Film Review: The Strangers: Chapter 1

I feel like there are rarely any horror events as of late. The only ones that come to mind are maybe the Scream revival and the most recent Saw film, and maybe the upcoming Final Destination film next year might count as one. But aside from that, we don’t get many horror films that feels like something big, something that brings everyone out because it is something that simply has to be experienced. And I feel like in a roundabout way, this new Strangers film is one. It’s not only reviving a franchise, it is a whole trilogy filmed back-to-back, and I find that to be very interesting.

The film itself – this first one, at least – is honestly not that interesting, which is sad to say. Story-wise, it follows a young couple, Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) and Maya (Madelaine Petsch), who are traveling for their 5 year anniversary, but are forced to make a pit-stop when their car falls into disrepair, and they end up staying the night in a small cabin in a rural area deep in the middle of Oregon. The night is interrupted by an encounter by three masked strangers who terrorize the couple throughout the night as they try to survive the hunt.

As compelling as the notion is that we have this trilogy coming out for The Strangers of all properties, all of which are directed by genre legend Renny Harlin, the film itself is actually not the most enticing start to this big overarching narrative they seem to have planned for us. Granted, I don’t think it’s bad at all, in fact, I think the film is a reasonably well executed home invasion thriller, but if you have seen any home invasion thriller, hell, if you’ve seen The Strangers…then you have basically already seen this film already.

It’s a fairly by-the-numbers experience, characters enter a strange area, they encounter odd people, they end up in a secluded location, they experience strange activity before being actively pursued by the invaders, and they try their best to survive the night having to think on their feet to figure out any way to stay alive. I wish the screenwriters, Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland (along with original The Strangers filmmaker Bryan Bertino, who has story credit), gave the film a vibe that was unique to itself, as opposed to feeling like a very loose remake of the original.

But like I said, I still think it’s fairly well done for what it is. The performances are solid, the actors really do their best at making some of the stilted dialogue work, and there’s an earnestness in their performances that did get me invested. I really bought into Ryan and Maya’s connection; one sequence where they are captured and tied up was made all the more harrowing because of the rather convincing manner of which they portrayed a couple in love potentially living out their final moments together. And Harlin is a total pro, he knows how to craft a suspenseful sequence, one where the couple had to crawl under the house while the strangers were roaming above was very tense, and there’s a few moments where the tension is very well drawn out.

Unfortunately, once it’s all said and done, it’s hard to say much about a film that is only a part of a story, and this is not just your usual part one, this is a part one of three, so it’s going to take a couple more movies before I can confidently say whether this whole thing was worth it. The Strangers: Chapter 1, in and of itself, is well made, but largely unremarkable, but I can potentially see it becoming a necessary stepping stone in retrospect if the next two films actually deliver on something that is fresh and interesting. I see no reason why the filmmakers shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I can’t imagine a studio greenlighting a shoot to cover three whole movies unless there was a really strong conceit at the center of it. At least, one would hope. I wish this film made a better case for itself as its own standalone experience, but for what it’s worth, I am curious to see where it all goes from here.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is now out in theaters.