A horror film on Netflix has nailed the traditional brief of the genre by leaving viewers unable to sleep after watching it.
Amid ‘triggering’ thrillers inspiring physical reactions and folk horror films based on shocking real-life cases, The Strays debuted on the streaming platform last year.
It focuses on upper-middle-class woman Neve’s (Ashley Maekwe) perfectly crafted life as the deputy headmistress of a private school, after she ran away from her problems in a working-class community in London.
However, everything begins to unravel with the arrival of two shadowy figures in her town.
A description for the film, written and directed by Nathaniel Martello-White, on the streamer’s site continues: ‘Her accent, name and hair are all different now, and she strives for her and her family to live as affluently as possible.
‘But the facade is starting to crack: She keeps spotting two people in her white suburban neighbourhood who she’s convinced don’t belong there. The menacing sightings drive her to her wit’s end.’
In the trailer for the psychological horror, we see Neve pushed to the edge and breaking down in public as she insists: ‘There are people out to hurt us. Out to bring violence against us.’
Madekwe is joined in the British movie’s cast by Rocks’ Bukky Bakray, Jordan Myrie, Samauel Small, Maria Almeida and Justin Sallinger.
Since it was released, fans have dubbed it ‘messed up’ and said they were left ‘scarred for life’ as they shared their views on The Strays on social media, explaining how it affected them.
‘Have y’all seen The Strays on Netflix yet? That’s some sick s**t I couldn’t sleep last night,’ confessed @legere_anna on X after watching the film.
@Andre09 agreed, telling fellow users: ‘If you’re trying to sleep well tonight, don’t watch The Strays right before bed.’
‘Just finished watching The Strays on Netflix and the ending left me wondering what the hell just happened,’ chimed in @Olanikeajagun01, while @elaninGarcon declared: ‘I can honestly say this is the wildest f***ing movie I seen.’
‘So…has anybody seen the movie The Strays on Netflix??? I thought it was going to be some Passing/Get Out mash-up, but it’s so much more twisted lmao,’ posted Britni Danielle.
In reviews, The Strays was praised for taking ‘a satisfyingly enraged and confrontational approach to the whitewashing of a life’ by Radio Times, while Empire magazine referenced its ‘knockout ending’.