The upcoming The Strangers trilogy is a risky gamble by the studio, but it has an important story advantage over the previous films in the franchise. Renny Harlin, the director of Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2, is returning to the horror genre, which launched his career with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Much like the previous films, The Strangers: Chapter 1 will see a couple visiting a remote property where they’re terrorized by a trio of masked killers. Riverdale’s Madelaine Petsch and Teen Wolf’s Froy Gutierrez will star in the lead roles.
Usually, the third movie in a franchise is the final chapter of a trilogy. But in the case of The Strangers franchise, the third film is just the first installment of a planned trilogy. The Strangers: Chapter 1 will be followed by The Strangers: Chapter 2 and The Strangers: Chapter 3, all set to be released throughout 2024. This is a hugely risky move by Lionsgate, but the riskiest gambles yield the biggest rewards, and the trilogy plan means that Harlin’s The Strangers trilogy is already promising to have a stronger narrative than the previous Strangers movies.
The Strangers’ Trilogy Release Method Puts More Pressure On Chapter 1
The fact that all three installments of The Strangers trilogy will be released back-to-back puts a lot of pressure on The Strangers: Chapter 1. If that first movie doesn’t hook audiences, then they won’t come back for Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 in the following months. It’ll be a great way for the studio to ride the wave if the first film is a big hit, but what happens if the first one just isn’t that good? The home invasion genre can be very hit-and-miss and there are no guaranteed hits in Hollywood.
Something similar happened with the new Exorcist sequel, The Exorcist: Believer, which was also planned as the first part of a trilogy. But the second and third parts of that trilogy haven’t been filmed yet, or even written, so there’s time to course-correct following the first film’s negative reception. The second and third films in The Strangers trilogy, on the other hand, have already been completed, so there’s no way to tweak them – or call them off altogether – if Chapter 1 is poorly received.
The Strangers Trilogy Has A Story Advantage Over Past Movies In The Franchise
There is one major story advantage that the upcoming The Strangers trilogy has over its predecessors. The previous films have ended when the masked killers’ reign of terror ended, but that’s not the end of the story. After being terrorized all night, the protagonists would be left with debilitating PTSD. In Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, Harlin plans to explore the psychological effects of the terror in Chapter 1. This is something new for The Strangers franchise that could be appealing for the sequels.
