Claim: The Strangers is a film.

The Strangers is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman . The film follows a young couple who are terrorized by three masked assailants over the course of an evening at a remote summer home .   Writer-director Bertino was inspired by two real-life events : the Manson family Tate murders , a multiple homicide that occurred in California in 1969 ; and a series of break-ins that occurred in his own neighborhood as a child . Made on a budget of $ 9 million , the film was shot on location in rural South Carolina in the fall of 2006 . At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con , Bertino appeared with stars Tyler and Speedman , and premiered a teaser trailer promoting the film .   Originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007 , its release date was postponed , and it received a wide theatrical release on May 30 , 2008 . It grossed $ 82.4 million at the box office worldwide . Although a commercial success , it received mixed reviews from critics , with some praising its atmosphere and tension , and others criticizing its script and characters . Contemporary film scholars have interpreted the film as a criticism of the perceived safety of pastoral life , as well as an exploration of stranger-on-stranger violence .