The 2008 horror thriller “The Strangers” was for many years considered a cult classic, with eerie dialogue and morbidly fascinating character design keeping the film relevant throughout the years. As with anything, its continued popularity spurred several more movies. 

“The Strangers”, loosely based on a few true stories of home invasions, follows a young couple as they are terrorized by a group of three masked strangers during a stay at an isolated cabin. 

Starring Liv Tyler (“Lord of the Rings”, “Empire Records”) and Scott Speedman (“Underworld”) as a couple on the brink of a potential break-up, the movie is distinctive in that a fractured relationship must be put aside in order to survive together. 

Rooted in realism, the film spends the majority of its 90-minute runtime on the couple evading the strangers, focusing more on cultivating a feeling of anticipation rather than copious amounts of action or gore. 

At the time of its release, and even now, “The Strangers” divides movie fans over the tempo of the movie and the potentially lackluster middle section of the film. 

Reminiscent of “The Blair Witch Project”, “The Strangers” is necessarily ‘boring’ in order to build up to a satisfying, scary conclusion. Another similarity between Blair Witch, is that “The Strangers” inspired its own pseudo-genre of horror movies, such as, “You’re Next”, “Don’t Breathe”, and “Knock Knock”.  

Interestingly, following the same technique used in “The Blair Witch Project”, the first installment of “The Strangers” cast unknown actors to play the strangers and add to the ambiguity of their identities. 

The signature of the movie, beyond the home invasion element, are the costumed invaders. Purposefully anonymous and quiet in their nature, the three villains of the series each have their own eerie costumes. With the two women wearing pop art style plastic masks, they’re referred to only as Dollface and Pin-up Girl. 

The Man in the Mask, as he is credited in the cast, is the leader of the ‘strangers’ and wears a cloth bag over his head, similar to the one seen on Jason Vorhees in “Friday the 13th: Part II”. Perhaps the most intimidating of the three due to his imposing build. 

Best known, and revered within the horror community, for the final line of the movie, “The Strangers” continues to haunt many cabin vacationers. 

Ten years later, “The Strangers: Prey at Night” became the second installment of the franchise. Akin to the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise, the second movie is a more colorful, stylized version of the first movie. 

Immediately more violent and faster paced than the first, the second movie shows the strangers as increasingly antagonistic and brutal. 

With a larger cast consisting of Christina Hendricks (“Good Girls”, “Mad Men”), Martin Henderson (“Virgin River”, “X”), and Bailee Madison (“Once Upon a Time”, “Good Witch”), the second film allows for more chase sequences, character development, and more of the classic horror elements. 

Set in a mostly abandoned trailer park, the second movie has a variety of sets to work with, including a pool, that ultimately delivers the best scene of the movie. Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the background and neon lit palm trees bordering the landscape contrast the violent nature of the struggle between the character of Luke and The Man in the Mask. 

Alongside Tyler’s hit song, the movie is fond of 80’s synth with Kim Wilde’s “Cambodia” and “Kids in America” making appearances on the soundtrack during pivotal moments. 

The second movie, with its inclusion of pop music and colorful lighting is a departure from the grit and realism of the original. Criticized by some and loved by others, “The Strangers: Prey at Night” is a polarizing subject for fans due to the stark difference in tone. 

In theaters now, “The Strangers: Chapter 1” is the third film featuring the title of “The Strangers” but is the first film in a rebooted standalone trilogy in the franchise, meaning there is no carryover from the previous two movies. 

“The Strangers: Chapter 1” stars Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”) and Froy Gutierrez (“Cruel Summer”). With the main cast coming from popular modern teen dramas, it’s a good indication of the intended audience for the movie and the planned trilogy as a whole.

Even with more action than the original movie, the newest movie has received relatively negative reviews, earning a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.0 out of 5 on Letterboxd. 

The movie lacks the tense isolated feel of the original as well as the campy, music-driven engagement of the sequel. Where the two previous “The Strangers” movies succeeded, “The Strangers: Chapter 1” gives the audience little reason to care for the characters, with no real personalities given to them other than being in a relationship for five years. 

Beyond the stale protagonists, the strangers themselves lack the menacing presence they carried in the first film. Near the beginning of the invasion, The Man in the Mask delivers the best scene of the movie as he chops apart the door separating him from the protagonists, ala Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”. 

However, this will be one of the only scenes in which the strangers do much of anything. Presumably, they’ll be more present in the coming movies but for now they aren’t given much to do. 

The plot itself follows the pattern of the original one very closely, bordering on feeling like a remake. One of the tensest moments of the movie is a nearly identical scene to one from the original “The Strangers”. 

“The Strangers: Chapter 1” is a disappointing addition to a franchise stemming from a film that warranted no sequels, but received them anyway. “The Strangers: Chapter 2” and “The Strangers: Chapter 3” have already been filmed, but given the reception to Chapter 1, it’ll be interesting to see if the next two installments receive theatrical releases.