2008’s “The Strangers” was simple. It (and its painfully underrated sequel) was effective because it was simple. It relied on psychological torment where the strangers felt like perversely intrusive predators preying on a couple already in turmoil. When they arrive there’s the collective “What else can happen to us?” that we feel emanate through Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman’s characters. With “The Strangers: Chapter 1” all of that nihilism, that sheer sense of pure evil preying on the vulnerable is lost in favor of what is pretty much just a lazy remake of Bryan Bertino’s original film.
After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, young couple Maya and Ryan are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin, on the way to their anniversary vacation. Panic ensues as they are terrorized and stalked by three relentless masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.
While being much too premature for a remake treatment, “The Strangers: Chapter 1” is retrofitted by director Renny Harlin to be much more than its parts. Rather than simply being a plausible incident that could happen anywhere, “Chapter 1” leans in to the ever dreaded “Expanded Universe.” This means that Renny Harlin not only sets up a lot of foreshadowing but there’s also elements of “The Strangers” world that’s been there before the movie began, and it’s likely going to be explained, and over explained in the planned second and third chapters.
“The Strangers” was so great because it told us nothing about the masked psychos, but “Chapter 1” not only seems to give them more to do, but it also subtly sets up character traits that feel so programmed in as a means of expanding upon for the future installments. None of this works, because while it should really be destroying all sense of comfort and our perceived ideas of safety, “Chapter 1” just simply embraces the cliches left and right. There’s the young very sexy couple, making terrible decisions, having zero idea about safety precautions when traveling.
There’s the introduction of a small town filled with country bumpkins, all (or any) of whom could be the film’s trio of psychos. And to make things worse the film’s couple have zero chemistry. It’s not to say Madelane Petsch is a terrible actress, but her character has little to no dramatic weight or stakes, nor does co-star Ryan Gutierrez. Meanwhile, Harlin seems to be incapable of devising any actual frights, side stepping a lot of the psychological warfare, and opting more for tame jump scares rather than creeping terror. Pair that with the fact that both protagonists make some of the dumbest decisions ever conceived of in a horror film, and it’s a frustrating experience.
It’s a shame someone as seasoned as Harlin devises a horror film so void of anything resembling mood, atmosphere, or suspense, but he drops the ball hard. I don’t know what the future Chapters have in store for fans, but if “Chapter 1” is any indication, we might just be witnessing the massacre of three once potential horror icons.