Many of us have a story about the first time we watched Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers, a movie that fundamentally changed me as a horror film freak. I saw it opening weekend in 2008, which was also the weekend I turned 15. I felt so grown up seeing this movie with my dad, even though I had seen countless horror films in theaters before. But something about this one felt different, more dangerous. I had no idea what to expect, and what I got was a film that so deeply terrified me that I could barely walk back to the car that night.
Since then, no film has been able to top that terror. So when I heard The Strangers: Chapter 1 was coming, a new take on the singular home invasion film, I was tentatively curious but also apprehensive. How could director Renny Harlin capture the bone-chilling terror of Bertino’s nihilism? Could writers Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, who have no horror experience, turn out something unique? Well, dear reader, it brings me no joy to share that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a generic and boring slasher with a fundamental misunderstanding of its source material and a heavy reliance on tired tropes.
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The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a prequel or a sequel, but rather a reimagining of the original story. Here, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are driving to Seattle for Maya’s big job interview. But on the way, their car breaks down and they’re forced to stay overnight in a secluded AirBnB. The two are happily in love, but at a crossroads in their relationship as Maya faces a big move for a new job. It’s an attempt to mimic the tragedy at the core of Kristen and James’ relationship in the original film. However, there are no real stakes established with the couple. Petsch and Gutierrez do their best to give the couple chemistry, and at moments, they succeed. But their best efforts can’t support a script that refuses to go deeper with its characters.
Once the titular strangers appear on the scene, The Strangers: Chapter 1 simply becomes a loose remake of the Bertino original, following it beat for beat while also trying to make small changes that never amount to anything other than meager attempts to forge a new identity. Maya and Ryan run, the strangers make chase, and they are eventually caught in a recreation of the iconic final scene where they utter the line, “Because you were home”. But now, it’s, “Because you were here”, perhaps the best example of the script’s lazy attempts to be a different movie.
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And that is the biggest problem with The Strangers: Chapter 1. That laziness translates to a fundamental misunderstanding of what made the original film so terrifying. This feels like both a piece of fan service and an attempt to bring in a new, younger generation of horror fans. Harlin and team never really commit either way, much to the film’s detriment. It’s truly a case of “who is this for?”, and I still don’t have an answer.
Bafflingly, the biggest change made here is that the film introduces a town full of suspicious rednecks which immediately obliterates the mystery and anonymity of the masked killers. Introducing suspects rather than having the trio appear like ghosts in the night reduces The Strangers: Chapter 1 to another generic slasher that wants to make you afraid of small towns and the people who live there. In the year of Our Lord 2024, it seems a bit short-sighted to have that be a core message, but this isn’t a film interested in engaging with its subject matter past tired tropes.
Petsch and Gutierrez try their best but can’t save a hollowed-out shell of a home invasion film that takes beloved IP and reduces it to its worst, most capitalism-fueled form. Some creative camerawork and interesting set pieces keep it interesting, but ultimately, nothing can save The Strangers: Chapter 1 from being crushed by its own ambition. Perhaps the next two installments, which are already in post-production, will prove me wrong.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 is out now in theaters.
Summary
The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a generic and boring slasher with a fundamental misunderstanding of its source material.
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