The unsettling topic of home invasion is often escalated in people’s minds and extremely heightened in its fears — which makes the process of crafting genuinely terrifying horror films based around the concept undoubtedly simple. And while 2008’s The Strangers certainly hit the nail directly on the head with its disturbing narrative and unforgettable performances, that hasn’t stopped the film from receiving its fair share of criticism, and, surprisingly, accusations of plagiarism.
The possibility of the film’s writer/director Bryan Bertino committing an act of plagiarism has seemingly become a hot topic over on the r/horror subreddit, where one user, in particular, discussed the puzzling similarities between The Strangers and French horror film Them. In their post, user u/PPetulia entertained the idea that both films’ plots are just too close for one to not have copied the other.
Without skipping a beat, a large portion of fellow fanatics in the comment section insisted that the films were coincidentally just similar regarding narrative, rather than The Strangers simply plagiarizing Them. Over the course of cinematic history, this wouldn’t be the first time that two movies shared a similar premise, so the idea of it happening, in this case, is definitely believable.
Despite accusations like this, Bertino’s feature eventually went on to achieve cult classic status and inspired a follow-up film entitled The Strangers: Prey at Night, with a third film also apparently in the works. Plagiarism is never a joke, of course, but it’s time to declare The Strangers as a worthy horror contender that shaped the home invasion sub-genre.
