What to say about “The Strangers“? The home invasion slasher franchise started off hot with the 2008 film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple terrorized by three masked intruders. But it was ten years before a follow-up: “The Strangers: Prey At Night,” which expanded the home invasion premise to a derelict trailer park. That film didn’t do as well with critics and audiences, but still satisfied gorehounds keen on its deadpan tone and memorable setpieces (especially that pool scene).
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But did anyone expect, five years later, not one but three new films to enter the franchise? That’s what horror fans get next year: a trilogy of films helmed by Renny Harlin, starting with “The Strangers: Chapter 1.” Lionsgate unveiled a clip from the film at New York ComicCon yesterday, which features Madaleine Petsch‘s Maya harassed by someone who keeps knocking on her door, asking for Tamara. And we all know what happens next…
Harlin is a journeyman director, with films like “Deep Blue Sea,” “Die Hard 2: Die Harder,” and an “A Nightmare On Elm Street” sequel under his belt. So he’s more than capable of ratcheting up suspense in this new trilogy. But why three new films in “The Strangers” franchise, and why now? In a talk with EW, Harlin explained his new films “aren’t a remake or a reboot.” Instead, Harlin wants his films to “explore what happens to the victims of this kind of violence and who the perpetrators are of this kind of violence. Where are they coming from and why?” Fair enough, but audiences technically already got an answer to that question in “Prey At Night” when a survivor asks Doll Face why she’s stalking them and Doll Face responds, “why not?” But let’s see where Harlin’s films take the premise of this series.
Harlin’s trilogy stars Petsch and Froy Gutierrez as a couple traveling to a new life in the Pacific Northwest forced to spend a night in an isolated Airbnb after their car breaks down. Soon enough, a trio of masked strangers start harassing them, leading to a violent showdown. “The Strangers: Chapter 1” also stars Rachel Shenton, Gabriel Basso, and Ema Horvath, as well as Florian Clare and Rebecka Johnston.
No word on when “The Strangers: Chapter 1” arrives next year, but Harlin filmed all three movies concurrently, and they’ll all get released in 2024. So that’s good news for horror fans, even if the formula of these movies feels played out after just two films in fifteen years. Watch a clip from “The Strangers: Chapter 1” below to make your own judgment there.