Directed by Emanuele Pica, “Stranger,” is a 2022 mystery-thriller drama film about John and Rebecca’s deadly experience. The couple decided to move into a cabin in the woods to take a break from their busy schedule. John and Rebecca loved the cabin until they realized that a stranger had been following them around from the first day. John and Rebecca had a beautiful time together, but strange things happened around them since they failed to notice the negative consequences of their presence in the woods, and it all began with the arrival of Ben, the caretaker. When John stepped out to grab some stuff from his car, Ben appeared out of nowhere and scared him. To fix things up, Ben decided to chop some wood for their fireplace.
The following day, John was on his way to the store, but he forgot to inform Rebecca about Ben’s arrival. Suddenly, Ben came up to their house; instead of knocking on the front door, he decided to keep the wood near the deck. But Ben had no negative intentions; he noticed that their car wasn’t parked near the house, so he assumed that both of them had left together. Ben apologized for his sudden intrusion and assured Rebecca that he would be available if they needed any help. All this time, a masked man followed Ben everywhere, and he even showed up near the house. But they failed to notice it as he even followed Ben to the convenience store. Well, Ben noticed that the car was following him around town, so he waited at a corner until the car went past him. John came back home and noticed that Rebecca had been hurt while chopping off some vegetables in the kitchen. Once her first aid was administered, the couple patiently waited to have pasta until the car alarm was triggered.
John rushed outside and checked it, but the car was fine, so he walked a few steps ahead to see if someone had been hiding in the bushes. Well, John assumed that a squirrel was responsible for the alarm, and in this process, he missed out on the fact that a stranger had been hiding in their basement. Eventually, the duo spent their night watching movies together, and all this time, the stranger was still lurking around their house. This time, John and Rebecca heard footsteps around the room, but they ignored the sounds. The following night, the stranger stepped inside their bedroom, walked past them, and even wore their belongings. Despite all the red flags, the couple ignored every little detail, and the next morning John and Rebecca got into an argument since the front door was unlocked and some of their stuff had been moved from its original place. Rebecca thought that John had been moving them around. She found her engagement ring on the table, and she clearly remembered that it had been placed near the wash basin. John left for a hike while Rebecca started exercising inside the house. Suddenly, the bell rang, and a random lady reached out for help. Her kitten had been missing, and she’d seen him running in the direction of their cabin.
Rebecca assured them that she hadn’t spotted a cat anywhere, so the lady provided all her details to contact her if necessary. But then she tried to force her way inside the house and doubted Rebecca’s intentions. Rebecca was very stressed about the whole situation and decided to sunbathe on the balcony instead. The couple wanted to spend the rest of their evening at the lake, as it had been days since they went out together. Unfortunately, the stranger was inside their house, and he relaxed on the top floor while the couple spent their time downstairs. Suddenly, the stranger rushed downstairs, and before John could do anything, the stranger pointed a gun at him. So, they had no choice but to follow his commands, and the stranger wanted John to make a drink for him. The stranger handcuffed their hands together and demanded they play a game with him. The stranger revealed that he had been playing this game with different people since the age of 16. His father used to do this in the past, and now he had to continue his legacy every year until he was killed by someone. The stranger didn’t have any motive to kill them; he just randomly selected them.
The stranger placed a deck of cards on the table and a gun with a single bullet inside. He challenged John and Rebecca to play a game of Russian roulette with him and the loser would have to kill himself. Rebecca refused to play the game, but they had no other choice, so she drew the first card. They managed to clear the first round, and the stranger lost it. So, he pointed the gun at his head, but he survived! So far, 17 people have died from this game. Rebecca lost the second round, and now the stranger has given her an option. She could either point the gun at herself or at John. But John managed to convince Rebecca, and John became the bait. Rebecca pulled the trigger, and John lost his life. Before leaving the house, the stranger ended up killing Rebecca too. The movie ended on an ambiguous note, where it was clearly visible that the stranger suffered from a mental disorder, or maybe he had been coerced by his father to act this way. This game became a very important part of his life as the stranger had seen his father playing it, and now he wanted to take part in this cycle.
