REVIEW: “The Strangers – Chapter 2” (2025)

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I was both excited and hesitant when a new trilogy of *The Strangers* films was announced. These movies were intended to be a prequel to the original 2008 film, which was a truly frightening and effective combination of psychological horror and home invasion, written and directed by Bryan Bertino. However, the 2018 sequel, *The Strangers: Prey at Night*, was a significant step down in quality, and as I’ve noted before, it’s best to just forget it ever happened.

Let’s talk about the new trilogy, all filmed back-to-back by director Renny Harlin. The first installment didn’t get off to a strong start, feeling stretched out – it took a short, 30-minute story and turned it into a 90-minute movie. Honestly, the second film, “The Strangers – Chapter 2,” suffered from the same problem. However, there’s a key difference that surprisingly works well. This time, the movie abandons the home invasion theme and becomes a long, relentless chase, with the strong female lead from the first film running from three masked killers.

Madelaine Petsch reprises her role as Maya Lucas, a woman who narrowly escaped a terrifying attack by three masked strangers during a stay at a remote Airbnb. Her fiancé, Ryan (played by Froy Gutierrez), was killed, and Maya was left for dead. Thankfully, she was rescued by paramedics and taken to Venus County Hospital. This essentially recaps the first chapter and quickly leads into the events that follow.

Chapter 2 opens with Maya in the hospital, grieving the death of Ryan. Still frightened because the murderers haven’t been caught, she doesn’t find much comfort in Sheriff Rotter, a strange and unsettling figure played by Richard Brake. Her family is traveling to be with her, leaving Maya alone in the hospital overnight. That’s when three dangerous strangers – Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl – reappear, intent on completing their terrifying mission.

The pursuit kicks off as director Harlin carefully guides us through a series of locations, with Maya desperately trying to escape the Scarecrow and his two companions, who are hunting her with axes. It begins in a strangely deserted hospital, then moves to a rainy night and a horse ranch. The chase continues, and at each stop, Maya meets unusual people, making it frighteningly difficult to figure out who she can trust.

Throughout Maya’s struggle to stay alive, the writers Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland include short flashbacks that offer glimpses into the backgrounds of the three mysterious characters. These moments create a creepy atmosphere, but it’s unclear if they’ll ultimately be important to the story, which seems to be exploring how senseless some acts of violence can be. It appears the series intends to reveal how this strange group came together, but whether that storyline will be successful remains to be seen.

Although the story itself isn’t particularly strong, the second chapter does have some well-executed scenes. The sequence in the hospital morgue is genuinely suspenseful, and later, a scene inside an SUV – where a scared Maya tries to figure out what four young adults are up to – is brilliantly edited. However, not every moment works; Maya’s encounter with a clearly fake computer-generated wild boar feels off, despite good staging, because the special effects are noticeable. Similarly, a scene where she attempts to self-treat a serious stomach wound feels over-the-top.

Despite its flaws, “The Strangers – Chapter 2” is a noticeable improvement over the first film. The plot – three killers chasing a young woman in a remote area – isn’t groundbreaking, and the movie doesn’t really offer anything new. However, it’s surprisingly entertaining, largely thanks to director Harlin’s skill. The overall purpose of the series remains unclear, but “Chapter 2” is good enough to make me interested in seeing “Chapter 3”.

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2025-09-27 19:58