(Updated 04/29/2024)
If someone persistently knocks on your door late at night looking for someone you've never heard of, you might be afraid! We probably don't need to tell you that. Unless it's Halloween night, a midnight visit from a stranger rarely bodes well. That's the idea the movie THE STRANGERS used as a starting point in 2008, and which a sequel expanded upon ten years later.
Now THE STRANGERS TRILOGY, beginning with THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1, follows a trio of masked tormentors as they target a new family. We've got the first trailer from the movie and more info about all three upcoming STRANGERS films.
What's the Release Date for The Strangers: Chapter 1?
Lionsgate will release THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 in movie theaters on May 17, 2024.
Watch the First Trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 1
The first trailer for the new STRANGERS movie has arrived. It begins in classic fashion, with a couple arriving at a nice vacation cabin. But things begin to take a bad turn even before any masked figures show up. No one in this town seems particularly happy that the couple has arrived. When the masked Strangers do arrive, well — everything goes from bad to worse.
Except where the audience is concerned, that is, as THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 looks like it delivers exactly what fans are looking for.
Is the New Strangers Movie a Remake?
According to director Renny Harlin, no, THE STRANGERS: PART 1 is not a remake. Harlin told EW that this was the idea of "not doing a remake or a reboot but doing a trilogy based on the original film." But since the new movie seems to have entirely original characters so far we don't know how that will play out. And, of course, maybe the Strangers themselves are the same people from one of the prior two movies.
Harlin also told EW that the first movie "is close to the original movie in its set-up of a young couple in an isolated environment in a house and a home invasion happening for random reasons" while the second and third "explore what happens to the victims of this kind of violence and who the perpetrators are of this kind of violence. Where are they coming from and why?"
Speaking to Collider, Madelaine Petsch said, "It's not exactly a remake because it's different characters, but it's the same concept and idea, and I think people will feel like it's an homage. They're gonna feel like we handled the material with care and I think [they’re gonna feel] like we've dove deeper into it. So if anything, it should make Strangers OG fans really excited because you get more answers, you get more mystery and you get more scares, which is why we watch them.”
What's the Plot of The Strangers: Chapter 1?
Here's what the studio has released: "Maya drives across the country with her longtime boyfriend, Ryan, as the pair begin a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon and they are forced to spend the night in an isolated Airbnb home. Through the night they are terrorized by three murderous masked strangers."
Using the AirBnB as a location certainly echoes the surprise hit BARBARIAN, but it's not like a nightmarish short-term rental stay is an idea unique to one movie.
Who's in the Cast of The Strangers: Chapter 1?
As mentioned, Madelaine Petsch of "Riverdale" plays one of the leads, Maya, and she's joined by Froy Gutierrez as Ryan. They're the leads in CHAPTER 1, but we don't know if they appear in more than the first movie.
The cast also features Rachel Shenton, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath, Florian Clare, Rebecka Johnston, Miles Yekinni, Ben Cartwright, Janis Ahern, Ryan Bown, Brooke Lena Johnson, Ella Bruccoleri, Stevee Davies, and Brian Law. At this point we don't know anything about their roles beyond a few character names. We don't know which of the cast members play Strangers, either.
Three New Strangers Movies Were Filmed Back to Back
In 2022, director Renny Harlin made all three new STRANGERS movies at once. He explained that filming three movies at the same time was "the challenge of a lifetime."
"I also really embraced it," he told EW. "On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. It was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time."
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 opens on May 17.
All images courtesy of Lionsgate.