Because You Were Home (A fanedit of The Strangers)

I watched this movie the other night, and overall I really enjoyed it.  It was a great horror movie for me.  However, the ending just didn't sit right with me.  The cool part of the movie for me was that we don't see much of whats going on.  Its just us and the horror that the 2 main characters are experiencing.  The ending changes that mood really, and shows way too much, IMHO.

I decided to have a go at this since JasonN seemed to have a bit of a different idea for his edit.  The edit is now available.

Cuts: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

• added THX style FAN intro
• replaced some intro logos and credits
• completely removed intro narration
• trimmed scene where they first try to leave by car to reduce obvious continuity error where James is wearing the tie that he used to wrap around Kristen's injured hand
• recut execution scene so that we do not see what is happening.  Shots of the outside of the house and neighboring trees and roads have replaced the visuals with screams and sound effects as audio
• deleted everything after initial execution.  Male murderer does not follow Kristen around house. Boys meeting murderers and duplicate shots of boys finding victoms have been removed.
• abridged credits

original runtime: 85 minutes
new runtime: 74 minutes

note: 1080p HD version was cut at a later date, and is not exactly the same, though the cuts are the basically the same.  A different font was used for titles, and there are some very minor differences in the cuts.

trailer:

IFDb listing

final DVD cover art:


final AVCHD cover art:




Release info:
- NSTC DVD (single layer). anamorphic widescreen. 5.1 surround AC3 audio
- AVI (700MB). 5.1 surround sound
- MKV (4.4GB). 1080p. 5.1 surround AC3 audio

Maybe downloadable from .info

why is it called since you were home, shouldn't it be- because you were home,thats what they say ,don't they???
not watched it for a bit so could be wrong

you are correct. I originally didn't like that as a title, but its been changed to reflect the correct line. I just haven't updated the cover preview.

ThrowgnCpr said:

you are correct. I originally didn't like that as a title, but its been changed to reflect the correct line. I just haven't updated the cover preview.

Click to expand...

call it what you want,its your edit,if you don't like it don't use it

DVD is complete. I noticed a couple extra frames in the movie that don't belong, so I need to re-render out the movie. The DVD should be up tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to watching this,i even made a cover, hope you don't mind

download link - http://rapidshare.com/files/160229283/s ... _cover.rar

edit - it is fixed and the download link is for the fixed one

cool dluppers


...but its "the mind is the scariest place" not "the mist"

thanks for the cover

ThrowgnCpr said:

cool dluppers


...but its "the mind is the scariest place" not "the mist"

thanks for the cover

Click to expand...

lol whoops , i tried to copy your text off your cover,i guess my eyes didn't quite work

hehe, eyes tend to do that from time to time. Anyway, if you upload or email me the cover at throwgncpr (at) faneditforum (dot) com I'll put it for download on the main site when I create the page later today. thanks again

moved to True Fanedits section. Also updated first post with rapidshare links for DVD.

congratulations on finishing your 2nd true fanedit, throw. Downloading now.

Congratulations and Review with Disclaimer will follow.

Mollo said:

Congratulations and Review with Disclaimer will follow.

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I look forward to a colorful review (green, amber, or red) :grin:

I've just watched this so i'll leave some feedback

video- faultless,i saw no problems at all,very clear and detailed even in the dark parts 5/5

audio- again faultless, no hard cuts or sync problems 5/5

movie- ok , this was the bit i was disappointed with,the trimming of the beginning is fine,it probably needed it, but the end i felt was ruined by not showing any thing at all,i read before hand you had shortened the end scene but to completely remove the deaths of the 2 leads was very disappointing,this felt like the film was neutered and lost its pay off,i agree though that the death scene could of been trimmed , maybe cut a few stabs but you should of left a few in there, i don't know maybe it is just me but i enjoy watching a good death scene and it was arguably the best scene in the original film.
i think if you haven't already watched the retail version then you may be happy with this edit,mainly because you don't know what you are missing. another thing i noticed is that there wasn't any end credits, was this by choice or a mistake ????
3/5

overall i would recommend this to any one that likes there horror scary but without a lot of blood

Dluppers said:

I've just watched this so i'll leave some feedback

video- faultless,i saw no problems at all,very clear and detailed even in the dark parts 5/5

audio- again faultless, no hard cuts or sync problems 5/5

movie- ok , this was the bit i was disappointed with,the trimming of the beginning is fine,it probably needed it, but the end i felt was ruined by not showing any thing at all,i read before hand you had shortened the end scene but to completely remove the deaths of the 2 leads was very disappointing,this felt like the film was neutered and lost its pay off,i agree though that the death scene could of been trimmed , maybe cut a few stabs but you should of left a few in there, i don't know maybe it is just me but i enjoy watching a good death scene and it was arguably the best scene in the original film.
i think if you haven't already watched the retail version then you may be happy with this edit,mainly because you don't know what you are missing. another thing i noticed is that there wasn't any end credits, was this by choice or a mistake ????
3/5

overall i would recommend this to any one that likes there horror scary but without a lot of blood

Click to expand...

Thanks for the review Dluppers. I have to completely disagree with you about the ending, but that's all a matter of taste. I found the original ending to be boring, and did not give any credit to the stylization of the film. With the edit, we still get closure and of course we hear their deaths, but now we have to image the horrible atrocity that is going on. Not just see a couple simple stabs (which I found predictable and boring, and the worst scene in the movie).

As for the end credits, I didnt see a point for this edit. I have just presented the actors and the composer. Thats what this particular edit was about. The emotion in the movie. So I went with an abridged version.

Anyway, I'm glad this brought you some enjoyment, and thanks for the review.

ThrowgnCpr said:

Thanks for the review Dluppers. I have to completely disagree with you about the ending, but that's all a matter of taste. I found the original ending to be boring, and did not give any credit to the stylization of the film. With the edit, we still get closure and of course we hear their deaths, but now we have to image the horrible atrocity that is going on. Not just see a couple simple stabs (which I found predictable and boring, and the worst scene in the movie).

As for the end credits, I didnt see a point for this edit. I have just presented the actors and the composer. Thats what this particular edit was about. The emotion in the movie. So I went with an abridged version.

Anyway, I'm glad this brought you some enjoyment, and thanks for the review.

Click to expand...

ok fair enough, i'm sure lots of people will enjoy this edit, but when it comes to me , the gorier the better...sorry

hehe, yes and thats the beauty of fanediting. different strokes for different folks. I like horror, but not gore. And I saw potential in this movie to be a good psychological horror, and thats what i I tried to go for. thanks for tuning in

and another one, because it is exciting, when my good friend ThrowgnCpr creates a true horror fanedit.
*** contains heavy spoilers ***
the prologue:
I have watched a lot of horror movies. The original THE STRANGERS comes much in the spirit of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but is, although sick, a lot less disturbing, because less violent and less gruesome. I found the original to be a superficial b-horror movie, starting with an intro that already gave everything away and a finale that made me feel like being in a Rob Zombie movie, with the exception of the awakening scream that was just dumb and stupid (although a neat final scare). Annoying because it was not a ghost movie and not a fantasy movie.
Now the last movie of this kind that I watched was FUNNY GAMES and that really kind of changed my watching experience. That was a satire that played all the time with the feelings of the audience and it did that masterfully. THE STRANGERS felt most of the time like something you have seen many times before. It is voyeur horror. No monsters, just disturbing sickness. No true horror, but pain and disgust.

the edit:
ThrowgnCpr took out what had to be taken out to really improve on this obvious and superficial movie. Liv Tyler gives a kickass performance and with the edits done she is moved in the complete focus. the movie starts emotional to give the audience a chance to connect to the characters, although they are not really likable, but that gives it a more realistic feel than the average happy couple being slaughtered.
Taking out the intro speech was a great idea. The movie built up tension for me until about minute 50, when I got the feeling that it all repeated itself over and over. Hunted, hidden, found, played with, scared. It is pretty obvious very soon that the couple does not stand a chance against the attackers and will not get out of this alive and that premises kind of ruins the thrill for the finale, which is just the end result of what you already knew would happen.
I found a bit strange that the attackers had so much fun in scaring Liv's character, when nobody was seen around watching it. That kind of let me miss the motive, which I would have needed to better understand what was happening and why. The solution: "BECAUSE YOU WERE HOME" is pretty much frustrating and disturbing. Should I now no longer answer the door? Never trust anyone again? Deny help? Is the world just a sick place and every day without harm a lucky one? Well, not in my life and I will try to avoid seeing it that way as long as I can. Without a psycho monster reality is present and makes you feel bad about the world in chaos.
Not showing the death of the main characters in the end is two sided sword. The original ending was way not perfect, but it included the reunion of the couple (besides being stabbed at the same time). Now we don't get that, but only hear what happens. the violence of the scenes is not needed and I can live with the new ending, but it is also taking something away. The last ten minutes of the original are completely gone and it is good that way. The boys do not add to the story at all and only make the movie more superficial than it already was, when they meet the killers. Well done.
Overall I see this movie very improved, still not a great one and not one to much remember for me.
The editing was flawless. No plotholes, no hard cuts. great beginning credits
editing: 5 of 5
entertainment: 3 of 5

video quality: I watched this on my computer and there was a slight flickering of the image during camera drives, also there was a very slight blurring effect in movements.
4 of 5

audio quality: perfect. great 5.1 audio.
5 of 5

presentation: the DVD comes with a very nice still main menu, animated chapter menus (very nice with the transparent effect) and a good looking info menu. All menus are with audio. Cover and disc art are included and look fantastic.
5 of 5

resulting in a 4 of 5 overall rating for this fanedit. You won't be disappointed by watching it. A good one.

thanks boon that was about what I was expecting in terms of entertainment value. This is no masterpiece, but I am glad that this might be an improved experience for a few people.

Wow, you sure got this one out quickly, Throw (I haven't even started up on my edit yet).