The Strangers is one of those movies that causes me to go back and forth with my thoughts, Chapter 1 (2024) is a reboot attempting to recapture the essence of the 2008 original film, but ultimately ends up being more of a trip down nostalgia lane, and that's not a bad thing but I could tell how much people were expecting something new, a lot has change since then and so has the horror genre, cheap tricks and scare jumps are less effective. This movie I decided to watch with little expectations knowing very well that reboots can be hit or miss and the horror genre has seen endless attempts to bring back classic stories with mixed results and while this one doesn't quite reinvent the wheel it kept me interested enough to want to see where the story goes with its next two chapters, its like I might not fully enjoy it but I'm still curious where is thins going considering there are two more movies to happen next.
Rottentomatoes Rating
Director Renny Harlin tries to bring back these masked killers and while the movie gets very close to the original movie formula from 2008, there is something interesting about seeing this story take place in today horror genre 16 years latter. The statistics about violent crimes in America that open the movie set the tone for what is about to happen and make you think about how random acts of violence can happen to anyone at any time, which is probably one of the scariest aspects of the whole concept, to be hones there is not much reasoning behind it, it just happens simply because they were there.
This version is trying to be different been part one of three movies that were shot back to back, and I hope that means there’s a bigger story to be told but so far it just look like a copy from the original, reason why so many people online feel disappointment, imagine going to the cinema and pay a ticket to watch the same movie or even a worst version on top of that inconclusive, that the recipe for piss off. Sure, many will roll their eyes at yet another horror franchise stretched out, but I'm genuinely curious to see how they're going to expand on the story of these mysterious killers, even though one of the things that made the original so terrifying was that we knew nothing about them.
Maya and Ryan are happy couple driving cross country to Portland so Maya can get that big job interview, when they make a pit stop in Venus Oregon a small town that seems froze up that kind of places where nothing really happens and you ask yourself how this people get entertained?!, it look like there are mostly unfriendly locals who let them know they are not welcome. Things get interesting when their car breaks down, very convenient for the story right?, cliche everywhere, this even makes them to stay at an Airbnb in the middle of nowhere. Anyone who saw the original will recognize the setup, with the knock on the door and someone asking for Tamara, but it’s the way the tension builds from there that keeps you interested, at least in my case even though things were very predictable, sometimes even when its a copy of the story just watching others going through the same experience makes it interesting enough.
Director Renny Harlin decides to play the killers usual cat and mouse game, toying with their victims before going in for the kill and while some might find the predictability of it all a bit boring, there's something effective about how Harlin handles these scenes. I think the movie isn’t trying to win an Oscar on the home invasion sub genre, it’s just trying to build a sense of suspense and deliver some truly scary moments although its just too predictable. The lead role of Maya is played by Madeleine Petsch, who has a different energy to Liv Tyler’s character in the original, some of Maya's reactions to the strange things happening around her might have you wondering why she's not reacting more sensibly but Petsch manages to make Maya feel like a real person caught in this nightmare. What’s most important about this type of horror movie is that you buy into their relationship and care about what happens to them that is the most important aspect of the story, and her chemistry with Froy Gutierrez who plays Ryan, feels natural enough that you do buy into their situation. The killers themselves is also big part of making the narrative work, and having them not saying much opens the opportunity to create three anonymous character interesting enough, just moving around and positioning themselves in scenes in a way that has this theatrical quality makes the performance terrifying enough, just like turning something as simple as a smile into creepy. The movie does a great job at taking advantage of well crafted shots taking advantage of the space, sound and lighting to build tension, with those knocks on the door and footsteps in the distance really create that horror film vibe when you're watching the story unfold.
The ending of The Strangers Chapter 1, might be a little frustrating for anyone who is searching for a more definitive resolution but lets take in consideration its a trilogy and a very similar vague ending as Dune Part 1. The Strangers Chapter 1 sets up what is to come in an interesting way. Maya survives a brutal confrontation that leaves Ryan fate up in the air, and ends up in the hospital beaten but alive. Of course, the movie isn’t over yet and it has a mid credits scene, where the Masked Man watches Maya in the hospital room, almost insinuating that these killers are far from done with Maya, the question is BUT WHY?!! and the answer is BECAUSE!!! no real answer just that he is not done, done means done. It is good and bad that this setup reveals that Maya will be our protagonist from here on probably for the next two movies. Petsch performance was good enough to carry the story forward, but bad because it kind of takes away some of the tension of the next one because we can kind of guess she is going to survive that one too? is that the entire trick around this three movies, not sure.
Probably the most interesting thing about this reboot is the decision to make this a trilogy although that does not mean its going to be a good one, after Chapter 1 all we can hope the next two are better and even gives more context of why they go through this entire situation. The original The Strangers was a stand alone movie and that minimalist approach and lack of explanation of the violence worked perfectly, but this new version feels like it’s building toward something bigger. The small town setting and suspicious locals also insinuate something larger in the works, could it be a cult thing?, even if that doesn’t fit with the formula that made the original so good, but the killers' motivation hasn't changed so far, they just say they picked on Maya and Ryan because "they were there" and that terrifying randomness that made the original so powerful if feel like its not enough anymore.
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