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has anyone made it out to see the stangers yet? if so, what did you think?

we tried to see it on a whim on opening night but it was sold out. of course, this gave us time to consider whether we really wanted to spend $8.50 (before popcorn!) to get scared, and it turned out, given this waiting period, no one else wanted to shell out for it after all. however, something tells me this one might be better on the big screen with stadium seating than in the dollar theater. anyone have an opinion?

And if anyone has seen this movie, please review on it! I've been wondering what the point of it is, besides some creepy family with flour-bags on their heads tying up and scaring a random family. How can a person determine if something's worth seeing from only that?? Let us know your thoughts of you've seen it!

Well when you really think about it, doesn't a creepy family with flour bags on their heads randomly scaring poor innocent people make a pretty typical horror movie?

I'm really starting to wonder after seeing some of the movies that are released, do they sometimes just hype it up and hope the initial publicity is enough to get people to see it and make it a success, even if the movie itself is terrible?

update: still haven't gone to see it, but i noticed it's gone from three showing a day to one showing in the afternoon. i think this means it'll hit the dollar theater within a couple weeks. 

as far as "the point" of horror movies? i think it's like the attraction people have to rollercoasters: modern life doesn't engage the primal experience of acute fear followed by adrenaline rush followed by exhilaration as often as humans are hardwired to encounter such an experience. to fill that gap, humans seek experiences that simulate that reaction. some people really do take true risks, but the rest of of us choose safe stand-ins like horror movies and rollercoasters. this is why a horror movie only succeeds, in my book, if it makes me jump, gasp, shudder, cover my eyes, etc.

psychological thrillers that creep you out for days afterwards are a different type of movie than a horror movie. they are a type that i don't understand "the point of" in the same way i don't understand the point of creepy nursery rhymes that make the most innocent things in the world look threatening.

Most people don't even think about nursery rhymes being "creepy", but I guess when you think of "ashes, ashes, we all fall down!" and a baby falling out of a tree (who thought that was a good idea?), they are pretty creepy. As for movies, I don't personally go for horror flicks just to scare the snot out of me. Frankly, there's enough in this world that does that and it's real. (Then again, I grew up in a big city with very different values than the smaller town I currently live in.) Being scared just to be scared doesn't make much sense to me, but to each their own. On the other hand, I am drawn in by psychological thrillers sometimes (as long as they're not senseless slasher-types). I've always loved a good mystery and find it a bit of a game to figure out "whodunit" before the end. Unfortunately, it seems my mental version is more entertaining than what I see unscreen, but it still keeps my attention. I think that's where my personal sense of safety comes in, perhaps subconsiously, to figure out how I'd react and get out of a bad situtation. I've read many books in this way as well and have gotten a little bored. Either the writers are going for straight on horror, or the mystery is solved (in my mind) midway through the book. I also prefer the mystery to have a sensible storyline and characters, not just be a flat, one-note mystery. Maybe I'm asking for too much. Anyone have thoughts on this? Recommendations?