"The Strangers: Chapter 1" is a slick but generic reboot that promises room for improvement

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

By nature, all reboots are unnecessary. The idea of retooling 2008’s "The Strangers," however, is not off the table when a random home invasion will always be scary. A consecutively shot trilogy, "Fear Street" and "The Hobbit"-style, is even exciting for a horror fan. The titular strangers may not need a reason to kill, but there better be a valid reason why director Renny Harlin’s "The Strangers: Chapter 1" exists and why we have two more chapters to go. Or, this is just another case of an over-ambitious franchise putting the cart before the horse. 

As of now, the screenplay by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland is a beat-for-beat remake of Bryan Bertino’s original film, save for the most cosmetic changes and a little "House of Wax" thrown in for good measure. This time, the doomed couple is Maya (Madeleine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez), two boring hotties who’ve been together for five years without a proposal. They’re on a road trip to Portland for Maya’s job, and these New Yorkers’ stop for a bite is at a diner in a dumpy Oregon town where the suspicious locals sneer at vegetarians and call an Airbnb an “Internet house.” You can just hear the record scratch in your head. Of course, the couple’s car won’t start, so they rent out a local hunter’s creaky but cozy cabin for the night. Tamara still isn’t home, but three masked killers are back to knocking on the door to terrorize and end Maya and Ryan. 

There’s still a curiosity factor in seeing where this will lead for "Chapter 2" and Chapter 3," but even as a standalone film, this is an underwhelming start. At best, "The Strangers: Chapter 1" is competently made and functional as “Baby’s First Home-Invasion Movie” without ever being as effective as the dangerous, taut-as-a-rope original or 2018’s possibly-superior companion piece "The Strangers: Prey At Night." Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: C

Lionsgate released "The Strangers: Chapter 1" (91 min.) in theaters on May 17, 2024.