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| Stunning frame from The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) |
The Strangers (2008) is a modern horror masterpiece that was a sensation with audiences and genre critics alike, and it was followed but not equalled by a belated sequel in the form of The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018). In 2002 it was announced that the franchise will embark on a new trilogy, and here’s my brief thoughts on it, as it was recently concluded with an overall very successful theatrical run.
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The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
A young couple
[Madelaine Petsch from Sightless
(2020) and Froy Gutierrez from Initiation
(2020)] embark on a road trip to Oregon to celebrate their 5th
anniversary when their car breaks down during a stop at a small redneck town,
the local folk of which doesn’t seem to welcome New Yorkers. When the couple is
forced to stay at a local barn, they get attacked by a small group of masked
assailants.
Masterfully
directed by Renny Harlin [Devil’s Pass
(2013)] who takes the home invasion genre into a different and very interesting
direction, as he minimizes the violence (the film’s R rating is a bit harsh, to
be honest) and opts for eerie atmosphere (the dark cinematography by Jose David
Montero is brilliant) and claustrophobic set-pieces that will have you biting
your nails through the film’s entire running time.
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The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)
The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)
I cannot share
even the basic and foremost details on the plot of the second chapter of the
trilogy because it would spoil the first film and I wouldn’t want to do this in
case you haven’t seen it yet. What I can tell though is that director Renny
Harlin here feels more liberated from the source material and leaves behind the
‘home invasion’ genre and opts for that of ‘survival thriller’ and does it
extremely good. Brutal, mean-spirited, bleak, and effective, this is horror
done right.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026)
Similarly to the
previous review I cannot share even the slightest of plot details for this
concluding chapter of the recent trilogy because I would spoil the first entry.
What can be said though is that despite filming all three outings in one go
(they were shot back-to-back in Slovakia) director Renny Harlin is changing the
thematic and tone in this sequel once again, as he opts for a more ‘torture
porn’ direction, offering tons of gore and several extra kills. It is actually
a miracle that he managed to achieve that with such a compressed production schedule
and on such a tiny budget, and the films seem to be connected only with some
cast members and the uniting cinematography; other than that it is as if we are
watching not only opuses from different directors, but as mentioned before even
of different genres altogether. Critics panned the trilogy, and other than the
first entry they didn’t fare well at the box-office either, but I liked all of
them.
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