The Strangers: Chapter 2
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2008 director Bryan Bertino unleashed the unexpected hit horror flick The Strangers to the big screen. The film scared audiences with its realistic tones and creepy visuals, they had been talking about a sequel for some time which we finally got with the 2018 film, The Strangers: Prey At Night. That seemed to be the end of the franchise until it was suddenly announced that A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Cliffhanger and Exorcist: The Beginning director Renny Harlin was returning to his horror roots to deliver a whole new trilogy with The Strangers Chapter 1.
Now the next entry of his new trilogy is here with The Strangers: Chapter 2. The film follows a couple whose vehicle breaks down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb on their way to their honeymoon. As night falls, three masked strangers terrorize them until dawn. This next chapter picks up where the previous film left off with Maya waking up in the hospital only to realize the terror isn’t over yet.
I enjoyed the first film but was a little put off by the fact it gave us zero info about how the strangers came to be as promised but assumed we would be delving into it more in the later entries. At the same time, I didn’t need to know about them as that is part of why they are terrifying, but now I was intrigued to see what Harlin was going to do with it. This chapter does in fact answer some of the questions with some flashback history that is interesting to explore even if they are awkwardly placed throughout the film.
This film dives right back into the thick of it all with a minimal set up getting us back on track with her recovery in the hospital before letting the chaos begin. Once it starts the film rarely lets up delivering a non-stop game of cat and
mouse as Maya runs and fights to survive. There are plenty of twists to keep you guessing as well as some not so surprising reveals, but I think that is by design. There is one element that I was so happy went the less obvious route, depending on how you look at it, and keeps things evolving.
There are some elements that might not work for some, including a clash with wildlife that I thought was a great unexpected bit of chaos even though it doesn’t overly fit in with the narrative that we are used to with the strangers mythology. This entry isn’t anything we haven’t seen before going full Halloween 2 in its initial tone, but it does well enough to push the narrative of this trilogy forward. Where the first film was mostly a rehash of sorts of the original film, this one tries some new things to keep it fresh that works well enough despite some bumps in the road.
The final act brings some humanity to the strangers that I think will evolve further in the final chapter and I hope it has a strong payoff. For the moments here that might not work for everyone let’s hope it all leads to something that makes for a complete story that fans will love. Like the first film this one offers up a mid-credit scene this time as a sneak peek to the final chapter that throws even more questions to the audience and where this is all heading.
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Decide for yourself and check out The Strangers: Chapter 2 in theaters now from Lionsgate.
