*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**
“Why are you doing this to us?”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 released in theaters on May 17th 2024. The slasher horror film stars Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez. It runs for approximately 90 minutes.
After their car breaks down in a small town in Oregon, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. They are soon terrorized by three masked strangers with no motive, as they desperately try to survive the night.
Here is the trailer:
The Strangers: Chapter 1 continues the violent franchise with this latest reboot, but does it do enough to separate itself from the original film? Let’s find out…
The Pros:
Look out for Madelaine Petsch!
I bought my ticket for her and she served with all she had! I’m a huge fan of hers from Riverdale and I think that she is a Scream Queen in the making for sure. I hope to see her cast in more roles soon. She was the best part of this movie and gave it all she had. Plus, I loved her nail polish color!
Froy Gutierrez wasn’t bad either and I thought they were believable as a couple for the most part.
There were a few suspenseful moments sprinkled in. I liked the scenes in the woods, which had an eerie vibe.
The pros stop here though…
The Cons:
Follows the original film VERBATIM!
I just did my re-watch of the 2008 film as well as The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) and I couldn’t believe that this film followed the original one almost exactly. I’m fine with this being a reboot, but give us something new here! This was so incredibly frustrating to watch on screen and it dissolved any potential moments of suspense and tension because I already knew what was going to happen.
I’m not sure why we went in this direction and I have no idea why we need two more of these films if this is what we’re doing?
We can do a lot better here…
Dumb decisions!
As much as I like both of these actors, their characters made some of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen in a horror film. My favorite film of the franchise is The Strangers: Prey at Night because it’s fun and campy. But I will give The Strangers (2008) credit for creating a realistic and horrifying nightmare that still haunts me to this day. That feeling of authenticity was missing from this reboot and a lot of that came from the dumb decisions made by these characters.
There were so many opportunities to run or find a weapon and for some reason they wanted to have a precious moment together or just stare at the door willing the intruders to go away. Really? Do you think that’s going to work?
The ending felt so watered down and I could care less about the set-up at the end for the next film. I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO TAMARA IS! Sigh…
So am I in or out?
I’m 50/50 on this one…
Look, I’m in for Madelaine Petsch, but she deserved a MUCH better film here and so did the audience.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 wasn’t horrible, but it was a pointless remake that had very little to say, which was beyond disappointing. I really hope that the next two films do something different.
I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Strangers: Chapter 1 in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
A Halloween they’ll never forget…
When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.
Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…
My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!
Scream Hunt is available here!
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That’s disappointing… I really liked the previous films. For this to be a carbon copy of the first seems pointless. Guess I won’t be spending money to see this on the big screen. I’ll be just as content to wait and watch it at home… alone in the dark… That should ramp up the tension for me a little.