Day 25 - Horror film in which you perfer the edited version over the director’s cut

        Unfortunately, I cannot answer the original question! I normally don't pay attention to whether or not the edited version of a film is better than the director's cut. I'm sure there is a film, I am just blanking really hard at the moment. There are too many movies to sort through!

    The only instance I can think of is the "spider walk" scene in The Exorcist. This scene was included in the director's cut and I don't think it's good. In the book, possessed Regan "spider walks" down the stairs and crawls around the floor licking people's ankles. Friedkin tried to include those moments into the film, but they unfortunately do not work for me. The scene is a bit awkward and you can clearly see the stunt double's face. It takes me out for the film. 

    But other than that, I do enjoy the director's cut, I don't think I can watch The Exorcist any other way. So, instead of answering the original question, I am once again going to generate a new question: What is your favorite home invasion film? My answer to that question has to be The Stranger's (2008) directed by Bryan Bertino.

    This was another movie I remember seeing when I was a kid! I distinctly remember the trailer playing "The Sprout and the Bean" by Joanna Newsom, which made the film look even scarier. I could have sworn there was a trailer in which the song plays over its entirety, ending with Joanna's voice singing, "Should we go outside? Should we go outside." I have been trying to find that exact trailer, but no such luck! That's what made the trailer so memorable to me.

    I remember the night my parents bought the film and put it on in the living room. This movie was so thrilling to watch, I remember getting freaked out by the silent killers. The film doesn't give you a chance to feel comfortable; The couple, played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, make the audience feel uneasy. It is revealed that James (Speedman) had proposed to Kristen (Tyler) earlier and she had to "think about it". The audience has to sit through both characters' awkwardness, creating tension.

    The couple are interrupted by a knock at the door, which is always welcomed when one is staying at a remote location. James opens the door to a young woman asking for "Tamara". Apparently, director Bryan Bertino based this scene off of a childhood experience:

"That part of the story came to me from a childhood memory. As a kid, I lived in a house on a street in the middle of nowhere. One night, while our parents were out, somebody knocked on the front door and my little sister answered it. At the door were some people asking for somebody that didn't live there. We later found out that these people were knocking on doors in the area and, if no one was home, breaking into the houses. In The Strangers, the fact that someone is at home does not deter the people who've knocked on the front door; it's the reverse."

    After James leaves the house to buy some cigarettes, there's another knock on the door to which Kristen answers. Once again, the young woman asks for "Tamara" and is turned away again. Kristen is standing in the house when this scene happens:

    Which is probably one of the scariest scenes out of the whole movie. You do not expect to see someone already inside the house! This is when Kristen notices that someone is in the house and sees the door slightly open. The young woman form earlier is peering inside the house now donning a mask. Something could have happened to Kristen while James was gone, but he returns before anything does. He tries to reassure her that there's no one in the house, which is easy for him to say because he didn't witness the things she did. Typical.

    Anyways, chaos ensues after this moment, with 3 "strangers" tormenting the couple all night. The couple is eventually tied to some chairs at dawn, facing the mercy of three masked assailants. Kristen asks, "Why are you doing this to us?". Dollface, one of the killers, replies, "Because you were home." Brutal! It's just pure, senseless violence. The 3 strangers proceed to take turns stabbing the couple to death.

    Apparently!! There was some footage shown at some test screenings. The Strangers were supposed to show their faces to the audience and go around the house cleaning evidence. That scene was excluded from the film post-production. In the director's cut, after Kristen is stabbed, she hears Mike's (I forgot to mention James friend who was accidentally shot by James) cellphone ringing. She tries to answer it, but is intercepted by the Man in the Mask, one of the killers. SO! I guess I do prefer the edited version over the director's cut... heh.