'' The Strangers '' is a 2008 American slasher film written and directed by Bryan Bertino . The plot follows Kristen ( Liv Tyler ) and James ( Scott Speedman ) whose stay at a vacation home is disrupted by three masked criminals who infiltrate the home . Writer-director Bertino was inspired by real-life events : the Manson family Tate murders , a multiple homicide ; the Keddie Cabin Murders , that occurred in Keddie , CA 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
Tate murders
Tate murders
The Strangers (2008 film)