Whilst the streaming giant Netflix has already delivered many stellar titles this year, one of their most fascinating to date is set to arrive next month. Entitled The Stranger, the crime thriller follows two strangers who meet on a journey and start a tense friendship, but not all as it seems.
One of the pair is Henry Teague, a suspect in an unsolved missing person’s case, played by Sean Harris, whilst the other is an undercover policeman played by Joel Edgerton. Edgerton’s character is part of a small group of secret law enforcement agents posing as criminals in a sinister criminal network, hunting a killer who has been elusive for eight years.
Interestingly, the film is based on true events. It draws heavily on the kidnap and murder of 13-year-old Australian boy Daniel Morcombe, who was snatched from a bus stop in 2003 and later murdered. In what is one of the country’s most high-profile cases, it was only thanks to the lengthy undercover operation that his murderer was caught.
The Morcombe family has expressed their disdain for The Stranger, and has outright slammed the making of it, claiming that all those who are involved are profiting without showing any respect for their son. Daniel’s father, Bruce, told ABC Australia: “We think this is most distasteful, most hurtful, and has no community benefit whatsoever”.
Elsewhere, his mother Denise, tweeted: “The movie “The Stranger” is not supported by the Morcombe family. Individuals who make money on a heinous crime are parasites. They are callously disrespectful to Daniel, the DMF & the Morcombe family. We find the making of the movie morally corrupt and cruel. Shame on you.”
The Stranger is set to hit theatres in Australia on October 6th, with its Netflix premiere scheduled for October 19th.
