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“If the first movie was a home invasion, the second is a town invasion,” The Strangers: Chapter 2 director Renny Harlin teased at San Diego Comic-Con tonight. “The Strangers are among us, and they could be anyone.” Watch the first official clip for a sneak peek of the new sequel.

Just over one year after The Strangers: Chapter 1 kickstarted a new trilogy of terror tales, Lionsgate is getting set to unleash The Strangers: Chapter 2 in theaters on September 26.

Here’s the official synopsis: “The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.

The Strangers are back in two more months with the theatrical release of The Strangers: Chapter 2, director Renny Harlin’s follow-up movie to The Strangers: Chapter 1.

Reunite with the Man in the Mask, Pinup Girl and Dollface below.

Just over one year after The Strangers: Chapter 1 kickstarted a new trilogy of terror tales, Lionsgate is getting set to unleash The Strangers: Chapter 2 in theaters on September 26.

Here’s the official synopsis: “The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.”

Learn more at VisitVenusOregon.com.

Renny Harlin...

Land of the free. Home of the strangers. In case you missed it, Lionsgate released a brand new poster for The Strangers: Chapter 2 over the long holiday weekend. Check it out below.

Just over one year after The Strangers: Chapter 1 kickstarted a new trilogy of terror tales, Lionsgate is getting set to unleash The Strangers: Chapter 2 in theaters on September 26.

Here’s the official synopsis: “The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.”

Learn more at VisitVenusOregon.com.

Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master,...

Lionsgate UK has launched the first trailer and new artwork for The Strangers – Chapter 2, promising a relentless continuation of the home invasion saga when it arrives in cinemas on 26 September 2025. Directed by Renny Harlin and penned by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland from Bryan Bertino’s original characters, this second instalment picks up immediately after the harrowing events of Chapter 1, following sole survivor Maya Lucas as she tries to piece her life back together.

The trailer opens on Maya (Madelaine Petsch) lying in a sterile hospital room, the flicker of fluorescent lights casting long shadows across her bandaged form. A tension-steeped score builds as she steps out into a deserted suburban street, every distant creak and echo suggesting that the masked assailants are never far behind. Brief cuts show Gabriel Basso’s Gregory tracking eerie footprints in mud, while Ema Horvath’s Shelly returns to the scene of that fateful night,...

"Face the town or become its next story."

Despite finding its way on to many a worst of the year lists when it released in theaters last May, The Strangers - Chapter 1 ended up taking in a respectable $48 million worldwide on a modest budget of $8.5 million, which means we're getting at least one more movie... whether we like it or not!

The Strangers - Chapter 2 comes our way on September 26, and Lionsgate has now shared the first trailer and a new poster for the home-invasion slasher sequel.

After narrowly surviving the harrowing events of the previous movie, beleaguered final girl Maya (Madelaine Petsch) wakes up in a hospital bed next to her (very) dead boyfriend, only to come to the realization that the nightmare is far from over.

The official synopsis reads: "The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims,...

Riverdale star Madelaine Petsch isn't free from the strangers just yet. After surviving a stab wound to the stomach in The Strangers: Chapter 1, Petsch's Maya isn't in the clear yet in the first trailer for the horror sequel The Strangers – Chapter 2.

Picking up directly where the first chapter ended, the official trailer for Chapter 2 finds Maya in the hospital recovering from her wounds. Unfortunately for her, the local law enforcement has loose lips, telling a diner full of customers and staff that she survived the strangers' assault, although her boyfriend wasn't so lucky. This leads to a chilling scene where the strangers arrive at the hospital to finish the job. The trailer then shows Maya in a vehicle with four other people, one of whom is played by The Night Agent star Gabriel Basso. While these unmasked strangers seem to have good intentions, there are hints that they may...

Riverdale‘s Madelaine Petsch returns to be terrorized by creepy mask-wearing killers in Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 2. The trailer shows Maya (Petsch) recovering in the hospital from the events of The Strangers: Chapter 1 before being forced to try and survive another horrific attack by the strangers.

Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath also star. Chapter 1 opened on May 17, 2024, and Lionsgate has set a September 26, 2025 theatrical release for Chapter 2.

“The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started,” reads Lionsgate’s synopsis. “With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.”

Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland wrote the screenplay,...

Riverdale alum Madelaine Petsch returns as final girl Maya on the run again from masked pursuers in the trailer of The Strangers: Chapter 2, which dropped on Tuesday.

The second slasher horror pic in The Strangers trilogy from director Renny Harlin sees Maya once again play a cat-and-mouse game with an evil trio, the Man in the Mask, Dollface and Pin-Up Girl. After she wakes in a hospital, a gun-toting and often screaming Maya in the sequel finds herself fighting for survival against axe and knife-wielding killers out to be rid of their final victim.

A logline from the film’s producers reads: “The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter...

Lionsgate has released the official trailer and poster for The Strangers – Chapter 2, which is set to open in theaters on September 26, 2025.

The film is the second installment of a new trilogy. The first installment opened in theaters on May 17, 2024, and grossed $48.2 million worldwide, with $35.2 million coming from North American theaters and almost $13 million from international markets.

The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started.

With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.

The Strangers – Chapter 2 cast includes Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, and Ema Horvath.

The film has not yet been rated by the Motion Picture...

"The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way."

Directed by: Renny Harlin Written by: Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland Based on Characters Created by: Bryan Bertino Produced by: Courtney Solomon, p.g.a., Mark Canton, p.g.a., Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Alastair Burlingham, Charlie Dombek Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath

In Theaters September 26, 2025



The post “The Strangers Are Back – More Brutal and Relentless Than Ever” in the New Trailer for The Strangers – Chapter 2 appeared first on Daily Dead.

Just over one year after The Strangers: Chapter 1 kickstarted a new trilogy of terror tales, Lionsgate is getting set to unleash The Strangers: Chapter 2 in theaters on September 26.

Watch the official trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 2 below, which takes a Halloween II-style approach by continuing the survival story of Madelaine Petsch’s final girl, Maya.

And much like Halloween II, this Chapter 2 is also set inside a hospital. The upcoming film will also further explore the mysterious town of Venus, Oregon, and the official trailer suggests that we may be learning more about the masked killers and why they do what they do.

Then again, as one character remarks, “Does there have to be a why?” That’s been the M.O. of The Strangers from the beginning, with the lack of a motive exemplifying the chilling pointlessness of the horror on display in Bryan Bertino’s terrifying original movie.

A once pulse-pounding horror franchise has flatlined. Jigsaw's next killing spree was officially shelved on Monday after Lionsgate removed Saw 11 from its schedule and swapped in horror sequel The Strangers: Chapter 2 in its place.

Originally intended for a Fall 2024 release, the sequel was punted to the Sept. 26, 2025 date that The Strangers sequel now inherits. Despite the track record of delays, the latest puts the franchise's future in flux. Production warfare has plagued the project since its Spring 2024 announcement. Saw 11 co-writer Patrick Melton provided insight into the stall, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

“The reason it’s held up is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page.”

Producers Can't Crack Jigsaw Puzzle, Lionsgate Silently Kills Saw 11 "It's 100% Over."

The grim update gets bleaker. According to Bloody Disgusting, a source "verified as being close to the production of its newest sequel.

Madelaine Petsch as Maya in ‘The Strangers -Chapter 2’ (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate)

Well, that didn’t take long. Just days after Saw XI‘s screenwriter Patrick Melton confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter there’s trouble brewing behind the scenes, Lionsgate has removed the upcoming addition to the Saw franchise from its 2025 calendar. The vacated September 26, 2025 spot will now be occupied by The Strangers – Chapter 2.

“We haven’t heard anything since May,” stated Melton in an interview with THR. “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.”

The second entry in the planned The Strangers reboot trilogy stars Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, and Ema Horvath. Renny Harlin directs from a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland.

“I promise that we’re making The Strangers — Chapter 2 as terrifying as possible, and I can...

Renny Harlin's home invaders are coming back for more. With the announcement that Saw XI was cut out of Lionsgate's release schedule for this year, The Strangers: Chapter 2 has taken over its September 26 release date. The follow-up to Harlin's remake last year, The Strangers: Chapter 1, celebrated the announcement with a haunting new image showing a bloody Madelaine Petsch with a massive messy scar. Though it will hit theaters later than imagined, the Riverdale star assured that the wait will be worth it in an official statement, saying, "I promise that we’re making The Strangers: Chapter 2 as terrifying as possible, and I can’t wait to show you on September 26."

Little is known about Chapter 2 aside from where the first film left viewers off. Chapter 1 was a mostly straightforward remake of the original 2008 film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, with Petsch and Froy Gutierrez playing young...

03/24/2025 Update: The Strangers: Chapter 2 has been given a Sept. 26, 2025 release date by Lionsgate. It looks like Petsch was really hinting about a release date announcement!

We have some potentially promising news to share about the second installment in the new The Strangers trilogy. Lead actress Madelaine Petsch recently shared an intriguing Instagram story, sparking speculation that The Strangers: Chapter 2 might be arriving soon. This update comes just five months after the thrilling teaser trailer dropped. While there’s no official release date yet for The Strangers: Chapter 2, Petsch’s latest Instagram post suggests that more details—or even a release date—could be announced soon.

The first installment of the horror trilogy, The Strangers: Chapter 1, was released in theaters back in May 2024. The horror flick was directed by Renny Harlin and written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. The story centered around Maya and Ryan,...

Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 2 will open in theaters on Sept. 26, 2025.

Saw XI, which had the date, has been moved off the calendar for the time being.

The first movie, Strangers: Chapter 1, debuted last May, and was one of the better-performing movies for Lionsgate in 2024, making $35.2M domestic, $48.1M worldwide.

In Chapter 2, Renny Harlin directs Riverdale‘s Madelaine Petsch as well as Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath. Producers are Courtney Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Alastair Burlingham, Charlie Dombek on the horror franchise movie. Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland wrote the screenplay.

The Strangers movie franchise kicked off in 2008 at Focus Features and starred Liv Tyler in the Bryan Bertino directed-and-written movie. That pic followed James Hoyt and Kristen McKay who visit an isolated vacation home only to encounter a rude surprise when three masked assailants make their stay a nightmare. The movie was massive on a...

Saw XI has been officially cut from Lionsgate’s release calendar — but that doesn’t mean the franchise is dead yet.

The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report that the planned sequel in the horror franchise, which had been slated to hit theaters on Sept. 26, has been removed from that date. This follows Patrick Melton, a writer on the movie, telling THR in a story published last week that there has been “inter-squabbling” between producers and Lionsgate.

On Monday, Lionsgate shared a cheeky statement from Billy the Puppet, the ventriloquist dummy used in the films by the character John Kramer, aka Jigsaw: “I’ve seen the rumors. They say it’s Game Over. You all should know me better than that. The game is never over.”

In a twinned move, The Strangers: Chapter 2 is now set for wide theatrical release on Sept. 26. Madelaine Petsch reprises her role in the...

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Netflix is one of the best places to find the best movies and TV shows you can watch on any streaming service. Every month, it adds hundreds of new titles to its content library, but some titles have to go. So, today, we are here to tell you about the best films and TV shows you should watch before they leave Netflix in March 2025.

Due Date (March 1) Credit – Warner Bros.

Due Date is a dark comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, and Adam Sztykiel. The 2010 film follows Peter Highman, who must get to Los Angeles before the birth of his child, but when he gets put on the no-fly list because of an eccentric man named Ethan Tremblay. To get to Los Angeles in time, Peter is...

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Netflix is one of the best places to find the best movies and TV shows you can watch on any streaming service. Every month, it adds hundreds of new titles to its content library, but with that, there are also some titles that have got to go. So, today, we are here to tell you about the best film you should watch before it leaves Netflix in February 2025.

Plus One (February 1) Credit – Rlje Films

Plus One is a romantic comedy film co-written and co-directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer. The 2019 film follows Ben King and Alice Mori, two young friends who attend multiple weddings together but they soon fall for each other. Plus One stars Jack Quaid, Maya Erskine, Beck Bennett, Rosalind Chao, Perrey Reeves, and Ed Begley Jr.

Fast Five (February 11) Credit – Universal Pictures

Fast Five...

Robert Downer Jr. and Zach Galifianakis once starred in a road trip comedy titled Due Date, and if not for them, it deserves a look based on its supporting cast. Netflix continues to be one of the biggest and most important streaming platforms, even if many of its original movies and TV shows haven’t succeeded. A big part of Netflix’s success is its extensive catalog, and it keeps adding new content every week from various genres and for viewers of all ages – and among its latest additions is Due Date.

Before he brought to life a different version of the Joker, Todd Phillips was best known for directing comedies. Phillips had gained recognition for directing The Hangover trilogy between 2009 and 2013 and Due Date, released in 2010. The latter counts on the talents of Robert Downey Jr. (taking a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Zach Galifianakis as its lead actors,...

Directed by: Renny Harlin Written by: Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland Based on Characters Created by: Bryan Bertino Produced by: Courtney Solomon, p.g.a., Mark Canton, p.g.a., Christopher Milburn, Charlie Dombek, Gary Raskin, Alastair Burlingham Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath Synopsis: The chilling next chapter of The Strangers franchise. …

The post The Strangers – Chapter 2 Teaser Trailer Available Now! appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

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Brothers is an action heist comedy adventure series directed by Max Barbakow from a screenplay by Macon Blair. The 2024 film follows the story of two twin criminal brothers and while one is trying to reform the other is trying to pull him in on a dangerous heist. With legal troubles, gunfights, and family drama they must reconcile their differences before they lose out on the score of a lifetime. Brothers stars Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage in the lead roles with Glenn Close, Brendan Fraser, Marisa Tomei, Jennifer Landon, M. Emmet Walsh, and Taylour Paige starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the hilarious comedy, dangerous thrills, and compelling characters in Brothers here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Logan Lucky (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Bleecker Street

Logan Lucky is a...

The trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 2 has arrived. The movie is the second installment in a planned Renny Harlin-directed trilogy of home invasion movies starring Madelaine Petsch as Maya. 2024's Chapter 1, which was itself the third installment of the franchise, earned a dismal 21% on Rotten Tomatoes but became a box office success, grossing $47.8 million worldwide against its $8.5 million budget. The upcoming The Strangers: Chapter 2 will continue Maya's story as she has another encounter with the titular trio of masked home invaders.

Lionsgate Movies has now unveiled the official trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 2. The trailer returns the action to the remote Pacific Northwest town of Venus, where a sinister-sounding religious radio program plays over footage of Maya waking up in the hospital and being picked up by a van of people who seem to be connected with the Strangers, given their intense gazes, happy face tattoos,...

Stars: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Rachel Shenton, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath | Written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland | Directed by Renny Harlin

Young couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are on their way to Portland, Oregon in order for Maya to attend a job interview. When they need to stop following a near-miss car accident, they end up in the small town of Venus, where the spotlight is clearly on them for being the odd ones out. Staying in a woodland Airbnb while waiting for their car to get fixed, the pair are soon tormented by three ominously masked figures.

That, my friends, is absolutely all you need to know about The Strangers: Chapter 1. Or if you do venture out to see it (please don’t), this is likely all you’ll remember. What is set to be a horror threequel is already unable to answer why two...

Willingly invite Dollface, Pin-Up Girl, and Scarecrow into your home with the upcoming physical media release of Lionsgate film The Strangers: Chapter 1, the first in a new trilogy based on Bryan Bertino's original 2008 movie.

On June 25, Lionsgate Home Entertainment announced that the home invasion thriller comes to 4K Uhd, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 23. The physical copy includes exciting extras, like an audio commentary track with star Madelaine Petsch and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Special features:

Audio Commentary with Producer Courtney Solomon and Actress Madelaine PetschReimagining a Classic: Making The Strangers — Chapter 1A Hostile Environment: The Visual Design of The Strangers — Chapter 1

I'm impressed that the physical copy is getting a commentary track, an increasing rarity in this day and age. Apart from the commentary, the physical edition also features two featurettes.

Before The Strangers: Chapter 1 was released in theaters, Renny Harlin had already finished directing the entire trilogy. Alan R. Cohen...

A couple of years ago, I started a recurring column called The Silver Lining, where I’d write about horror films that were generally considered to be bad but also had good elements that warranted revisiting. This wasn’t just a way of talking about underappreciated films, but also a personal challenge to try and see past the internet’s negative bias and learn to appreciate the little things that can make a scary movie worth watching.

I was recently reminded of this challenge with the release of Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 1, a film so poorly received by both fans and critics that I honestly had no intention of seeing it until I read a post by The Horror Queers’ Trace Thurman playfully comparing the flick to a Platinum Dunes remake – something that immediately made me think that the flick might not be as bad as some folks...

It doesn’t matter if you are happy, sad, or feeling stuck in your life a good road trip with your friends and family has the capability of solving every little or big problem in your life. That’s why road trip movies are a reminder to ourselves to get out of our little apartments and hit the road with our loved ones to go on a life-altering adventure to create memories that we will never forget. Therefore, we compiled a list of the 10 best road trip movies filled with comedy, adventure, emotion, wide open roads, and beautiful sceneries to remind you to go on the greatest adventure of your life.

Dog (Prime Video & MGM+) Credit – MGM

Dog is a comedy-drama film directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin from a screenplay by Carolin. The 2022 film follows the story of US Army Ranger Jackson Briggs as he goes on a...

The Strangers film series is back with the first film of a new standalone trilogy, and while it may not be as good as the previous two films it is certainly making bank at the box office. Directed by Renny Harlin from a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, the 2024 film titled The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a horror film that follows the story of a young couple as their car breaks down in a small town and they are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. But things get even worse when three masked strangers try to kill them. So, if you have loved all the previous The Strangers films and you are okay with the latest one here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Becky (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Yale Production and BoulderLight Pictures

Becky is an action thriller film directed...

Stars: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Rachel Shenton, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath | Written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland | Directed by Renny Harlin

Young couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are on their way to Portland, Oregon in order for Maya to attend a job interview. When they need to stop following a near-miss car accident, they end up in the small town of Venus, where the spotlight is clearly on them for being the odd ones out. Staying in a woodland Airbnb while waiting for their car to get fixed, the pair are soon tormented by three ominously masked figures.

That, my friends, is absolutely all you need to know about The Strangers: Chapter 1. Or if you do venture out to see it (please don’t), this is likely all you’ll remember. What is set to be a horror threequel is already unable to answer why two...

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Directed by Renny Harlin, The Strangers: Chapter 1 reintroduces us to filmmaker Bryan Bertino's terrifying 2008 movie about "strangers" who knock on a couple's door, ask for someone who isn't there and proceed to disturb the innocent couple in a murderous fashion. Instead of Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, as in the original, here we have rising stars Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) and Froy Gutierrez (Teen Wolf) playing the love birds whose car breaks down during a road trip through the boonies. This leads them to shack up in a makeshift Airbnb cabin in the middle of the woods. What could go wrong?

We recently caught up with Petsch and Gutierrez in-person at a creepy replica of that cabin (now in Los Angeles) to learn more about their real-life appreciation for the horror genre, why it's important to retell Bertino's tale with Chapter 1, and...

Sixteen years after Bryan Bertino's The Strangers shocked moviegoers, Lionsgate is reintroducing moviegoers to Dollface, Pin-Up Girl, and Scarecrow in The Strangers – Chapter 1, the first film in a new trilogy that brings the movie's masked murderers back to the big screen as they stalk a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) spending the night at a secluded cabin in the woods. Ahead of the film's world premiere in Los Angeles last week, Daily Dead had the chance to talk with lead actors Madelaine Petsch (who is also one of the film's executive producers) and Froy Gutierrez about what attracted them to playing their respective characters, developing a realistic chemistry in a short amount of time, and working with legendary director Renny Harlin.

You can watch our full video interview with Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez, which got crashed by some familiar frightening faces, and you can also see my eerie interaction with Dollface,...

Nearly 16 years after Bryan Bertino's The Strangers shocked moviegoers, the movie's masked murderers are slicing their way back onto the big screen this week with Lionsgate's release of The Strangers – Chapter 1, the first film in a new trilogy within The Strangers franchise. Ahead of the film's world premiere in Los Angeles last week, Daily Dead had the chance to talk with legendary director Renny Harlin about bringing his own personal style to The Strangers franchise, building tension through tense close-ups and foreboding wide shots, keeping audiences on edge, and more!

You can watch our full video interview with Renny Harlin below, and go here to catch up on all of our coverage of The Strangers – Chapter 1!

Directed by Renny Harlin from a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland (and based on The Strangers written by Bryan Bertino), The Strangers: Chapter 1 stars Madelaine Petsch (who is also...

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The release dates have been set, and yes, a three-part reboot of The Strangers is being released over the next year. It starts today when The Strangers: Chapter 1 hits theaters, and who better to direct than veteran genre filmmaker Renny Harlin, the man behind Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and many more. When audiences first hear the title "The Strangers," they'll correctly think back to Bryan Bertino's hit horror film from 15 years back, which was loosely inspired by a true story of a couple being slowly terrorized overnight by a trio of killers for no apparent reason. Harlin's new film stars Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez as the couple, and the end result is just as terrifying, if not more so.

We recently caught up with Harlin to learn more about the great undertaking of rebooting a classic scary movie and...

A new trilogy of terror begins with the release of the horror movie The Strangers: Chapter 1. A reimagining of The Strangers that will serve as a longer version of the story, the film stars Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez as a couple who find themselves targeted by a group of masked strangers.

In an interview with Cbr's Kevin Polowy to promote the film, Petsch and Gutierrez spoke about what frightened them for real with filming the horror movie. Petsch pointed out how the Scarecrow actor showed up to the set with black makeup left on his face on days he wasn't working, and that helped create some tension during filming, as he'd essentially stayed in character by watching the actors from a distance. Gutierrez also detailed how he was genuinely scared by a flaming motorcycle scene, while Petsch revealed how she was traumatized by another scene she personally asked to put into the film.

Quick Links From Bertino to Harlin: A Strangers Saga The Strangers Live On, but Does Anyone Else?

Could this happen to you? Is The Strangers: Chapter 1 based on a true story? The opening title cards certainly lead us to believe so. And why not? "Strangers" knocking on your door and terrorizing you isn't too far-fetched of a notion, as it seems. True crime docuseries are everywhere these days, perpetually growing in popularity across the streaming giants amid the world's fascination with serial killers, stalkers, and more.

It's no real surprise, then, that a throwback scary movie like The Strangers (2008), written and directed by Bryan Bertino, has been revisited and expanded upon in an all-new four and a half hour film that's been divided into three parts after a 278-page script was written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. Veteran filmmaker Renny Harlin is at the helm, and Chapter 1 is now in theaters,...

Back in the Old Days, sequels and franchises used to be anathema in Hollywood. The conventional wisdom was that no audience wanted to see more of a story that had already reached its conclusion, and that a "part two" or more didn't make as much money at the box office as an original work did.

Except, that is, within the horror genre. Universal Pictures discovered pretty early on in cinema's history that audiences would be down with seeing their spooky pals on screen as much as possible, and thus Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, and others made return visits in the '30s and '40s. However, each of these sequels sought to be as unique as possible, with very few merely rehashing what had come before, and the concept of continuity or lore was essentially tossed aside at will.

Now we live in a cinematic age where IP rules the day,...

This article contains major spoilers for "The Strangers: Chapter 1."

The horror genre is no stranger (pun intended) to creatures returning from the dead. After "The Bride of Frankenstein" brought back the Monster in 1935, no major cinematic horror character has lain dormant for too long, with even the unlikeliest of beasties or killers coming back for at least a second go-round or more.

The villains of 2008's "The Strangers" count as one of those unlikely killers, though not because they're difficult to sequelize. On the contrary, the very ethos of the Strangers — that being they kill "because you were home" — is incredibly open-ended and ripe for exploration and expansion in further films. Yet therein lies the rub, as they say, for a large part of what makes "The Strangers" so terrifying is that it's a home invasion movie where absolutely no rationale is given for the tragic fates suffered by the...

The new Strangers trilogy will explore trauma and the motivations of the masked killers in a modernized and terrifying way. Director Renny Harlin's musical approach to building tension adds a unique element to the horror genre for the cast and audience alike. The use of practical effects and an intense filming process heighten the chilling atmosphere while maintaining safety on set.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a modern retelling of the 2008 cult classic horror movie which sets up a new trilogy. Happy couple Ryan and Maya are moving across the country to start the next chapter in their life together. When their car breaks down in a small town in Oregon, they stay in an isolated cabin while it is repaired. This leads to a nightmarish experience as they are hunted, terrorized, and attacked by a group of masked strangers who target them without warning or explanation.

The Strangers trilogy...

Froy Gutierrez and Madeline Petsch Photo: John Armour (Lionsgate) After 16 years of axe-wielding, needle-dropping, and door-knocking scares, The Strangers have become all too familiar. When Bryan Bertino’s 2008 original asked, “Is Tamara home?” the home invasion felt like a novel avenue for slashers. With added authenticity and a sense of criminal mundanity,...

The Strangers: Chapter 1

Photo: John Armour (Lionsgate)

After 16 years of axe-wielding, needle-dropping, and door-knocking scares, The Strangers have become all too familiar. When Bryan Bertino’s 2008 original asked, “Is Tamara home?” the home invasion felt like a novel avenue for slashers. With added authenticity and a sense of criminal mundanity,...

The landscape of horror cinema is strewn with sequels, prequels, reboots, and remakes—many of which fail to capture the essence of their predecessors. My philosophy is, If a film is to be rebooted, remade, or re-purposed, it must find a way to distinguish itself and justify its existence. Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1, directed by Renny Harlin and written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, does neither. This latest installment is a lackluster attempt to revive a franchise that should have remained in its original, standalone glory. With wooden performances from Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez, this film only serves to remind us of what was once innovative in The Strangers (2008), is now rendered commercial, and lifeless.

The film opens with a man running frantically through the woods, beaten and bruised, pursued by masked figures wielding knives and axes. His eventual demise, though inevitable, is barely shown, denying...

“Is Tamara here?” In May of 2008, those three words hung in the air with foreboding menace (along with “because you were home”) as Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers played in theaters and shocked moviegoers like myself with its straightforward approach to home invasion horror and random violence. Now, 16 years later, the masked murderers now known as Pin-Up Girl, Dollface, and Scarecrow are back on the big screen in The Strangers – Chapter 1, the first film in a new trilogy and the third movie overall in the franchise (the most recent being 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night). More of a relaunched expansion of the franchise rather than a full-on remake of the original movie, The Strangers – Chapter 1 still retreads a lot of the first film’s frights, but it does so effectively while weaving in its own intriguing story threads, delivering a promising start to a new trilogy of terror...

Rebooting and expanding upon Bryan Bertino’s chilling 2008 horror film in a brand new trilogy, all installments already shot as part of one continuous, overarching story, makes for one of the more ambitious horror endeavors as of late. It also means that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is only the opening act of a three-part saga. Considering it’s the entry most committed to recreating the familiar beats of Bertino’s film, Chapter 1 makes for a tricky-to-gauge, overly familiar introduction to this new expansion.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 introduces happy couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) on their way to starting a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Car troubles leave them stranded in the quirky small town of Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to stay the night in a cozy but remote cabin in the woods.

Naturally, the deeply in love couple soon find themselves in a desperate...

When Bryan Bertino unleashed "The Strangers" onto the world in 2008, I doubt he could have predicted what a phenomenon the story and characters would become. The first-time feature film director took inspiration from the senseless violence that plagues so many people, and a real-life encounter as a child where vandals were randomly knocking on doors in his neighborhood and breaking into houses if no one was home. The terrifying "point" of "The Strangers" was that there was no point. The Man in the Mask, Pin-Up Girl, and Dollface killed Kristen and James because, as Dollface horrifically admits, "because you were home." Alas, with such phenomenal character designs and a cult-like following, "The Strangers" was destined to get the horror franchise treatment. The sequel film "The Strangers: Prey at Night" arrived 10 years after the original, and was surprisingly well received. Unfortunately, the three killers were killed by the film's final girl,...

Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 1 begins so rotely that it feels like a parody of every bad backwoods horror movie made in the last 50 years. An upwardly mobile young couple, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez), are traveling cross-country to Portland for a job interview that Maya has lined up when they decide to make a pit stop for food. Rather than hit the nearest roadside McDonalds, they veer way off their route toward a diner in the tiny town of Venus, Oregon. And wouldn’t you know it, Maya and Ryan’s car breaks down, and since their cell service is spotty, they’re forced to spend the night in Venus. All the while, the town’s largely unwelcoming residents glare at them and mumble about “city folk.”

One diner employee, though, does offer Maya and Ryan some help, pointing them toward a nearby Airbnb cottage. This,...

Nearly 16 years after Bryan Bertino's The Strangers shocked moviegoers, the three mysterious masked murderers are slicing their way back onto the big screen this week with Lionsgate's May 17th release of The Strangers – Chapter 1, the first film in a new trilogy within The Strangers franchise. Ahead of the film's world premiere in Los Angeles last week, Daily Dead had the chance to talk with producer Courtney Solomon about how the opportunity to make a new Strangers film came about, his desire to do something new with the franchise rather than remake the iconic original movie, exploring the enigmatic masked killers, the initial 289-page screenplay, and more!

You can watch our full video interview with Courtney Solomon below, and stay tuned to Daily Dead for more of our coverage of The Strangers – Chapter 1!

Directed by Renny Harlin from a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland (and based on...

We’re now just days away from the theatrical release of The Strangers: Chapter 1, the first film in a brand new reboot trilogy from director Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master, Deep Blue Sea). It’s coming to theaters May 17, 2024.

While you wait, check out two brand new images from The Strangers: Chapter 1, which Lionsgate has exclusively shared with Bloody Disgusting to whet your appetite this week.

The first image sets a creepy mood with the Man in the Mask lurking in the woods, trusty axe in hand, while the second sees Madelaine Petsch’s Maya tied to a chair while the Man in the Mask and Dollface look on. We can be pretty sure Pinup Girl isn’t far behind…

Tickets for The Strangers: Chapter 1 are now available. Grab them here.

Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”), Froy Gutierrez (Hocus Pocus 2), Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child...

Godzilla and King Kong bring their latest fight home this week, and they’ll be joined by a new Tubi Original slasher, a wide release for an A24 hit, and the return of The Strangers to theaters.

Here’s all the new horror releasing May 13 – May 19, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

A box office powerhouse, director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has raked in $558 million at the worldwide box office since its debut in theaters back in March, and you can now rent or own the film on Digital at home beginning today, May 14.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire sees the legendary Titans Godzilla and Kong team up to face a world-ending threat so terrifying that neither of them could survive it alone.

Meagan wrote in her review of the new movie for Bloody Disgusting, “Wingard continues the...

It appears that Lionsgate may have gone too far in promoting their upcoming horror franchise revival The Strangers: Chapter 1. In an attempt to drum up more excitement for the film, Lionsgate livestreamed promotional material that violated the terms of service for TikTok, causing the social media platform to shut down the page.

According to IndieWire, the promotional material that was being livestreamed was flagged by TikTok and was replaced with a notice that said, "We do not allow showing or promoting dangerous activities and challenges. This includes dares, games, tricks, inappropriate use of dangerous tools, eating substances that are harmful to ones health, or similar activities that may lead to significant physical harm." The livestream itself was said to have shown a masked figure holding a sign that said "Is Tamara Here," referencing a character in the film.

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Lionsgate's eerie marketing stunt for The Strangers - Chapter 1 backfired, leading to their TikTok account being disabled temporarily. The spooky livestream with a shadowy figure triggered concern and backlash from viewers on May 7. Madelaine Petsch was praised by director Renny Harlin for her strong performance in the upcoming horror film.

Lionsgate ventured a bit too far into the eerie in a bid to drum up excitement for their latest horror film, The Strangers - Chapter 1. The company's marketing tactics ended up getting their official TikTok account temporarily disabled. The incident occurred late in the evening on May 7, when a promotional livestream may have violated TikTok's community guidelines concerning "dangerous activities and challenges."

Per People, the problematic livestream depicted a shadowy figure brandishing a sign asking, "Is Tamara Here?"a nod to the film's storyline. However, the visual proved too unsettling for many. A screenshot shared with the outlet has...