Britt Hayes Says Don’t Forget: The Strangers: Prey at Night

This sequel to Bryan Bertino’s excellent home invasion film was in development for so many years that it began to seem like a bad idea – especially when it was revealed that Bertino would not be returning to write and direct (though he did produce it). But rather than rehash the wildly effective formula of its predecessor, The Strangers: Prey at Night takes a different tack: The home invasion plot becomes a slasher throwback, with an appropriate soundtrack to match. Classic hits by Tiffany, Air Supply, and Kim Wilde are the songs that the titular villains listen to while gearing up to kill their prey – an unsuspecting family making a stopover at a cabin resort, which becomes the Strangers’ hunting ground. With all the great horror of 2018, it’ll be easy to overlook this surprisingly satisfying gem, which features an all-timer of a slasher sequence that takes place in a swimming pool, set to Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”