This review contains spoilers for The Strangers film series.
The Strangers (2008) was an independent horror that utilized minimalist filmmaking and the simplest tricks to invoke palpable dread and fear. It was a box office hit that slowly became a cult film for horror fiends due to the iconic images of masked strangers invading an unsuspecting couple in the middle of the night. That sincere indie has now given birth to a monstrously contrived relaunch (The Strangers: Prey at Night ended things conclusively) and a new stand-alone trilogy, regurgitating the same tricks and gimmicks that now come off as lazy and banal.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) kicked off this new trilogy by remaking the original film, but worse. It remains one of the worst horror films theatrically released in recent memory—a strained, lethargic exercise in manufactured jump scares, taking what was effective in the first film and wringing out all its cinematic flair, tension, and entertainment value. This year’s notion of The Strangers: Chapter 2 only provided hope that it could clear a depressingly low bar.
The good news is that Chapter 2 is objectively an improvement over Chapter 1. The bad news is that it’s a marginal improvement. Marginal in that it’s not the exact plot of the first film, and the narrative doesn’t feel repetitive in hitting similar beats. Yet, that marginality is undercut by how emptying Chapter 2 becomes. It offers more lore and backstory to the strangers and, in turn, ruins what made these figures a menacing force. Less is more. Whether it’s the shark in Jaws (1975) or Michael Myers in Halloween (1978), the less we know of the threat, the more their terrifying cinematic presence is fortified. Yet, these films had to concoct a hackneyed narrative for a contrived trilogy.
Congratulations to director Renny Harlin and screenwriters Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland for coming up with anything different. But still, all three reach for the nadir of horror tropes and conventions that render Chapter 2 as another retread of slasher films. Our lead frantically runs away, hiding while an unsuspecting bystander becomes another victim, thus allowing the lead a headstart to keep running; meanwhile, the lumbering, slow-walking killer leisurely catches up. Rinse and repeat. If reading that seemed like a chore, try watching this film. For a ninety-eight-minute runtime, Chapter 2 becomes a laborious effort in forcing interest and engagement, in which half the time is spent camping in the woods like some macabre hiking trip.
Chapter 2 follows Maya (Madelaine Petsch), the sole survivor of the events from the previous film that killed her fiancé, Ryan (Froy Gutierrez), and left her wounded. She’s alone, scared, severely injured from a stomach stab wound, and stuck to a hospital bed as she’s questioned by an unserious town sheriff (Richard Brake). When the hospital later empties for the convenience of the plot, though, the strangers return to finish the job. Maya is thrust into survival mode as she embarks on a wounded escape, running around the woods of Venus, and running into townsfolk; she’s unsure if they can be trusted. As she encounters person after person, the film teases whether or not the town’s residents are complicit and aware of the strangers’ murders, Maya’s traumatic paranoia possibly distorting her ability to discern civilians from murderers.
This trilogy was shot back-to-back, with additional reshoots to address fan backlash from Chapter 1. The issue is that the core fundamentals of these films are rotten. After witnessing the absolute barren dead zone of Chapter 2, these films are a result of an ill-conceived notion of diluting the simplicity of the original film and undermining the spectacular, stylized conclusion of Strangers: Prey at Night (2018). It asks audiences to accept a new, lesser version that miscalculates what made the prior films effective.
Additionally, the asinine concept of explaining the backstories of the Strangers through a series of flashbacks to when they were kids is laughable and useless. Maya’s fight for survival becomes an opportunity to explore the sad childhood of the monsters that callously kill people; it’s laughable. Are we to root for the Strangers? It doesn’t matter — the writers need something to pad out these films. It veers into fan service when we find out where the infamous line, “Is Tamara here?” came from — I’ll save you the suspense, it’s cringe-inducing.
Petsch tries. In fact, she tries far more than she should for such shoddily written material. Maya has suffered so much that her cries of helplessness and suffering become annoying. It’s certainly a challenge for Petsch to convey a more viscerally-charged, near-wordless performance, as she spends the majority of her time alone and isolated. The most on-screen chemistry she has is with Nurse Danica (Brooke Lena Johnson), a kind hospital staff member who tries to help Maya, despite some glaring red flags with Danica’s sketchy roommates that give off the warning signs of “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” If there is one redeeming aspect of this lifeless, aimless, hollow film, it is the wide-eyed, animalistic performance from Petsch. It’s a morsel of engagement and interest that, thankfully, the writing and directing cannot hinder, no matter how hard they try.
One of the most mystifying aspects is how much the Strangers lack any sense of menace. They idle around, strolling through the woods, looking through their baby masks, which look more degraded than the masks from the previous films. Sure, the body count racks up more kills in this installment, but the gore is nonexistent. The kills are off-screen, so those bloodhounds who enjoy seeing gruesome effects will be disappointed. The Strangers walk and act more like moody teenagers than frightening figures.
One of the most ridiculous, innocuous, and baffling scenes of 2025 is when Maya has found safety in the woods and relaxes. Suddenly, a wild boar (rendered badly in CGI) comes roaring through the forest and attacks Maya. It’s reminiscent of the bear attack sequence in The Revenant (2015), as Maya has her leg bitten and is thrashed and kicked around until she finally kills the boar. It’s an extended sequence where you wonder, “Is this still a Strangers film or something else?” And it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. It serves as a distraction, and a way for Petsch to display some action gravitas…against a boar. The Strangers mill around, attempting to look scary but look more lost as they search for Maya in daylight. It finally clicked for me — this is all nothing. Nothing of any value, meaning, or worth is happening in what is a vacant exercise by a studio (Lionsgate) and a creatively bankrupt creator, Bryan Bertino, by forcing a strained relevance to horror characters that have had their time in the spotlight.
There is about ten to fifteen minutes of actual story in this middle passage, which feels like movie purgatory. Time is spent on cheap kills, unsatisfying thrills, and a directionless chase, culminating in an ending that is so pleased with itself that it dares to include a “To Be Continued” card. Whatever is in store for the final chapter (please, let it truly be the last one), we can only hope for another ten to fifteen minutes of plot. Combine all three films, and that amounts to nearly forty-five minutes of actual narrative spread throughout the trilogy.
All I can think about is how The Two Towers (2002) ends with Sam and Frodo looking toward the horizon and seeing Mount Doom — they are so close to their objective. By the end of “The Strangers: Chapter 2,” however, I have no idea what the objectives are for Maya, the strangers, or for these films as a whole.
Review Courtesy of Amritpal Rai
Feature Image Credit to Lionsgate via Screen-Connections