By George & Josh Bate
Oh what a strange cinematic experiment the trilogy of Strangers films is. When initially announced, questions arose about what kind of story would necessitate the concurrent production of three movies expanding the world of the praised 2008 horror movie. The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicked off this trilogy in disappointing fashion, unfolding like a remake of the original film deprived of all of its tension. Hopes remained high for particularly optimistic fans, however, heading into The Strangers: Chapter 2. Surely, part two of this trilogy would showcase why Lionsgate thought this new series would be a good idea. Well, that was far from the case as Chapter 2 represented a dip in quality from Chapter 1, unfolding almost entirely as one unrelenting chase sequence with little narrative substance. Now, The Strangers: Chapter 3 sneaks into theaters with little buzz and caps off a misguided trilogy with an installment that, while certainly better than its two predecessors, leaves one puzzled how such a conceptually perplexing trilogy was commissioned in the first place.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 picks up immediately after the events of Chapter 2. Maya (Madelaine Petsch) is still on the run from the masked killers who murdered her husband in Chapter 1 and endlessly terrorized her in Chapter 2. Meanwhile, flashbacks to the early days of Shelly Barnes continue to reveal more about the origins of the Strangers.
It’s a testament to how forgettable The Strangers: Chapter 2 was that Chapter 3’s decision to begin where its predecessor left off proves extremely disorienting. The beginning of Renny Harlin’s new film features a myriad of suspicious locals and flashbacks to the earlier exploits of the titular killers, which may have been effective in cultivating tension and intrigue if the Halloween II approach to setting a horror sequel right after the previous film was well executed. Sadly, this is not the case as much of the first act of Chapter 3 is spent deciphering characters’ comically unusual behaviors and recalling what exactly transpired in Chapter 2.
Like the previous film, Chapter 3 similarly missteps in its attempts to explain who the Strangers are. The primary reason Bryan Bertino’s original Strangers movie was so unsettling was that it preyed on the idea of unpredictable stranger-on-stranger violence. The masked killers are infinitely more terrifying, because we know nothing about them. We don’t know who they are, what their backgrounds are, nor what drives them – they simply kill because you’re there.
In peeling back the layers of the Strangers though, this new trilogy deprives the franchise of its principal scare factor. Harlin competently directs the film’s numerous kill scenes and certainly disturbs with the raw violence he puts on screen, but there is little that genuinely gets under one skin in the way that Bertino’s original film repeatedly did. Each and every reveal about the Strangers increasingly takes the wind out of the movie, with some reveals in particular devolving the film into downright silly territory.
As Chapter 3 progresses and works its way through a time-hopping narrative, Harlin’s film begins to toy with the trilogy’s most interesting idea and surprisingly latches onto a rare point of intrigue in its final stretch (light spoilers ahead). In a move that parallels Jamie Lloyd’s turn to the dark side in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Strangers: Chapter 3 moves in a direction that would suggest Madelaine Petsch’s lead character will become one of the Strangers. She’s lost everything, which, coupled with repeated exposure to extreme violence, instills a numbness in her that the Strangers eventually capitalize on. At last, the trilogy starts to grip as it is unclear if Maja’s trauma will lead her to join the ranks of the masked killers. This question hovers over much of the second half of the film, although it’s answered in rather safe fashion with an ending that fails to commit to its potential boldness.
VERDICT: 5/10
The Strangers: Chapter 3 marks an improvement over its two predecessors, although that is certainly not saying much. Renny Harlin’s latest film struggles under the weight of the extraordinarily forgettable Chapter 2, in turn disorienting the audience from the get-go with characters who behave in comically unusual ways and a time-hopping narrative. This narrative, once again, serves to provide the titular killer with an uninteresting origin story that deprives them of their primary scare factor. Unexpectedly, the film lands on a rare point of intrigue in its final half as it toys with the idea of our lead character becoming one of the Strangers, a turn that evokes Jamie Lloyd’s turn in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. But a failure to commit to this potentially bold idea means the trilogy concludes on a decidedly underwhelming note. The Strangers: Chapter 3 may be superficially engaging and competently helmed, but it once again begs the question: what did the higher-ups see in this story to think it necessitated three concurrently shot movies? The Strangers may live on in another form one day, although, for now, we’re okay being strangers to this franchise for a little while.