ANGEL FILMS PRÆSENTERER Premiere: 22. Marts 2018 Længde: 85 min. Censur: Tilladt for børn over 15 år Instruktør: Johannes Roberts Premierebiografer: Nordisk Film Biografer Palads, CinemaxX København, Nordisk Film Biografer Lyngby, Nordisk Film Biografer Tåstrup, CinemaxX Århus, CinemaxX Odense, Nordisk Film Biografer Odense, Nordisk Film Biografer Århus, Nordisk Film Biografer Aalborg, Nordisk Film Biografer Kolding, Nordisk Film Biografer Herning, Nordisk Film Biografer Randers, Nordisk Film Biografer Esbjerg, Nordisk Film Biografer Hillerød, Nordisk Film Biografer Næstved, Nordisk Film Biografer Nykøbing, Nordisk Film Biografer Køge, Nordisk Film Biografer Frederikssund, Nordisk Film Biografer Fields, Vejle, Viborg, Silkeborg, Svendborg, Holstebro, Herlev, Roskilde, Horsens, Hjørring, Atlas Biograferne, Kino Thisted, Valby Synopsis: En families road trip tager en frygtindgydende drejning, da de sent på aftenen ankommer til en afsidesliggende campingplads for at overnatte ved nogle familiemedlemmer. Campingpladsen virker underligt forladt, og til familiens rædsel viser det sig, at tre maskerede psykopater huserer i tågebelagte mørke der indhyller campingpladsen. De fire familiemedlemmers vilje til overlevelse bliver sat på en frygtelig prøve og døden synes at gemme sig bag hvert et hjørne. Kontakt: Peter Sølvsten Thomsen, [email protected] ABOUT THE FILM In The Strangers: Prey at Night, three eerily disguised assailants emerge from the darkness to indiscriminately terrorize unsuspecting, innocent individuals going about their business. “The Strangers: Prey at Night is inspired by Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers, from ten years ago, with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman,” explains director Johannes Roberts. “I’m a huge fan of the first movie and what Bryan did as a director. With this film, the movie centers on a family bringing their daughter to boarding school. It is a family struggling to connect and on the verge of falling apart. On their journey, they stop-off at trailer park to stay overnight. As they begin to settle in for the night, a menacing presence appears in the form of three masked strangers, who intend to hunt and lethally harm them one-by-one, and now the family must rely on each other to survive. It is pretty dark and gruesome.” Similar to the original film, the central characters in The Strangers: Prey at Night are more than a plot device for blood and gore. “The original film, The Strangers, differentiated itself from the typical home invasion movie by building a relationship between the characters which made it more effective when the frightening intruders arrive to terrorize them,” says producer James Harris. “With this film, we, again, wanted the audience to care about the characters upfront because if they are not invested in the characters, then they don’t care if these characters die, and that’s an important element to heightening the suspense and experiencing the fear.” In addition to creating characters with a compelling emotional journey to build the fear, having three disguised antagonists stalking and slaying unwitting victims at random is the crucial component that drives the terror. “With this film, I didn’t want to rely upon jump scares to get the audience to react,” explains Roberts. “I didn’t want someone to come out of the dark when you least expect it and go ‘Boo’ and the audience jumps. Jump scares can be cool and fun, but this isn’t that movie. This is a movie about dread and atmosphere.” “The audience sees the strangers before our characters do, and they’re just there,” continues Roberts. “When the characters come face-to-face with these terrifying assailants who just want to kill them, it invokes a horrific, inevitable and unreasoning psychological fear that makes the film scary.” And the randomness by which these strangers choose their targets also increases the fear because no one is safe. “I think what’s interesting about the strangers is that they are always trying to play with the protagonists,” says Harris. “The fear of having three people, who you don’t even know, doing something for no motive whatsoever, essentially committing a pointless horrific act is terrifying to people because it means no one is chosen for a reason. It’s just about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that plays into people’s fears.” Although the two films share a similar approach to their central characters and both feature the strangers, where they diverge is in the setting and action. “The Strangers: Prey at Night is a bigger film with more scale,” explains Harris. “We took the same villains from the first one and placed them in a scenario involving an entire family who is still dealing with similar challenges that the characters in the first film dealt with. And instead of interior setting, this story occurs outside in a trailer park with more stunts, action and logistical issues.” In making The Strangers: Prey at Night, Roberts employed elements of classic horror films from the seventies and eighties. “Cinematically, I wanted this film to fit into the world of The Strangers, but I wanted a more retro and darker feel to this,” explains Roberts. “I’m a massive John Carpenter fan and his film Christine is very much an influence for me on this movie. Essentially, the pallet for The Strangers: Prey at Night is a mixture of John Carpenter’s films and other classic horror movies such as Duel, Don’t Look Now, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. All of these films I drew upon, in one way or another, as inspiration for The Strangers: Prey at Night. It wears its influences openly and proudly, and it’s definitely a movie from the heart.” The element that influenced Roberts the most is the strange car from Christine, with a mind of its own, and having a terrifying truck in this film played prominently in director’s decision to helm The Strangers: Prey at 2 Night. “The thing that drew me to this movie was the truck. It is like a character in the movie,” says Roberts. “I’ve put a lot emphasis on the truck to add to the drama. In placing one of the strangers behind the wheel, the truck, itself, comes alive and seems as if it is stalking and trying to kill the family as well.” With the success of the original film and its massive appeal to horror fans, the filmmakers had little difficulty in finding the perfect cast to portray the terrorized family. “The cast on The Strangers: Prey at Night is phenomenal. We got super lucky,” says Roberts. “Christina Hendricks was the first to sign on. She was a huge fan of the first movie, and she threw herself into the role of Cindy, the matriarch of the family. It was great working with her. She’s got a real force of a personality.” The multiple Emmy-nominated actress from “Mad Men” did not have to think twice before agreeing to participate in the film. “I got a call from one of my representatives telling me that they received an offer for me to play this role, but did not know if I wanted to do it,” recalls Hendricks. “They told me the title and I immediately said, ‘I’m in,’ because I’m a huge fan of the first film. It’s one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen in my life. Also, I like the genre very much. So, I just thought it was cool and exciting.” In her portrayal of Cindy, Hendricks saw a caring mother desperately trying to bridge the parent – teenager divide. “Cindy is the mother of two teenagers who are going through a hard time,” says Hendricks. “She’s a loving mother who’s trying to do the best for her daughter and son in any way she can. And sometimes she just doesn’t know what to do; but, she is willing to do whatever it takes to help her kids.” For Hendricks, the bond between the cast helped to create a familial atmosphere. “The nice thing about this group of actors is everyone has been very open with one another,” says Hendricks. “There was a level of intimacy right away. And we truly enjoyed each other’s company which translated into a wonderful family dynamic.” To invoke the fear that her character experiences, Hendricks chose to be in the moment and let the scene unfold. “There have been some moments on set that have been scary,” states Hendricks. “Of course, anyone who is a fan of the first one knows the famous scene when one of the strangers knocks on the door and says, ‘Hi! Is Tamara there?’ which just makes my skin crawl. So, we have our own version of that moment and in rehearsal I got giddy and excited to do it.” “But, I’m going to be honest. I haven’t read the whole script, which I’ve never done before on a project,” continues Hendricks. “I’m such a fan of the original that I want to experience the fear first hand in the same way the audience would as they watch the film. Besides, I don’t know how much you can prepare for these types of scenes. You just have to be in the moment as much as possible and go there.” Aside from letting the scene play out, Hendricks found the film’s premise in and of itself to be terrifying. “The thing that frightens me the most is that no one knows who the strangers are, and there isn’t any rhyme or reason for doing what they do – that’s what’s scary. It’s something that’s done on a whim and without purpose that makes it even scarier than someone who actually sits down and plans to end a life.” From personal experience, Hendricks knows the fear that emerges when a stranger invades one’s dwelling.