The Strangers Trilogy: A Remake of Horror and Mystery

The Strangers: Chapter 1 and Its Cast

Over fifteen years after the release of Bryan Bertino's home invasion film, Lionsgate has opted to take the concept of The Strangers and adapt it into a trilogy. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is set to release on May 17, 2024, and stars Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch, whose character becomes the target of three masked strangers during a stay at a secluded Airbnb. The movie will serve as a remake of Bertino's original concept and be unaffiliated with Johannes Roberts's sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night. The rest of the main cast includes Froy Gutierrez, Rachel Shenton, Ben Cartwright, Rebecka Johnston, Mile Yekinni, Janis Ahern, and Florian Clare.

Three people wearing masks in The Strangers

Behind the Scenes: The Director and Screenplay

The screenplay was written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedl, and Amber Loutfi with Renny Harlin onboard as the director. Harlin is previously known for his work on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Exorcist: The Beginning, and Devil's Pass. His most recent project, The Bricklayer, stars Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev and was released on January 5, 2024. While discussing his new film in an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Harlin teases what The Strangers fans can expect in the upcoming trilogy. Read his full quote below:

Scott Speedman in The Strangers

Screen Rant: You’re doing the upcoming Strangers trilogy. What can we expect from that? How much will it call back to the previous films in the franchise and how far will the new franchise go?

Renny Harlin: My three chapters are based on the first original movie. They have nothing to do with any kind of sequels. Basically, the first movie starts where the original movie started at. It’s different. The characters are a little different. The situation is a little different, but it’s basically, you could say, that it’s a remake of the original movie, the first chapter. It does add and subtract and change things to a certain degree, but I think it was very important for the fans of the original movie to offer them a similar kind of experience but an updated version. Then we go exploring things that was not answered in the original, such as who are The Strangers and why is this happening. Of course, a lot of the appeal of the original movie is you just don’t know. It’s just random, completely blind horrible violence. But we go deep after the first movie; we start exploring who they are, and we follow our main character, Madelaine Petsch. We follow her through these three movies. It’s really her story. A story of an ordinary girl in an extraordinary circumstance and how it affects her, how she changes, and what happens to her. By the end of the three movies, we’ve answered a lot of questions everybody had after the original film.

Unveiling the Mystery: The Strangers Originally Left Viewers In The Dark, But That's A Good Thing

Bertino's 2008 film sets out to build a growing sense of dread throughout its run rather than deliver a closed-ended mystery. The Strangers was never intended for fans of whodunits and instead targets audience members who enjoy the spine-tingling unease and anxiety-filled experience horrors provide. The original movie focuses on two isolated victims and does not introduce enough cast members to provide a satisfying killer. Therefore, any reveal would fall flat and impact the film's overall value, making it a better creative choice to end with the villain still masked.

Liv Tyler with an intruder in the house in The Strangers

The lack of a personal vendetta elevates the scare factor by acknowledging the terrifying actuality of everyday life. While James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) are fictional characters, the premise of The Strangers was inspired by real crimes. No one is safe from those who seek to harm without cause, and the film serves as a stark reminder that a stranger may knock on the door at any moment. There are multiple avenues The Strangers: Chapter 1 could take that preserve the same true-crime-like feeling the original movie elicits.

The pin-up girl stands in a living room in The Strangers

Even if the identity of the killers is insignificant to the new protagonist, a deeper insight into who they are could advance the story. How and when the murder group formed, as well as the strangers' connection to one another, is an interesting angle to potentially explore. Furthermore, how they choose their target could be expanded upon, as the first killers blame the attack on the couple simply being home. With Harlin at the helm and Petsch leading the cast, The Strangers trilogy is likely to provide a fresh take on the concept. Yet, whether it can recreate the same sense of foreboding remains to be seen.

Dollface in The Strangers