Each The Strangers Film, Ranked Worst To Finest

The Strangers franchise has three films, and one ranks greater than the remainder. The 4 easy phrases, “since you had been house,” sparked worry into the hearts of moviegoers with the discharge of the primary movie in 2008, as three masked killers wreaked havoc on a secluded couple with seemingly no motive.

The Strangers was loosely primarily based on experiences that director Bryan Bertino had when he was younger, and it shot the house invasion subgenre of horror into the highlight. Not solely is that style nonetheless widespread 16 years later, however The Strangers franchise can also be nonetheless going sturdy. The Strangers: Chapter 2, the second film in a trilogy that was filmed back-to-back-to-back, simply hit theaters in late September of 2025.

Director Renny Harlin has mentioned he considers all three films to be one full story, viewing Chapter 1 as the primary act of an extended movie that continues with Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. With two of the three films out, it is price analyzing the place they rank compared to the unique two films of the franchise.

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The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)

The Strangers: Chapter 2 continues the narrative that started in The Strangers: Chapter 1, however considerably bafflingly it merely runs in place. After introducing Madelaine Petsch’s Maya Lucas because the trilogy’s protagonist in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 picks up together with her within the hospital after surviving the primary assault from the Strangers. From there, we observe Maya as she runs, hides, and repeats for the remainder of the runtime.

The early scenes within the hospital have the closest factor resembling rigidity, as she is stalked by the cumbersome killer known as Scarecrow (given the character of his masks). As soon as Maya escapes to the woods surrounding the city of Venus, Oregon, the film loses what little momentum it had. The movie formally jumps the shark as soon as Maya is chased by a feral pig unleashed by Scarecrow.

The one little bit of progress the film gives comes by way of flashbacks concerning the killer referred to as Pin-Up Woman, who’s revealed to be Shelly, the pleasant waitress from Carol’s Diner who first despatched Maya and her fiancé to the distant Airbnb the place the Strangers assault them in Chapter 1. We be taught that she had psychopathic tendencies from a younger age, and dedicated her first homicide as a baby.

It not less than breaks away from the ultra-familiar method that Chapter 1 caught to, which was very practically a shot-for-shot remake of the unique The Strangers. Nonetheless, the model of Chapter 2 that hit theaters included a spherical of reshoots primarily based on viewers suggestions from Chapter 1; I shudder to consider what the unique imaginative and prescient might need seemed like.

Like its predecessor, The Strangers: Chapter 2 was virtually universally panned by critics, because it yielded an abysmal 16% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating. Shockingly, its Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter rating, which measures viewers suggestions, debuted at a 57%, which might make it the very best of any film within the franchise, together with the acclaimed authentic.

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The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

The Strangers: Chapter 1has loads of intense and scary moments, however its greatest difficulty comes from its lack of originality. As a result of the movie is extra of a retelling of the 2008 authentic than anything,lots of the scenes really feel a bit of too comparable, and the route of the story presents few surprises, particularly to these aware of the franchise.Just a few refined variations, just like the story’s location setup and the couple’s circumstances, supply sufficient variations for it to really feel considerably distinctive, however for almost all of the movie, it seems like a replicated story.That is the danger of primarily retelling the identical narrative. In these circumstances, sometimes the “reboot” presents a number of surprises and shocks or not less than adjustments the tone of the movie.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 would not fairly take this method, and it definitely is not gore-filled or chock-full of leap scares. Every thing this movie does, its predecessor did in a greater and scarier method. Chapter 1 is not a boring movie, and possibly lands in another way for a youthful technology of horror audiences who have not seen the unique, however, by itself, it would not stand very tall.

The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s points had been regarding upon its launch when contemplating that it was solely the primary a part of an already-filmed trilogy. Whereas it is doable the film will probably be seen in a extra constructive mild as soon as your entire story is instructed, it additionally may very well be remembered because the one which kicks off a complete collection of disappointing movies.

Nonetheless, Chapter 1 does have a few issues working for it. The restricted energy of The Strangers: Chapter 1 comes from its technical points. The digicam work, crafted expertly by cinematographer José David Montero (What Occurred to Monday?) units a dismal tone all through the movie, including a layer of dread that compliments the lurking killers’ antics nicely.

*Opening weekend projection

Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez’s characters of Maya and Ryan aren’t as likable or relatable as Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman from the primary film, however the two do an incredible job of being plausible in a messed-up scenario. Sadly, your entire movie by no means actually surpasses being “simply effective.”

Critically, The Strangers: Chapter 1 hasn’t finished nicely, both. The movie holds only a 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, the bottom RT rating of the horror franchise, and a 4.6/10 on IMDb. Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com gave the movie simply two out of 4 stars and mentioned: “This one largely goes by the motions of a horror remake, usually feeling like a light copy of the primary movie.”

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The Strangers: Prey at Night time (2018)

The Strangers: Prey at Night time presents a refreshing really feel after the bleakness of the unique movie. Coming a decade later, the sequel feels rather more like a campy ’80s slasher than a horrifying house invasion film. Director Johannes Roberts opts for a extra ’80s tone, too, as a lot of the lighting is neon-themed, and an authentic synth rating from Adrian Johnston elevates the texture.

The Prey at Night time characters really feel a bit of extra like slasher fodder than each within the authentic and the brand new movie, however that matches the model of the film nicely. The movie introduces a completely new solid, led by Christina Hendricks (Mad Males) and Martin Henderson (The Ring). The story is once more written by Bertino but additionally by Ben Ketai (The Forest).

Moderately than having private origins, the story is predicated extra on the Keddie Cabin murders of 1981, the place a household of 4 was killed with seemingly no motive. Nonetheless, the setting is modified from a secluded household cabin to a rundown motel. The modified setting helps with the visuals and soundscape of the movie and separates it from feeling too just like its predecessor.

One of many larger points with The Strangers: Prey at Night time comes from its lack of depth with each the killers and their victims. When watching a sequel, one would count on extra backstory, clarification, or not less than an growth of the thriller supplied by the primary.

This movie could as nicely have been a totally totally different franchise. The one similarities it has are the killer characters, and even their personalities really feel a lot totally different from what audiences see within the authentic movie. General, the film presents a enjoyable trip, however not an incredible or memorable one.

The Strangers: Prey at Night time is generally seen as a middle-of-the-road high quality movie by most critics, although the consensus is extra muddied than each the unique and newest movies. IGN‘s Witney Seibold gave the movie excessive reward, scoring it an 8.2 out of 10 on the favored media website, one of many highest scores it acquired.

The movie did decently amongst informal viewers, too, as it turned its small, $5 million funds right into a $31 million success on the field workplace.

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The Strangers (2008)

2008’s The Strangers is the perfect within the franchise due to its skill to infuse actual, unapologetic dread into its viewers. The killers are saved imprecise and mysterious, and the film offers them no motivation or reasoning for his or her crimes. Excellently acted by Liv Tyler (in one in every of her finest performances) and Scott Speedman, their characters are lifelike and plausible.

The Strangers retains its solid small and intimate, permitting it to concentrate on the chemistry of its leads. The placement is ready in a home that would substitute for any middle-class house in America, which provides to the worry issue and relatability for its viewers. The movie additionally veers away from being too explanatory of the antagonists and leans right into a heartbreaking, terrifying, and unpredictable ending.

The film is predicated on a mix of occasions, the primary being a second within the director’s childhood the place his sister answered the door and a girl requested for somebody who did not stay there, who was later came upon to be a part of a bunch in a string of neighborhood robbers. Extra inspiration comes from the Tate murders dedicated by the Manson household and, like Prey at Night time, the 1981 Keddie Cabin murders.

Not solely did the unique movie rating the very best among the many franchise with critics, each on Rotten Tomatoes and on IMDb (6.1), however it was a large hit with audiences as nicely. The movie took its meager $9 million funds and remodeled it right into a whopping $82.4 million success.

The movie has cemented itself within the zeitgeist of nice horror, and it was acknowledged as such, because the “since you had been house” scene was ranked #95 on Shudder’s revered docuseries record of The 101 Scariest Horror Film Moments of All Time.

The Strangers can also be the one movie within the franchise to be nominated for a number of awards. It was nominated for Finest Rating and Finest Large-Launch Movie on the 2009 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. It additionally earned noms for Finest Horror/Thriller Film and Finest Horror/Thriller Actor and Actress on the 2009 Teen Alternative Awards.

The Strangers additionally took the Saturn Award for Finest Horror on the Academy for Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Movies, and all instructed, the film simply sits aside from the remainder of the franchise. Practically 20 years after its launch, the movie nonetheless has the power to go away its viewers bothered and fascinated about the story lengthy after it is over.

Launch Date

September 26, 2025

Runtime

96 Minutes

Director

Renny Harlin

Writers

Alan Freedland, Alan R. Cohen, Amber Loutfi

Producers

Courtney Solomon

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  Richard Brake

  Sheriff Rotter