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The Strangers (film series)

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The Strangers
Official film series logo[citation needed], as originally released in 2008 by Universal Pictures.
Based onOriginal characters
by Bryan Bertino
Distributed byUniversal Pictures (1)
Aviron Pictures (2)
Lionsgate Entertainment (3–5)
Release date
2008–present
CountryUnited States
Budget$22,500,000 (Total 3 films)
Box office$162,999,223 (Total of 3 films)

The Strangers film series consists of American psychological horror films. Based on an original story by Bryan Bertino, the plot centers around three masked psycho-sociopathic home invaders that prey on the innocent owners. Though the first film was marketed as "based on a true story", this was a slight misdirect as the filmmaker stated that he wrote the concept from a series of break-in burglaries that took place in his neighborhood when he was growing up, as well as borrowing elements from the Manson Family Tate murders.[1] Continuing this marketing technique, a "based on a true story" tag was also included at the beginning of the sequels.[2]

The first film was initially met with mixed critical reception upon its release,[3][4][5][6] The film made a world wide theatrical gross of $20,997,985 against a $9,000,000 production budget.[7] Following the announcement of a new film, some critics had since described the original as cult classic.[8][9][10][11][12] Conversely, its sequel was met with mixed reception with criticism directed towards its inferiority to the original,[13][14][15] The film earned 6.4 times its production budget worldwide.[16] Some critics have positively reviewed the movie and stated that it too deserves a cult following,[17][unreliable source?] elaborating that, where the first film was a tribute to 1970s horror films, the second film was meant to replicate the scares of the 1980s.[18][unreliable source?]

The series continued with the release of a standalone trilogy of films set within the same continuity starting with The Strangers: Chapter 1,[a] which was released on May 17, 2024. Two more sequels, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, will follow.[8][23][21][22]

Films

[edit]
Title U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Story by Producers Status
The Strangers May 30, 2008 (2008-05-30) Bryan Bertino Doug Davison, Roy Lee and Nathan Kahane Released
The Strangers: Prey at Night March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) Johannes Roberts Bryan Bertino & Ben Ketai Wayne Marc Godfrey, Mark Lane, Robert Jones and Ryan Kavanaugh
The Strangers: Chapter 1 May 17, 2024 (2024-05-17) Renny Harlin Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland Bryan Bertino Courtney Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck and Alastair Birlingham
The Strangers: Chapter 2 Early 2025[24] Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland
and Amber Loutfi 		Post-production
The Strangers: Chapter 3 2025

The Strangers (2008)

[edit]
Main article: The Strangers (2008 film)

After attending their friend's wedding reception, James Hoyt and Kristen McKay, a young couple whose relationship is in trouble, stop at Hoyt's secluded summer home for the night. In the midnight hours as the couple discusses their future and are attempting to sort out their differences, a knock comes at the door. When they answer, a woman asks for someone who does not live there. She continues throughout the night. As the couple begin to question her intentions, things quickly escalate as the vacation home is taken under siege by three psychopathic masked strangers. The trio of assailants terrorize the couple while James and Kristen fight to survive. As they work together, they try to determine what these invaders want, and search for an escape before it's too late.[25][26][27]

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

[edit]
Main article: The Strangers: Prey at Night

After the events of the first film, Mike and his wife Cindy plan a family getaway. Striving to bond with their troubled teenage children, Luke and Kinsey, the couple plan to visit some relatives in Kalida, Ohio before the latter goes away to boarding school. Arriving at their destination, deserted mobile home park, the family discusses their plans for their stay. In the dead of night, their discussion is interrupted with a knock at the door of the trailer home they rented. Upon answering, a woman asks for someone that is not there with them. As the night continues, she relentlessly continues the process. Just when they begin to question the woman's intentions, three masked serial killer strangers begin to torment and hunt the family members. Frantically making their way to their relatives' home, they discover the couple to be murdered. With no escape, the family must work together despite their differences, as they fight to stay alive.[28][29][30]

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

[edit]
Main article: The Strangers: Chapter 1

In August 2022, producer Roy Lee announced that three films would consecutively enter production beginning in September of that year.[31] The trilogy will be a joint-venture production between Lionsgate Films and Frame Film,[12] and will be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment.[8][23] Principal photography for the trilogy of films began concurrently in Slovakia, with production wrapping on all three movies by November 2022.[32][33] In October 2023, the official titles of the three new movies were announced.

Directed by Renny Harlin, with a script written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, the film centers around a young woman (Madelaine Petsch) as she drives cross-country with her long-time boyfriend (Froy Gutierrez) to start a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, the couple is forced to rent an isolated Airbnb for the night. Through the night, they fight to stay alive as three masked strangers terrorize them. Harlin stated that the trilogy was intended to be neither a remake nor prequel, but its own rendition of the story and that the tone was going to be close to that of the first movie.[34] The filmmaker also stated that it would explore who the killers are and where they come from.[35]

The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)

[edit]
Main article: The Strangers: Chapter 2

This, the second film of an intended trilogy, was filmed consecutively with the previous movie. Directed by Harlin, with Petsch reprising her role, the plot will follow the events of previous film, while the story will expand in "new and unexpected ways". Produced by Lionsgate Films, it will be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment.[8][23] Principal photography wrapped on the project, in November 2022.[32][33]

Chapter 2 is scheduled to release in 2025.[36][37]

The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2025)

[edit]
Main article: The Strangers: Chapter 3

This, the third and final installment of the trilogy, entered principal photography concurrently with the previous two installments. Harlin directed the project with Petsch reprising her role, and the story concluding the plot line of the trilogy. The film was produced by Lionsgate Films, and will be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. Production wrapped in November 2022.[32][33]

Future

[edit]

In October 2023 at the New York Comic Con, Harlin stated that there are plans to develop additional films beyond The Strangers Trilogy. The filmmaker acknowledge that the trilogy culminates one cohesive story, while the plot may continue afterward.[38] He later stated that the ending of Chapter 3, intentionally has a cliffhanger ending to homage the final scene of the original film, but also to set up future installments.[39]

Principal cast and characters

[edit]
List indicator

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
Character Films
The Strangers The Strangers:
Prey at Night 		The Strangers:
Chapter 1 		The Strangers:
Chapter 2 		The Strangers:
Chapter 3
2008 2018 2024 2025 TBA
Man in the Mask
"Scarecrow" 		Kip Weeks Damian Maffei Matúš Lajčák TBA
Dollface Gemma Ward Emma Bellomy Olivia Kreutzova
Pin-Up Girl Laura Margolis Lea Enslin Letizia Fabbri
Kirsten Mckey Liv Tyler
James Hoyt Scott Speedman
Kinsey Bailee Madison
Luke Lewis Pullman
Cindy Christina Hendricks
Mike Martin Henderson
Maya Lucas Madelaine Petsch[40]
Ryan Froy Gutierrez[40] TBA

Additional crew and production details

[edit]
Film Crew/Detail
Composer(s) Cinematographer Editor Production
companies 		Distributing
company 		Running time
The Strangers Thomas Hajdu & Andy Milburn Peter Sova Kevin Greutert Rogue Pictures,
Vertigo Entertainment,
Mandate Pictures,
Intrepid Pictures 		Universal Pictures 1 hr 25 mins
The Strangers: Prey at Night Adrian Johnston Ryan Samul Martin Brinkler Rogue Pictures,
The Fyzz Facility,
White Comet Films,
BLOOM Films 		Aviron Pictures
The Strangers: Chapter 1 Justin Burnett & Òscar Senén José David Montero Michelle Harrison Lionsgate Films,
Stream Media,
Fifth Element Productions,
Sherborne Media,
Vertigo Entertainment,
LipSync Productions,
Strangers Franchise Productions LLC,
Hasbula Productions,
Frame Films 		Lions Gate Entertainment 1 hr 31 mins
The Strangers: Chapter 2 [to be determined]
The Strangers: Chapter 3 [to be determined]

Reception

[edit]
For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

Box office and financial performance

[edit]
Film Box office gross Box office ranking Home video
sales gross 		Worldwide total
gross income 		Budget Worldwide total
net income 		Ref(s)
North America Other territories Worldwide All-time
North America 		All-time
worldwide 		North America
The Strangers $52,597,610 $30,454,066 $83,051,676 #1,780 #2,144 $17,454,580 $100,506,256 $9,000,000 $91,506,256 [7][41]
The Strangers: Prey at Night $24,431,472 $7,712,790 $32,144,262 #3,421 #4,186 $1,908,274 $34,052,536 $5,000,000 $29,052,536 [16][42]
The Strangers: Chapter 1 $35,202,562 $12,600,723 $47,803,285 #2,617 #3,222 TBD $47,803,285 $8,500,000 $39,303,285 [43][44]
Totals $112,231,644 $50,767,579 $162,999,223 x̄ #2,625 x̄ #3,331 $19,362,187 $182,362,077 $22,500,000 $159,862,077

Critical and public response

[edit]
Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
The Strangers 49% (165 reviews)[3] 47/100 (28 reviews)[45] B−[46]
The Strangers: Prey at Night 40% (126 reviews)[47] 48/100 (25 reviews)[48] C[46]
The Strangers: Chapter 1 21% (106 reviews)[49] 43/100 (22 reviews)[50] C[46]

In other media

[edit]

Music video

[edit]
Title Artist Release date Director Screenwriter(s) Producer
Withorwithout Parcels October 17, 2018 (2018-10-17) Benjamin Howdeshell Benjamin Howdeshell and Mike Doyle Shawn Wallace

The music video for the single "Withorwithout", by indie pop-rock band Parcels, was released in October 2018. Based on The Strangers film series, the video was directed by Benjamin Howdeshell, with a script he co-wrote with Mike Doyle. The plot of the video clip follows a similar premise to the films. Milla Jovovich and Carsten Nørgaard star as the couple whose home is invaded, while members of the band Jules Crommelin, Patrick Hetherington, Noah Hill, Anatole Serret, and Louie Swain portray the home assailants. The music video includes a plot twist at the end, revealing that the wife is responsible, having faked a home invasion and murdered her husband.

It was later revealed that it was Jovovich's idea to turn the plot around with the reveal that the whole story had been in her character's head, serving as her alibi to the law enforcement. The actress, who also served as executive producer, stated that her parent-instincts would did not like the concept of the band being the real killers. Explaining that they are "sweet boys", she stated: "I [told them], 'I should be the killer.’ I'm sort of known for that anyway and by the way, it would take a lot more than five boys to break into my house. I felt like this could be a really interesting springboard." With the release of the single's music video, renowned artist Laurent Melki created a movie poster similar to the work he has completed before, with the artist saying: "...I imagined this poster as being that of a horror film and I illustrated it as I would have done for a "Freddy" or a blockbuster from the time when movie posters reflected an artist's imagination..."[51][52]

The music video received praise from horror critics,[51] and received attention from producers of the film series as well. Shortly after its release, producer Roy Lee approached Howdeshell with the idea of creating a feature-length film based on the video. The filmmaker alongside Doyle began writing a script that they pitched to the associated studios. Jovavich expressed interest in reprising her role from the music video. Speculation arose in September 2022 that one of the three films being made may be based on the concept.[53]

In other films

[edit]

The same record player scrub of Gillian Welch's "My First Lover", which was first used in The Strangers (2008) when the character Kristen first sees one of the intruders wearing a mask, is sampled as an "infinitely creepy record loop on the radio" in the 2009 British found footage analog horror short film No Through Road from Steven Chamberlain. It was additionally used during the last episode of his subsequent 2011–2012 sequel web series, with the music first briefly playing on the radio before repeating at the end of the film as a similarly-masked man (portrayed by Chamberlain) slowly approaches four teenagers sitting in a car.[54][55]

The titular characters of The Strangers make cameo appearances in the 2011 metafictional horror comedy film The Cabin in the Woods from Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, portrayed by uncredited stand-ins, as some of the various populates released from the monster cells at the end of the film, subsequently seen burning a trio of security guards on the CCTV monitors.[56]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kennedy, Michael (June 9, 2022). "The Strangers True Story: Real-Life Crimes That Inspired The Horror Movie". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Squires, John (March 12, 2018). "Is 'The Strangers: Prey at Night' Really Based On a True Story?". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The Strangers". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (August 28, 2008). "The Strangers". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ Newman, Kim (August 22, 2008). "The Strangers Review". Empire. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (May 30, 2008). "A Slow Crescendo of Intimidation". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "The Strangers (2008)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Grobar, Matt (September 13, 2022). "'The Strangers' Remake In Works At Lionsgate From Director Renny Harlin; Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez & Gabriel Basso Set For First Title In New Trilogy". Deadline. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  9. ^ Nayman, Adam (March 9, 2018). "'The Strangers' Is Still Terrifying, 10 Years Later". The Ringer. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  10. ^ Iaboni, Rande (March 8, 2018). "Why 'The Strangers' Is Still Terrifying 10 Years Later". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  11. ^ Milici, Lauren (September 13, 2022). "Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin to reboot cult classic horror The Strangers". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Welk, Brian (September 13, 2022). "Renny Harlin to Remake Horror Film 'The Strangers' as Trilogy With Star Madelaine Petsch at Lionsgate". The Wrap. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Lee, Benjamin (March 8, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night review – slick sequel fails to replicate scares". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Keetley, Dawn (March 17, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night is a Travesty". Horror Homeroom. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Hamman, Cody (March 14, 2018). "Face-Off: The Strangers vs. The Strangers: Prey at Night". JoBlo. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  17. ^ Conway, Matt (March 12, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night Review: A Future Cult Classic". Hidden Remote. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Cult Following staff (March 9, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night Review". Cult Following. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  19. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (March 1, 2024). "'The Strangers: Chapter 1' Trailer: Madelaine Petsch Hides from Masked Intruders in Franchise Prequel". IndieWire. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Scafidi, Joshua (May 15, 2024). "Courtney Solomon on Producing 'The Strangers: Chapter 1' [Interview]". iHorror. Retrieved May 18, 2024. The one thing that seems to register confusion amongst the OG The Strangers fans is that we remade the movie, or that it's a prequel. Not really.
  21. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (October 13, 2023). "New The Strangers Trilogy Will Reference Original Films". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 18, 2024. When asked if the new movie, which he describes as not really a reboot nor a remake, would reference the other two The Strangers movies, Harlin replied: 'Definitely.' ... He adds: 'I have to say that the original Strangers is one of my favorite horror films ever. ...For me, it was very important to give the fans of the original film, give them the same experience. Obviously, the movie is not a carbon copy in any way, but it definitely has a similar story...I, as a fan of the original film, I wanted something that feels familiar, feels, truthful to the original. And then we obviously, we made a second movie and a third movie at the same time because we wanted to explore uh the reasons behind this. I feel like myself, and I'm sure a lot of the people who love the love, the original film were asking the question, like, why did this happen? And who were these people? And where did they come from and where are they going next? And that's the kind of answers that I wanted to explore in the second and the third movie'...
  22. ^ a b Hamman, Cody (August 15, 2023). "Renny Harlin's The Strangers trilogy set in the same universe as the previous films?". JoBlo. Retrieved May 18, 2024. Is Renny Harlin's The Strangers remake trilogy actually a sequel trilogy? Cast member Ema Horvath implies it might be ... Well, the official announcement referred to this as a remake project, anyway. But that might not actually be the case. During a recent interview with CinemaChords' Howard Gorman, cast member Ema Horvath said the trilogy is set "in the same universe" as The Strangers and its follow-up The Strangers: Prey at Night.
  23. ^ a b c Squires, John (September 13, 2022). "'The Strangers' Remake Trilogy – Renny Harlin Directing, Madelaine Petsch Starring!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  24. ^ Klein, Brennan (October 18, 2024). "The Strangers: Chapter 2 Trailer Reveals What Happens After Bloody Home Invasion & Teases Killer Origin Story". ScreenRant. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Harvey, Dennis (May 29, 2008). "The Strangers". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  26. ^ Tobias, Scott (May 29, 2008). "The Strangers". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  27. ^ Woerner, Meredith (October 5, 2020). "'The Strangers'". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  28. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (March 8, 2018). "Film Review: 'The Strangers: Prey at Night'". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  29. ^ Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (March 8, 2018). "The sequel Prey At Night slashes The Strangers' home-invasion premise into... art?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  30. ^ Dujisk, Mark (March 9, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  31. ^ Miska, Brad (August 8, 2022). "EXCLUSIVES'The Strangers' – THREE New Sequels in Production Next Month?! [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  32. ^ a b c Grobar, Matt (November 1, 2022). "'The Strangers': Rachel Shenton Boards Lionsgate's Horror Remake". Deadline. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  33. ^ a b c Hamman, Cody (November 2, 2022). "The Strangers remake trilogy has wrapped filming, Rachel Shenton is in the cast". JoBlo. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  34. ^ Cody Hamman (August 15, 2023). "Renny Harlin's The Strangers trilogy set in the same universe as the previous films?". JoBlo.com. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  35. ^ Collis, Clark (October 4, 2023). "The home-invading killers are back in first look at multi-movie horror saga The Strangers Trilogy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference Trailer_SR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Squires, John (April 11, 2024). "'The Strangers: Chapter 2' – Second Installment in Reboot Trilogy Releasing This Fall". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  38. ^ Navarro, Meagan (October 12, 2023). "'The Strangers' – Renny Harlin Teases the Upcoming Trilogy's Cohesive Story; And He's Ready to Make More". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  39. ^ Jirak, Jamie (October 14, 2023). "The Strangers Series Could Continue After Reboot Trilogy". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  40. ^ a b Black, Sharina (January 8, 2023). "'The Strangers' Remake: Cast, Plot, Filming Details, and Everything We Know so Far". Collider. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  41. ^ "The Strangers". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  42. ^ "The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  43. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 1". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  44. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  45. ^ "The Strangers". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  46. ^ a b c "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  47. ^ "The Strangers: Prey at Night". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  48. ^ "The Strangers". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  49. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  50. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  51. ^ a b Miska, Brad (October 17, 2018). "Milla Jovovich Stars In Parcels' 'The Strangers'-inspired Music Video". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  52. ^ Topel, Fred (November 7, 2018). "[Interview] That Killer Twist in the Parcels' Slasher Music Video Was Milla Jovovich's Idea". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  53. ^ IsTamaraHome (August 10, 2022). "Milla Jovovich to star in 'The Strangers 3'?". IsTamaraHome.Net. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  54. ^ Catherine, Anna (May 3, 2013). "Review: No Through Road". -EL GORE-. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  55. ^ Kok, Nestor (March 18, 2022). "Ghosts in the Machine: Trick-Editing, Time Loops, and Terror in "No Through Road"". F Newsmagazine. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  56. ^ The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion. Titan Books. 2012. p. 13. ISBN 9781848565241.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Following some conflicting reports indicating otherwise,[19] producer Courtney Solomon restated that the trilogy is neither a prequel nor remake,[20] while the director and actors also stated that the trilogy takes place within the same continuity as the original movies.[21][22]


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