“Hapless” horror remake is trending on Netflix despite being branded “dumb as a bag of rocks”

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Despite receiving mostly negative reviews, the horror film The Strangers: Chapter 1 is currently performing surprisingly well on Netflix UK. It seems people are either looking for a break from all the holiday content, or they’ll watch just about anything new that’s added.

So, the new version of this game – they’re calling it a reboot, but honestly, it feels a lot like a remake – just came out on streaming earlier this week, and it’s already the fourth most popular movie everyone’s watching right now. I had to check it out!

Netflix’s newest holiday film, My Secret Santa, is performing well, landing in second place. It follows the popular Love Actually and is just behind the current number one movie, Wake Up Dead Man – the second Knives Out sequel which had a limited release in theaters before becoming available on Netflix.

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The movie features Madelaine Petsch from Riverdale, Froylán Guiterrez known from Teen Wolf, and Ema Horvath of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. They play a group of friends who get stranded at a remote vacation rental when their car breaks down.

There, they are set upon by three masked assailants, and must try to survive the night.

To put it charitably, the film has been… not well received.

Rotten Tomatoes reports that critics generally disliked the film, with only 21% of 108 reviews being positive. Viewers had a slightly more favorable opinion, but still, less than half (45% of 500 users) said they enjoyed it.

According to the Detroit News, the remake lacks the suspense and unsettling feeling of the original. Instead of building tension, it relies on familiar elements, feeling like a low-quality imitation.

Mashable questioned the point of making this film if it was going to so closely follow the original, noting that the existing movie already covers the story. They also explained that the scares don’t work as well now because audiences have become desensitized since the first film came out in 2008.

According to The Daily Beast, Renny Harlin’s new thriller feels like a remake of the original film, but it doesn’t measure up. While the first movie was smooth, unsettling, and skillfully made, this version is loud, boring, and remarkably simple.

According to The New York Times, the movie’s script, penned by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland and drawing from the original story, doesn’t offer anything new or exciting in its 91-minute runtime. The review questions why a new Strangers film—or even a whole series—was made at all.

As one recent review mentioned, this movie kicks off a new trilogy that was filmed all at once. The second installment, Chapter 2, is available now, and the third is coming soon.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 can be streamed on Netflix now.

Okay, so I’m already planning my Christmas TV marathon, and I just found the Good Housekeeping Christmas TV Guide – it’s a lifesaver! It’s got listings for 14 whole days of festive shows, which is exactly what I need. I grabbed it for only £4.75 at Morrisons, but I think you can find it at most magazine shops. Definitely worth it if you don’t want to miss anything good over the holidays!

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2025-12-18 01:21