Remember Quibi? It was an easy punchline (or punching bag) in the early days of COVID, when a platform structured around Qui(ck) Bi(tes) that could be viewed both vertically and horizontally failed miserably. But a lot of solid talent produced the platform’s first batch of content, and it didn’t deserve to completely disappear into the ether. From Veena Sud The strangera full-length reboot of his series that would otherwise have been relegated to the dustbins of the streaming era.
THE STRANGERSTREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The essence: Claire (Maika Monroe) is a rideshare driver for “Orbit” (a clever mash-up of Uber and Lyft) who takes Carl (Dane De Haan) to the Los Angeles airport. She should have known she was in for quite a ride when Carl insists on sitting up front, and her attempts at pleasant conversation quickly backfire when Carl details a series of murders he just committed. An accident seems to undo Carl, but he keeps finding ways to torment her physically and psychologically. Using all manner of gadgets, he stalks Claire mercilessly as she tries to escape his grasp. During a restless night that stretches into dawn, she tries to stay one step ahead of her brutal enemy only to discover that he appears to have predicted her exact next move.
What movies will it remind you of? Collateral for the smartphone set.
Performance worth watching: Remember when Dane De Haan was on the cusp of becoming the creepiest character in Hollywood 10 years ago? (Did Barry Keoghan pick him right in the market?) Either way, The stranger It’s a reminder of what we’ve been missing, and apparently only Christopher Nolan is in the cast. Oppenheimer remembered.
Memorable dialogue: It’s a threatening text message that really steals the show, using a memorable nickname to lash out at Claire: “YOU SHOULD HAVE RUN ME OVER WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE, NANCY PELOSI! #DumbShitScaryMovieBitchesDo”
Sex and skin: An inflatable sex doll makes a memorable appearance, but other than that, nothing of the sort.
Our opinion: It’s easy to feel the unnatural pacing of a short-form series forced into a feature-length film. Every 8 minutes or so, The stranger It features an artificial mini-climax or cliffhanger ending that seems to lead into a soft reset. The constant changes of scenery become incredibly overstimulating when crammed into one sitting. Similarly, Carl’s ruthless omnipresence begins to strain credulity at points where all of his betrayals play out consecutively.
But the biggest flaw of The stranger It’s just that this iteration of the story seems to have missed its moment of relevance. Sud’s use of the algorithm as the truest source of horror has the aura of post-Cambridge Analytica panic written all over it. While this project technically predates the algorithm villains of Principle and Mission: Impossible – Dead ReckoningThe featured version of this story now sadly lives under its shadow.
Our calling: SKIP IT. The stranger It never quite overcomes the limitations of its original format of episodic, synthetic scenes. Though Monroe and De Haan are talented actors, they are stuck playing derivative, generic beats within a family horror thriller cloaked in faux-contemporary relevance.
Marshall Shaffer is a freelance film journalist based in New York City. In addition to Jugo Mobile, his work has also appeared in Slashfilm, Slant, The Playlist, and many other outlets. Someday soon, everyone will realize how right he is when it comes to talking about Spring breakers.
Look The stranger on Hulu
