31 Days of Horror: The Strangers: Prey at Night is a proper homecoming for the masked maniacs

It's been almost a decade since filmmaker Johannes Roberts brought The Strangers back to the big screen, and almost two decades since the masked murderers made their debut in what is, in my opinion, one of the best horror films of all time, The Strangers (2008). It's often a coin toss as to whether or not a sequel will live up to the original, and even more so with a sequel as delayed as this one.  The follow up to The Strangers was a lengthy process. It was stuck in development hell with release dates being pushed further and further back as the years went on. A sequel was originally planned in 2009 with Liv Tyler set to return as the lead. Then, after multiple delays, she would ultimately exit the project. However, new hope was found when a script penned by Bryan Bertino and Ben Katai (The Forrest, River Wild) fell into the hands of Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, Primate).

The Strangers: Prey at Night follows a family traveling to take their rebellious daughter to boarding school. They stop to visit the kid's aunt and uncle at their trailer park on the way, only to find themselves hunted through the desolate trailer park by a trio of masked killers. The film stars Bailee Madison (Bridge to Terabithia, Don't be Afraid of the Dark) as Kinsey, the rebellious daughter, Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick, Thunderbolts) as Luke, her older brother, Christina Hendricks (Drive, Neon Demon) as Cindy, the mother of the family, and Martin Henderson (X, The Ring) as Mike, the father. The film also stars Damian Maffei (Haunt, Black Eyed Susan), Emma Bellomy (Mamu), and Lea Enslin (The Night House) as the trio of masked killers, The Man in the Mask, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl.

One immediately discernable difference between Bertino's original and Roberts' continuation is the tone, specifically in the way the film is scored. The movie opens with an 80s pop song playing ominously from the stereo of an old pick-up truck as it pulls into a secluded trailer park, the very same truck the masked trio took off in at the end of the original. After a sufficiently creepy opening sequence showing how good the strangers have gotten at quietly breaking into homes, we're given a very stylistic title card with a John Carpenter-like synth score. This is a recurring element in the film, with various sequences being garnished with either an 80s pop rock jam or a tense synth score. Whereas Bertino set out the original to be as quiet and tense with what is for the most part a subtle score, Roberts took the sequel in the opposite direction by being loud with neon lights and rock and roll.

The choice of having The Strangers be music aficionados and often being the ones playing the music in the scene adds to the idea that they're more experienced. They've been, assumingly, doing this all over the country for a decade. They've gotten good at it, and they revel in playing with their prey by setting the mood with some fun music. There are numerous scenes where the strangers play up the theatrics of their attack, and it's as creepy as it is entertaining.

Another unique aspect of The Strangers: Prey at Night that sets it apart from not just the original, but slasher films in general is the way the family fights back. While it's usually only the final girl to be the one to do any notable damage to the killer, The Strangers: Prey at Night actually has the victims put up a fight to give the masked maniacs a run for their money. They don't go down easy, and it's especially apparent around the halfway point of the film that unlike Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees, The Strangers are only human. The climax of this realization comes in what is probably one of my favorite sequences in a slasher film in the last decade, where Pullman fights the Man in the Mask in a swimming pool while Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" blasts in the backdrop. The whole sequence is incredibly entertaining and intense.

The performances in the film are all solid, with each actor having at least one really great moment to shine. Hendricks shares a stern but motherly heart to heart with Madison at one of their stops on their way to the trailer park. Henderson shares an emotional scene with Pullman after they find themselves hunted by the Man in the Mask, and Pullman and Madison share an especially emotional scene while bandaging each other up after an encounter with Dollface. Even before the carnage kicks off, the cast shares such a great chemistry and sells their dysfunctional but loving family in a realistic way.

The film's third act gives us the big finale of Carpenter-inspired filmmaking with a fun homage to Christine as Madison has her final standoff with the Man in the Mask. Madison's performance is the heart and soul of the film. Her journey evolves from a standoffish and moody juvenile into a grieving and remorseful survivor, and it makes her a modern-day scream queen, an underrated one at that (seriously can we get Bailey Madison in more horror films?).

Overall, The Strangers: Prey at Night is a more than serviceable follow-up to the original. It takes the ideas of who The Strangers are and dials them up to eleven. Their cat and mouse games with their victims are more twisted, their kills are more violent, and their on screen presence is just as terrifying as it was in 2008. While the original is one of my all-time favorite horror films (only second to Texas Chainsaw Massacre), The Strangers: Prey at Night may be one of my all-time favorite sequels. Turn the music up and throw this one on your October watchlist, just be sure to keep your doors locked.

The Strangers: Prey at Night is currently streaming on Tubi.