A New Take on a Modern Classic, The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) Suffers from Chaos

Title: The Strangers: Chapter 1

First Non-Festival Release: May 8, 2024 (Premiere)

Director: Renny Harlin

Writer: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Bryan Bertino

Runtime: 91 Minutes

Starring: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Matus Lajcak

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

In 2008, sleeper slasher hit The Strangers arrived in theaters boasting a more restrained approach to carnage. Now ripe for a reimagining almost two decades later, The Strangers: Chapter 1 attempts to set the stage for a trilogy of terror. 

Young couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are traveling across country when their car breaks down in a small town off the beaten path. With a remote cabin as the only shelter available to them, the pair decide to embrace the circumstances and enjoy a romantic evening away together. Unfortunately for them, a trio of masked invaders have different ideas for their unexpected stay. In their fight to stay alive, the couple must work together to stave off their advances.

By-the-numbers slasher fare without teeth, The Strangers: Chapter 1 fails to re-capture the magic of its inspiration.

By expanding the scope of the story, The Strangers: Chapter 1 does try to deviate from its source material but falls victim to its own ambitions. Self-contained, the first film works because of its geography and strict sense of bare-bones filmmaking. Much of the same events happen in the 2024 iteration compared to the 2008 version while fleshing out more of the universe. Whatever differences between the two stories are either less important sequences that are designed to set up red herrings or add another layer of mystery to be resolved later. Until more of the overall story is released, it’s hard to determine its success. As of now, the two versions feel redundant, with 2024’s version neither improving nor justifiably expanding the premise further.

Although the two leads are affable enough, with capable enough actors, the chemistry doesn’t materialize in a way to sell their fear. Madelaine Petsch’s Maya is caring and a bit goofy but doesn’t do much beyond satisfying the requisite final girl archetype. Froy Gutierrez is charming and sturdy enough in his role to make it realistic but doesn’t do much beyond what is expected for that type of role. Combined, the duo never seems to match the right energy. It makes the couple feel fresher than the long-established relationship presented.

The strangers themselves also seem to lack the personality needed to carry out their seemingly random acts of violence. Whilst the original personalities aren’t necessarily as important to what the characters represent in the original two films, the rebrand isn’t handled well, as the trio never develop much personality beyond being vehicles of overarching destruction. In this world, the trio could be anyone given their respective performances. Since this is a new take on the story, this could be an intentionally creative choice. Until the next two films are released, there’s no way to know.

The scares in this iteration feel restrained too, offering more in the traditional horror sense rather than the style that was popularized by The Strangers before it. Retreading familiar territory, this reimagining celebrates the franchise’s greatest hits without understanding the importance of their impact. The 2008 original has a distinct style of building tension that is completely ignored in this iteration. Its unbearably long and tense scenes that shine through their confidence are replaced by standard scares shot traditionally, removing all sense of individuality from the project. Now that Chapter 1 is over there might be more exciting ways for the story to grow.

Fine enough, The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens up its story to a variety of interesting junctures at the expense of its own story. Disorganized, shallow, and empty, this introduction to the new trilogy is iffy to say the least. Capable performers and a few added elements do their best to elevate the weak script and direction. The biggest strength of this retread is how open it leaves its story once it finishes act one. Despite it being a major disappointment, The Strangers: Chapter 1 might be the necessary evil the franchise needs to re-animate.

Overall Score? 5/10