gator-35584 as soon as the doctor is murder the town would be full of police...are there only a few folks... no one after the thugs.... it is a thriller but not worth watching... good for you who liked it Everyone gets killed...and if she only had one customer a day she would close....even a slow place needs more then one employee.. oh and let rent room to the killers... this is s stupid movie...typical plot....good guys helps bad guys and everyone gets killed....don't waste your time watching this movie..I wasted my time writing this review...go what the High Serra with Humphrey Bogart...it is thriller that makes sense. This movie is very predictable....and the story is very shallow....the town only has ten people.....I rate it a two....out of ten

hnt_dnl I remember seeing roughly the last half of this movie WHEN STRANGERS APPEAR (2001) years ago on TV thinking one word...UNPREDICTABLE! Having seen it in full recently, I still go with that adjective. The viewer really doesn't know the twist until fairly late into the movie, and then the movie goes from methodical into overdrive! It works mainly because (A) it does an amazing job of infusing realistic doses of humanity into the thriller genre and (B) it is minimalist in it's presentation and (C) it is very well-written and acted. The movie introduces us to Beth (played convincingly by the talented Australian actress Radha Mitchell). Mitchell is one of the very few actresses that has repeatedly been able to draw me into her characters over the last 10 years or so. She always seems to play women that are tough, individualistic, resourceful, that still maintain their femininity (PITCH BLACK, ROGUE, SILENT HILL). There's an authenticity about the way she plays these characters. I find her a lot easier to watch than many "bigger" name actresses. Helps that she's hot as hell, too!Beth runs a diner and motel in a small "Oregon" burg near the beach. One morning opening the diner, a mysterious guy named Jack (Barry Watson in a effectively creepy performance). Jack has a surfboard on his car and seems headed for the beach; Beth is suspicious and grills him for info. Three "surfer" guys show up for breakfast. The "main" guy appears to be Peter (slyly and appealingly played by Josh Lucas). Jack hides out and explains to Beth after they leave that they are out to kill him. A skeptical Beth orders him out, but he has a flesh wound and passes out. She takes him to the local surgeon and then starts to investigate Jack's story. In the meantime, Beth finds herself drawn to Peter. Needless to say, there are several twists and turns along the way.The angle that really caught my attention is the relationship between Beth and Peter, which is very natural and convincing. They seem to really like each other aside from all the twists and turns and I kept thinking that under different circumstances, I could actually see them together! There's an interesting exchange between them near the end that I found to be strangely endearing and believable given the connection between them. Also, I liked the more platonic Beth-Jack relationship; she had an almost maternal instinct when it came to him.Although some of the turns in the story are a tad, shall we say, "convenient", the director times them in a very tongue-in-cheek manner that makes one smile rather than wince. Not to mention the leads Mitchell, Lucas, and Watson do a great job of "selling" the story. The 2 guys with Lucas are kind of underused and underdone as characters, But veteran actor Kevin Anderson gives a very strong turn as the dicey town sheriff Bryce, who has his own rather interesting connection to Beth. Beth's very different interactions with Jack, Peter, and Bryce are a strong point of the film.The ending is very tense, exciting, and ironic (you'll see!). There is a minimalist approach to film-making that I love about this flick as it relies primarily on somewhat lengthy scenes of character interaction and very little of that typical background music you hear in thrillers. The flick also has an otherworldly appeal/supernatural element as it takes place in isolation in the seeming middle of nowhere with VERY FEW people; makes the proceedings all the more scary. It also has that well-known Hitchcockian touch of the Macguffin plot point that in the end is really secondary to the main draw of the film, yet the Macguffin strangely still seems relevant and important somehow at the end...Highly recommended.

maria_damkjaer A lot of the discussion seems to be about the last two minutes of this film, which seems unfair, but actually makes sense because the ending, for me, is the main beauty of the film. I have seen many films spoiled by a silly ending, but this is not one of them. The ending is perfect. This film is fast-paced, with constant turns and surprises, a real, classic thriller basically - and throughout the film there are long scenes where almost nothing happens, just suspense building up, and then it explodes in panic and headlong flight. You never really understand what it is all about, and that, for me, sends the film right up there with "The Birds" and other thriller classics. You don't always have to have things explained to you, sometimes there is a strange beauty in the things that you don't understand. So watch this film is you want to see something a little different, guaranteed no boring exposition and long-winded explanations. This film is an attempt to make a thriller that doesn't have to prove itself, that doesn't need an excuse to exist, that simply just works on the basis of atmosphere and mood. This has to be one of the best thrillers I have seen for a long, long time.

JNSBuffy I wasn't even going to watch this movie because of it's awful title (n Germany it's called "Highway Psychos" - um, yeah...), but I'm so glad gave it a shot. It really kept me guessing. I absolutely I loved Josh Lucas in this, as I have a thing for sexy bad guys, and he really pulled it off. I also like the fact that we never find out what's on the CD. I like movies that leave at least a little bit to the imagination. I kind of agree about the ending, though, it was a little overblown and, sadly, very unrealistic - if you are drenched in gasoline, you're just not going to survive just by crouching down if the explosion is right next to you. But I can look past that as the rest of the film more than makes up for that. My favorite scene was the one with Josh Lucas and Radha Mitchell in the gas station's restroom - very suspenseful, and, to me, erotically charged (but that's just me cause I'm weird). I will definitely get the DVD, if only to find out what happens after the credits. See this movie, especially if you like movies that keep you guessing and killers who are easy on the eyes.