was one of the people who went to see it in theaters, begrudgingly. 

Originally, I didn’t like this movie because I thought it was offensive to base a movie made for entertainment on such a horrifying true crime. But according to Bryan Bertino, it was actually inspired by three real life crimes. 

Bertino has said that The Strangers is partially based on the Keddie Cabin Murders from 1981. Overnight on August 11th 1981, four people were killed in Keddie, California. Sue Sharp, John Sharp and Dana Wingate were discovered the next morning by Sue’s child who had slept out the night before. Three years later Tina’s skull and some bones were discovered 62 miles away from the other crime scene. The horrible crime remains unsolved. 

Bertino also claimed that the Manson Murders, or the Tate-LaBianca Murders, partially inspired his story. You can see the through line very clearly, one sadistic home invasion to another. Between August 9th and 10th in 1969, members of Charles Manson’s cult killed six people. Among those murdered was famous actress Sharon Tate, who was almost nine months pregnant. The Manson Family and killings have been studied and reported on endlessly by the media, writers and true crime podcasters alike. 

And finally, Bertino pulled from his own experiences. When he was a child, home alone, someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night and asked for someone who didn’t live there. Something Bertino translated directly into The Strangers. 

The Strangers took a long break, and in 2018 a sequel was released, The Strangers: Prey at Night. And in 2024, the franchise continued with a reboot, The Strangers Chapter 1. 

I just rewatched The Strangers, for the first time since 2008. It really got under my skin. So much so, I had to watch a few episodes of Vanderpump rules to cleanse my pallet. I think at the end of the day, it’s a good horror film. It’s not my kind of horror film, but it’s very well made and acted. It plays with my (and probably many of your) childhood fears. Growing up in the United States during a specific time period instilled a lot of fear that home invasions were nigh. This movie is disturbing because of how possible it is. Cold blooded killings like this have happened. I think that takes me out of it, it hits too close to home. When I watch horror, I want something that feels impossible, then we can really have fun. 

If this movie had been inspired by a specific home invasion, (what I had wrongly assumed for so many years) I would stand by my claim that this movie is offensive and should be boycotted. Being inspired by a serial killer when writing Norman Bates is different than bringing a recreation of the killing of a specific family. In my opinion. 

As someone who is a true crime fan, this whole soap box feels pretty hypocritical. What’s the difference between making a movie for entertainment based on a horrific event, versus retelling the details of that horrific event for an audience on a podcast? That’s something for me to think about.