Why The Strangers trilogy was doomed from the get-go
- Brian Fanelli
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
I'm never someone who actively roots for any horror movie or franchise to fail. I'm of the mind that the better any horror movie does at the box office, the more studios are willing to invest in the genre. A win for one is a win for all. So, it bums me out that the new trilogy of The Strangers was such a let-down, especially since it was directed by Renny Harlin, known for his surreal visuals. Yet, at the same time, I'm not surprised that the trilogy struggled, both with its execution and its box office numbers. The Strangers: Chapter 2, for instance, opened to only $5.9 million domestically. The challenge of making The Strangers into a trilogy is that the first film worked so well because of the mystery. Demystifying what made the initial film so terrifying is a mighty gamble that didn't pay off, while the first two chapters just rehashed what was already done.
This article contains major spoilers for The Strangers: Chapter 3.
The Strangers and the terror of home invasion
The 2008 film, written and directed by Bryan Bertino, worked because of a simple premise. Three masked serial killers, now known as Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl, terrorize a couple, Kristen (Liv Tyler), and James (Scott Speedman). The couple stays at a family vacation home, and the getaway turns into a nightmare.
The terror begins with a knock on the door and then the famous line, "Is Tamra home?," before shifting to a harrowing cat and mouse game in which the couple loses. There's no explanation given for the line, nor do we receive any clear reason why the trio stalks and eventually murders James and Kristen. In fact, when the couple asks why the killers chose them, Dollface simply responds, "Because you were home." It's one of the most chilling and effective lines in any contemporary horror movie. We don't need to know why the trio targeted the couple. They were simply in the wrong house at the wrong time. They caught the attention of the murderous trio, and that's all the explanation we need.
Additionally, that initial film was inspired by three real-life cases. The first inspiration is the series of murders by the Manson family in 1969, which was later nicknamed "Helter Skelter." Manson organized the murders, including that of actress Shannon Tate at her Los Angeles home. Manson orchestrated the murders, in part, as a means to ignite a race war.
The film was also inspired by the 1981 Keddie cabin murders, which occurred in a small California resort town. Four people were killed. The motive remains unknown, and the real-life killer(s) were never caught. As of today, the case remains unsolved. There are obvious parallels between the Keddie cabin murders and the "because you were home line," specifically the lack of motive.
The third source of inspiration stemmed from Bertino's own experience. When he was young and his parents weren't home, someone knocked on the door and inquired about someone who didn't live there. Unlike Bertino's movie, however, the would-be burglars knocked on doors to rob houses they assumed were empty for the night, instead of murdering people inside the homes. So shaken by this incident, Bertino later channeled that fear into his 2008 film.
These three key sources of inspiration and the lack of the trio's motivation make that initial film so effective, atmospheric, and startling, even after a few rewatches. There's also a lot to be said for the fact Bertino employed a horrifying childhood memory and turned it into such an unsettling home invasion movie. It was always unlikely that any sequel, let alone a trilogy, would be able to match that first film and the real-life inspirations it was based upon.
Too much of The Strangers trilogy repeats what the first film did better
When I first learned that Renny Harlin was going to helm the new trilogy, I was excited. I had hopes that he wouldn't try to reproduce what Bertino did so well in that first movie and that the new trilogy would contain at least some of Harlin's visual flair and ability to lean into the surreal. For instance, Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is one of my favorites in the franchise because of the direction and Harlin's willingness to push the long-running series into some exciting new territory, with visually arresting set designs and wildly creative kills, some of the best in the franchise, I'd say.
Unfortunately, a majority of the trilogy rehashes what was already done. The Strangers: Chapter 1 even repeats lines from the first movie, just with slight alterations. Even the set-up is familiar. The serial killers target a couple yet again, this time Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez). We saw this before, only Bertino did it much better back in 2008. The Strangers: Chapter 2 includes a few great chase sequences, but it's mostly a paint-by-numbers, rinse and repeat sequel whose only function is to set up The Strangers: Chapter 3.
Most disappointing is the fact that the first two chapters look dull and muted compared to Harlin's other films. There's nothing that pops. The set designs mostly look drab and lifeless. Furthermore, how many scenes can we watch of the murderers chasing Maya in Venus, Oregon's woods? It gets old fast. To be clear, a lot of this has to do with the script, written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freeland. There's just not enough originality, at least for the first two chapters.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 shows glimmers of what could have been
To be clear, I don't think everything about the new trilogy is bad. Unfortunately, the trilogy doesn't become somewhat interesting until the third and final chapter, and if the box office numbers for the second chapter are any indication, people may have tuned out by now. That said, there are signs of Harlin's visual style in The Strangers: Chapter 3, especially the scenes that take place in a rural church, with strange close-ups of Jesus and other oddly arresting imagery.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 finally veers away from well-worn beats and plot points, instead of trying to simply repeat what's already been done. For instance, Petsch turns in a great performance that deconstructs the Final Girl, ramping up to an ambiguous conclusion that hints she may take up the Scarecrow's mantle and continue the murders, since everything and everyone has been taken from her. That's a pretty strong ending that actually does something interesting and different with the long-running Final Girl tropes. We see how much Maya has been broken down, to the point she may start murdering.
Additionally, the third chapter has the most gruesome kills compared to the previous two chapters, and there's simply more at stake. Yet here's another reason why this trilogy was always going to struggle. It demystifies what made the first movie so effective and eerie. It gives backstories to the killers, especially Scarecrow, better known as Gregory (Gabriel Basso) without the mask. Really, we didn't need a backstory, let alone a convoluted love story between Gregory/Scarecrow and Pin-Up Girl. So, in that regard, the writers and director were damned if they did and damned if they didn't. They took a few swings in the third chapter, which they deserve credit for, but in the process, they deflated the mystique.
The Strangers is one of those franchises that simply can't top the first movie. It probably should have been left alone, or, at the very least, the trilogy should have been confined to one movie instead of a bloated, meandering trilogy that crawls to its muddled conclusion. That said, there are some positives, especially Petsch's performances as Maya and her ultimate deconstruction of the Final Girl. She's absolutely the only saving grace of the new trilogy. For now, The Strangers deserve a rest. No more knocks on the door. No more terrorizing couples. No more dark and twisted love stories, and definitely no more CGI boars.