*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Is it wrong to want more?”

The Strays released on Netflix on February 22nd 2023. The social horror-thriller film stars Ashley Madekwe, Justin Salinger, Bukky Bakray, and Jorden Myrie . It runs for approximately an hour and forty minutes.

A woman’s life is turned upside down when two strangers show up in her suburban town.

Here is the trailer:

The Strays has an eerie start with a fantastic lead, but does it try to do too much? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Ashley Madekwe puts forth a valiant effort.

I was already a fan of hers and I thought she really portrayed this character with everything she had. She elevated this film in a lot of ways and didn’t hold back. She was very convincing and I believed her performance. 

The rest of the cast did a solid job as well with what they were given.

Images courtesy of Netflix

Eerie first half.

I was drawn in right away and wanted to know more. The first half of this movie was disturbing and uncomfortable, but it kept me intrigued. The film was clearly inspired by Get Out in a lot of ways and tried to dip into the social horror genre with its plot. It was heading in the right direction for me, but then things went off the rails once we got to the second half…

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Tries to do way too much…

Just when I thought I was completely hooked, the film took a step back and presented things from another perspective, which didn’t transition seamlessly in my opinion. It broke the eerie tone and took on a lot with its reveal. I was still interested in what was going on, but things continued to spiral out of control from here. This film was guilty of trying to jam-pack in elements from every genre, which made this a confusing watch for me.

I appreciate what it was trying to accomplish, but I’m not sure that it translated that well.

I also wasn’t a fan of the ending. Sure, it was shocking and out there, but it left me wondering what I had just really watched and if it was worth it…

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m 50/50 on this one…

I’m in for Ashley Madekwe, but this film was really confusing and left me wanting more. I was actually really disappointed by the time I got to the end because it had so much potential in the first half, but the ultimate resolution didn’t leave me completely satisfied.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Strays in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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