Product Details

• Actors: Radha Mitchell, Josh Lucas, Barry Watson, Kevin Anderson, Jonathan Blick
• Directors: Scott Reynolds
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 25, 2002
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005U8QT
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,297 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tidy Little Thriller, July 3, 2003

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Strangers Appear (DVD)

This made-on-a-shoestring film delivers a wallop. I went in with no expectations and was instantly drawn into the compelling opening scenes, and the razor sharp acting by the young cast.

The movie opens with Beth (Radha Mitchell) striding purposefully down a dusty highway. She is furious when a car speeds past her leaving her in a cloud of dust without offering her a ride. She arrives at a surprising spacious, super hygienic diner that she opens for business. Imaginative quick shots follow of her filling the condiment containers, starting the coffee, turning on the lights highlighting the boredom and repetitiousness of her life. Enter the driver of the car who passed her by, Jack (Barry Wilson) greasy haired, frail, shaky and obviously broke and hungry. Beth warily jokes with him and feels empathy toward this polite young man; she has obviously had troubles of her own. Jack claims that three surfers are after him, trying to kill him. He clearly is frightened and has a serious wound in his side. While he is telling his story, the "surfers" drive up. In a panic, he draws a knife and hides. The three, led by Daniel (Josh Lucas, the only actor I recognized: "Sweet Home Alabama," "Hulk") said they were on their way to the nearby beach. Daniel in particular was charming, funny and sweet. They admitted they were looking for a drifter who they claimed had broken into their car and robbed them. That's the setup, and Beth (and the viewer) spend two-thirds of the movie trying to figure out who to believe. Violence, terror, and things that-go-bump-in-the-night escalate until the tension is unbearable.

The pacing is relentless and for me, the movie went by in a flash. Excellent directing by Scott Reynolds who I understand has made other fine, quirky, low budget films. "When Strangers Appear" doesn't answer all your questions. It never tells you exactly what, if anything, was stolen or whether the drifter or the surfers might be disguised agents of some government, maybe our own. I do not consider this a flaw. It was just one more thing to ponder over. A minor annoyance was the "Oregon" locale. The movie was shot in some Commonwealth country; the road and informational signs were a dead giveaway. The lack of extras (probably a budget consideration) was a plus; it focused the intensity on the main players and heightened the sense of alienation.

"When Strangers Appear" is excellent entertainment. I recommend buying it for your home library if you are not adverse to a scare or two or three.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whats all the fuss about?, September 3, 2002

By 

trebe - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: When Strangers Appear (DVD)

When Strangers Appear, is the kind of movie that can suck you in, and take you along for a suspenseful, and unpredictable journey. Written and directed by Scott Reynolds, the film is an Australian production, set in of all places, Oregon. The plot unfolds, taking twists and turns, designed to keep you guessing. The film features no big stars, but contains solid performances by the entire cast. Ultimately how much you may enjoy it, may depend on your tolerance for ambiguity. If you need to have total clarity and resolution, you may not be satisfied with the ending. Saying too much, about exactly what happens, would ruin it for those who have not yet seen the movie, but here are some peripheral comments.

Radha Mitchell, is an actress with talent. She was great in ...Pitch Black..., and also plays a strong woman here. Her performance is believable, and rings true throughout. No cheap laughs, or throwaway lines. Her character "Beth", is busy running two businesses. By day, a tiny dinner, and at night, she manages a motel. Barry Watson, gives an edgy performance as a furtive and suspicious drifter who shows up at the diner, claiming that people are after him. Josh Lucas plays a helpful "surfer", one who's concerned about Beth. And Kevin Anderson plays the local lawman, a guy who apparently has problems controlling himself around women, especially Beth.

When Strangers Appear, is an interesting film, with some quirky choices in editing. It starts a bit slow, but the level of violence escalates, at times quite surprisingly. The plot twists keep you guessing, and in the end, you don't know exactly what it was all for. There are some major problems with time sequencing during a standoff scene at the diner, where it goes from noon to dusk in just a few minutes. Also, cars seem to suddenly and silently, appear out of nowhere, a bit too often. The foreign locales could pass for Oregon, unless perhaps you're an expert on trees of the Pacific Northwest. A couple of minor characters, do seem to have a hint of Aussie type accents. The post end credit "post script" doesn't add anything. Though far from perfect, it is still a thriller well worth your time. Radha Mitchell continues to show that she is an actress with much potential.

The DVD contains both widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. The extras are minimal, and the subtitling is not true to the actual dialog.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars BRIGHT, COLORFUL, TARANTINO-LIKE STYLE, November 5, 2010

By 

KEVIN BRIAN - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Strangers Appear (DVD)

Just finished watching this on Showtime. I'm not into the 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Dust to Dawn' Tarantino-ish kind of action films and this sort of fits in that genre. The thing that really 'bugged' the hell out of me was the narrative of the story.
There were these 'gaps' and I mean, freakin' giant 'gaps' throughout the film that made the flow seem 'episodic' and terribly paced. It's like 'commercials' should of been placed where the story suddenly fades,or jumps to a new scene, oddly zapping the main characters into a totally new situation. You literally have to 'connect the dots' with quick flashbacks, or listen to the characters explain 'what the hell' just happened.
Of course, or at least I hope (!),that this was the intention that the director, and editor wanted. You know,to 'self indulge' themselves, trying to make the movie more cryptic and way kooler than it actually is.
I thought this style really worked in the teen, pulp-fiction like comedy "Go" but in this,for me, it just didn't need it. It's a simple little thriller that has it's heart in the right place, but is dressed up with too many 'flashbacks' and 'plot twists'.
Spunky waitress meets a dangerous (or is he?) fugitive, befriends a good-looking, friendly (or is he?) drifter with two loser buddies and later teams up with the town sheriff (who's also a rapist! Huh?)in a subplot that goes nowhere.
Now I will admit,that the film does look incredibly gorgeous and has a 'feverish' sunny kind of hypontic appeal and Josh Lucas looks stunning. His blue eyes, and dashing mysterious charm is worth the peek alone, and there's a scene at the very end, (after the climactic showdown, and 'only in the movies' kind of explosion of an old road side gas station) with lead actress Radha Mitchell that is pretty darn cute. But in a Tarantino...ain't this movie soooo kool....kinda way. That's just my opinion! Kevin Brian