Jeremy Benjamin
The acting is wooden, the film recycles every dull horror cliché in the book, and the story makes no sense from beginning to end. The dialogue is completely implausible, and the only reason to watch this dog of a film is to laugh at its ineptitude. I would have no hesitation in including this film in a top ten of the worst I have seen in the past decade.
kosmasp
So you thought the erotic thriller movie (at least the one that is also portrayed in this particular movie) won't be seeing the light of day anymore? Well, welcome back to the 80s (or maybe even early 90s). This is a flashback (something you get in the movie too). The acting is spot on with the theme it has. Which doesn't mean it's good.But if you're like me, you are a sucker for Sara Butler and you love to see her, even in a lesser movie like this one (she also appears in her "Eve" costume). There won't be many surprises in this one (you'll figure it out, before it begins). The suspense is low, the cinematography is nice and that's about it
trashgang
To be honest, I only watched this flick due Sarah Butler who I was going to meet two days after seeing this flick. This is some kind of erotic thriller and not really a horror although the beginning do offer a bit of horror. But once Emily (Estella Warren) is rescued from her abductor she went off to an island with her husband Robert (William Baldwin) to take some rest but one night Sarah (Sarah Butler) appears covered in blood. Robert, being a psychiatrist decide to take her in at home. It's from that moment that the stranger is within the house but it's also a point were we do have a lot of blah blah and I can't say that the acting was convincing by Baldwin. The horror comes back in when Emily is starting to hear a baby and is seeing the death body of a close friend Sophie (Katia Winter). Slowly we do start to know that Emily had an affair with Sophie's boyfriend. Yes indeed, Basic Instinct (1992) isn't far away. There's nudity from Estella Warren and from Sarah Butler (gratuitous when showing her titties) to satisfy the Kleenex boys. Who's Sarah and why did she pops up and who's the kidnapper, that's the main question in this flick. But the magic from Basic Instinct isn't there. Therefor it moves to slowly and there isn't really any suspense. It's only the last 20 minutes that the horror (on a low base)comes back but by then it's a bit too late. Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5
doug_park2001
Stilted acting, an unconvincing storyline, a script that could have been written by a fourth-grader, hackneyed horror film tropes (zombie imagery, etc), and phony picture-perfect makeup/costume design are all topped-off with a distractingly pervasive soap operatic soundtrack. The cover blurb states that this film is "A dark and twisted psychological thriller!"; however, the "psychology" of it all is pretty rudimentary.On the other hand, the cinematography is well-done despite the very low budget. No matter how limited the scope, there is some nice Balearic Islands scenery, and Sarah Butler, as tormented house-guest "Sarah," strips briefly in order to spice things up. Finally, there is some attempt at a twist, even if it's not a terribly original one, at the end.THE STRANGER WITHIN is reminiscent of some of the corniest suspense films of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Indeed, it echos the title of a 1974 TV movie which apparently has a similar conflict and must have inspired this one.