Dhruv Trivedi
‘The Strangers’ is a psychological horror film that finds Kristen and James trapped in a vacation home with three murderous criminals. When the intruders shatter a seemingly peaceful evening, the house and its surrounding area quickly become an unexpected prison for the couple. The film’s mood of entrapment and dread are slowly built up as we get to know the characters.
As the story progresses, the cozy home is turned into a sinister site. The house and surrounding areas play a big part in making the heinous situation seen in the film possible, something that is made more chilling considering it is inspired by true events. Let’s take a look at where the filmmakers created the ominous setting of ‘The Strangers.’
The Strangers Filming Locations
‘The Strangers’ takes place in a house on the outskirts of an unnamed city. It was filmed almost entirely on location in Florence County, South Carolina. Filming took place in multiple locations beginning from October 10, 2006, until early 2007. Let’s take a closer look at the film’s specific filming locations.
Florence County, South Carolina
A perfect stand-in for the exteriors of the house described in the film’s script was found outside the city of Florence in Timmonsville, South Carolina. The film’s writer and director, Bryan Bertino, based the house the film centers around on the ones in rural Texas that he remembers from childhood. The production team found a suitable house in Timmonsville, which is a little over 10 miles outside the city of Florence.
The 70s-era brick ranch house met all the requirements of the script except for a back porch, which was added to the house for filming. The events of the film take place predominantly at night, in and around the house. These scenes were filmed predominantly at night at the house in Timmonsville and in its spacious backyard. Artificial trees were also placed around the property for effect.
The interior of the 2,000 square-foot house was built in a warehouse nearby, which was converted into a soundstage for filming. The set was created with close attention to details to keep the vintage 1970s aesthetics of the original house intact in the scenes.
This was particularly important since a major part of the movie takes place indoors, in many different rooms of the house. The set, which took about 2 months to construct, included movable walls to ensure the camera could access every “room” of the house.
A few flashback scenes were also filmed on location in the city of Florence at the Pee Dee Shrine Club, at 3053 Crescent Circle, and the Hilton Garden Inn at 2671 Hospitality Boulevard. Streets of residential areas in the city, which are shown in the opening scenes of the movie, were also filmed in Florence.
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