Film Snail

The Strangers: Chapter 1
The Strangers: Chapter 1

5.9

The Strangers: Chapter 1

R·2024·92m

Summary

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motives.

Crew

Director

Renny Harlin

Original Film Writer, Story

Bryan Bertino

Screenplay

Alan R. Cohen

Screenplay

Alan Freedland

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

May 23, 2024

6

The heavy trailing of this and the fact that it's part one does little to help any sense of menace as we follow the young "Maya" (Madelaine Petsch) and boyfriend "Ryan" (Froy Gutierrez) on their road trip to Portland. She's heading to start a new job as an architect, and it looks like she might have been responsible for manscaping her boyfriend's perfect visage as this annoyingly loved up and clingy couple arrive at a remote rural diner. They're not married, which seems to rile the locals and when they go to leave, their brand new car won't start. Ha! Luckily, there's an air b'n'b nearby. A remote cabin fully equipped with all the home comforts - even some Dolly to play on vinyl. They're famished so he borrows a motor bike to go fetch some burgers, she's left behind and that's where the paranoia sets in. Is she being watched? Is she alone? Will "Ryan" get back before she has finished smoking a dodgy joint, listening to an entire LP and having a long shower? Was the burger joint in California? Anyway, it's soon clear that they are in some danger and together they must use all their skill and guile to stay alive! The scenario works a bit like "Cabin in the Woods". The moonlit forest serving as a backdrop for some ridiculous choices and some woefully bad acting/writing. It does manage to engender a slight degree of peril near the conclusion, but there's really nothing at all new here and from fairly early on it is clear just what part two will be all about. Not terrible, but really predicable and disappointingly flat.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$8,500,000.00

Revenue:

$47,803,285.00

Keywords

mask
remake
murder
slasher
home invasion
reboot
cliché