The Strangers: Chapter 1

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a 2024 American horror film that is the third film in The Strangers film series and the first installment of an intended relaunch in the form of a standalone trilogy. It is directed by Renny Harlin, with a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, from a story by Bryan Bertino, the director of the first film. Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez star as a couple who come into contact with the three psychopathic masked strangers while on a road trip. Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath also star.

Plans for a consecutively shot trilogy of Strangers films was announced in August 2022 by the original film's producer, Roy Lee. Harlin was announced as the director of all three the following month, with most of the cast joining soon after. Production on the films took place in Bratislava between September and November that year, often alternating daily between which of the three Chapters was being shot.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 had its world premiere at Regal L.A. Live on May 8, 2024, and was theatrically released by Lionsgate Films on May 17, 2024, before grossing over $43 million worldwide. Chapter 2 is expected to be released later in 2024, and Chapter 3 on an unspecified date.

Plot
Maya and her boyfriend Ryan drive across the country, celebrating their five year anniversary. Lost, they stop in a small town in Oregon called Venus. The locals disturb them and their car breaks down. The town’s mechanic, Rudy, agrees to fix their car the next morning and they are forced to stay the night in an Airbnb.

A stranger girl appears at the front door after aggressive repeated knocking, asking “if Tamara is here”, to which the couple responds “no”. Ryan goes back into town with a motorcycle from the Airbnb to retrieve his inhaler, which he left behind in the car. Alone, Maya is unaware of Scarecrow silently stalking her. The power shuts off and Dollface's sudden appearance in the house leads her to hide. Ryan returns, deeming it a ruse. The couple later notices blood dripping above from a dead chicken hanging on the chandelier. They are attacked by Scarecrow, who pauses his pursuit and leaves the house.

The couple flees outside to escape with the motorcycle but it is blown to smithereens by Scarecrow. Using the home’s crawlspace, they narrowly avoid being found as Maya accidentally strikes her hand on a nail. Once they make it to the shed, Ryan finds a shotgun and rescues Maya from another attack.

Ryan mistakenly shoots the Airbnb's owner, killing him. They attempt to escape in his vehicle, but it gets T-boned by Scarecrow's truck disabling it. Maya runs into the woods but Ryan is unable to move as his leg is stuck in the car. Maya calls 911 but the call fails due to a lack of service. She comes across a corpse, is discovered by Dollface, and is knocked out cold. Ryan holds Pin-Up Girl at gunpoint, demanding to know of Maya's whereabouts. Scarecrow then knocks him out cold, as well.

Both wake up tied up to chairs in the house. In their last moments together, Ryan offers to marry Maya, which she accepts. As they sob together, Ryan is fatally stabbed and his chair is knocked over, causing him to choke on his own blood. Maya asks why they're doing this, to which they simply reply, "Because you're here". She is then stabbed and knocked over as well. Police sirens are heard in the distance and the perpetrators speed away. Maya awakes in a hospital bed, having survived the ordeal. She rises from the bed and doesn’t notice one of the perpetrators lying next to her.

Cast

 * Madelaine Petsch as Maya Lucas, Ryan's girlfriend and Debbie's younger sister
 * Froy Gutierrez as Ryan, Maya's longtime boyfriend
 * Rachel Shenton as Debbie Lucas, Maya's older sister
 * Gabriel Basso as Gregory
 * Ema Horvath as Shelly
 * Ella Bruccoleri as Jasmine
 * Richard Brake as Sheriff Rotter
 * Joplin Sibtain as Billy Bufford

Production
In August 2022, producer Roy Lee announced plans for three films to consecutively enter production beginning in September of the same year. Renny Harlin was revealed as director for at least one of the films, though he was in negotiations to direct each of the films. The trilogy was produced by Lionsgate Films, Fifth Element Productions, and Frame Film, and will be distributed by Lionsgate.

Later in 2022, Harlin was announced as director on the three upcoming films. The first of the new trilogy was from a script written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland and story by Bryan Bertino. Courtney Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck, and Alastair Burlingham were confirmed as producers on the three films. The new trilogy is a relaunch of the series with producer Canton stating that the trilogy is intended to introduce new audiences to "world of The Strangers". Solomon stated that when they began the project the intent was to tell a bigger story than before, but also to "expand that world". The producer describes the three films as a "character study", compared to the previous two films. It was later clarified by the filmmaker and the actors, that the new trilogy of films takes place in the same universe as the original two films.

In September 2022, Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso were cast. In October 2022, Ema Horvath was announced to be a part of the cast. The following month, Rachel Shenton joined the cast.

Principal photography on all three films took place in Bratislava, Slovakia over 52 days from September 2022 to November 2022. Harlin told Entertainment Weekly that it was "the challenge of a lifetime, but I also really embraced it. On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. it was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time".

Release
Lionsgate hosted the world premiere at Regal L.A. Live on May 8, 2024. It was released in theaters on May 17, 2024.

Home media release
The Strangers: Chapter 1 will release on Digital on July 16, 2024, followed by the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD releases on July 23, 2024 with audio commentary, the theatrical trailer and featurettes.

Box office
, The Strangers: Chapter 1 has grossed $35.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $7.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $43.1 million.

In the United States and Canada, Chapter 1 was released alongside IF and Back to Black, and was projected to gross $7–9 million from 2,856 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $5 million on its first day (including $1.2 million from Thursday night previews), the film went on to debut to $12 million, slightly over-performing and finishing in third behind IF and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, the same as Prey at Night, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 50% overall positive score.

Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times said "The first Strangers movie had an air of creepy suspense, as the besieged couple often looked off into blank space, bringing an unnerving tension to what was often nothing. The new film never conjures the same feelings of rustic menace". Michael Nordine of Variety wrote "It's also off to a promising enough start, especially as the end of Chapter 1 makes it clear that the next two entries will be continuations of the story introduced here rather than standalone narratives" and that "Time will tell, but for now there's enough reason for devotees of the series to be cautiously optimistic — and even a little curious — about the next two chapters".

Sequels
Two sequels were filmed concurrently with Chapter 1, with Chapter 2 expected to be released in late 2024. Harlin stated they were intended to be neither a remake nor reboot, and that the tone was going to be close to the first film. Harlin said in an interview: "We, of course, shot them on top of each other and mixed up, like movies are always made. But we had to keep in mind that this is one story arc. It is one 4.5 hour movie, and the first movie is a first act. It sets up the characters and the terror and the Killers and our main character, who will survive the first movie, but then go on a journey for the next two".

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harlin stated Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 will go in different directions. The sequels will cover Petsch's character over a span of four days after her encounter.