Kristen McKay

Kristien McKay is the main protagonist in The Strangers. She was the girlfriend of James Hoyt and the friend of Mike. Mother Kristen Mckay Jr

The Strangers:
Kristen and her boyfriend, James, arrive at James' childhood summer home, tired and irritable after a long evening at a friend's wedding reception. It is revealed that James proposed to Kristen and she refused, saying she is not ready yet. Shortly after 4 a.m., there is a knock at the door, surprising since the house is so remote and far from any civilization. A young blonde woman, whose face is obscured by low lighting, asks for Tamara. When told that she is at the wrong house, she leaves with the casual caveat that she will "see them later."

Due to the tension between them, James leaves to go for a drive and purchase a pack of cigarettes for Kristen; before he departs, he starts a fire in the hearth. Kristen goes to the kitchen and stands there where in the background we see Man in the Mask slowly emerging from the hallway. When she turns around, he is gone. Kristen then realizes the chimney flue is closed, and attempts to open it; while she does this, smoke emanating from the fire triggers a smoke alarm. Kristen attempts to disarm the smoke alarm when she is startled by another knock at the door; she drops the alarm on the floor and retreats to the bedroom, unnerved. She calls James' cellphone from the landline, but their call is cut short. When she returns to the living room, she sees the smoke alarm now sitting on a chair, and realizes someone else has been in the house. When she hears a noise from the backyard, she arms herself with a knife, and opens the curtains to find Man in the Mask, staring at her. Panicked, she stumbles into the hallway, and watches as the front door opens. When she goes to push the door closed, she sees Dollface, now wearing a doll mask. After locking the door, Kristen hides in the bedroom and hears people outside banging violently against the walls of the house.

The noise eventually stops and James returns to the house. The couple attempt to leave in James' car but a third masked stranger, Pin-Up Girl mask rear-ends them with a pickup truck, forcing them to flee. Back inside the house, Kristen and James find a shotgun and wait for the intruders in a bedroom. One of the strangers puts a country record on the turntable, filling the house with music.

James' best friend, Mike arrives and realizes something is wrong after seeing the smashed car in the driveway. He enters the house, and James, mistaking him for one of the intruders, shoots him dead. Devastated, James then remembers an old radio transmitter in the backyard shed.

Kristen runs to the shed. She finds the radio, but Pin-Up Girl smashes it. Kristen rushes back to the house, where she is incapacitated by Man in the Mask. Both James and Kristen are now unconscious.

When James and Kristen awaken, it is morning, and they are tied to chairs in the living room with the strangers standing before them. Kristen asks them why they are doing this, to which Dollface replies, "because you were home." The strangers then unmask themselves to the couple offscreen, and take turns stabbing the couple in the stomach and chest before leaving.

Two boys later come across the house with the door wide open the the car smashed and discover the chaotic scene, including the bodies of Kristen, James, and Mike inside. The other boy approaches Kristen's body, and as he reaches out to her, she grabs his arm and screams, indicating that she is still alive.

Trivia

 * She and Kinsey are the only characters that smoke in the series.
 * The finale in the original script had much more interaction and dialogue between Kristen and the Strangers. This was cut in order to keep the intruders mysterious and eerie.