The Strangers (film series)

The Strangers
Official film series logo, as originally released in 2008 by Universal Pictures.
Based onOriginal characters
by Bryan Bertino
Distributed byUniversal Pictures (1)
Aviron Pictures (2)
Lionsgate Entertainment (3–5)
Release date
2008–present
CountryUnited States
Budget$22,500,000 (Total 3 films)
Box office$162,999,223 (Total of 3 films)

The Strangers film series consists of American psychological horror films. Based on an original story by Bryan Bertino, the plot centers around three masked psycho-sociopathic home invaders that prey on the innocent owners. Though the first film was marketed as "based on a true story", this was a slight misdirect as the filmmaker stated that he wrote the concept from a series of break-in burglaries that took place in his neighborhood when he was growing up, as well as borrowing elements from the Manson Family Tate murders.[1] Continuing this marketing technique, a "based on a true story" tag was also included at the beginning of the sequels.[2]

The first film was initially met with mixed critical reception upon its release,[3][4][5][6] though it made a large profit at the box office.[7] Despite this, contemporary film critics have since praised it as a cult classic in the horror genre.[8][9][10][11][12] Conversely, its sequel was also met with mixed reception with criticism directed towards its inferiority to the original,[13][14][15] while making much less monetary gain.[16] Alternatively, some critics have positively reviewed the movie and stated that it too deserves a cult following,[17] elaborating that, where the first film was a tribute to 1970s horror films, the second film was meant to replicate the scares of the 1980s.[18]

The series continued with the release of a standalone trilogy of films set within the same continuity starting with The Strangers: Chapter 1,[a] which was released on May 17, 2024. Two more sequels, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, will follow.[8][23][21][22]

  1. ^ Kennedy, Michael (June 9, 2022). "The Strangers True Story: Real-Life Crimes That Inspired The Horror Movie". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Squires, John (March 12, 2018). "Is 'The Strangers: Prey at Night' Really Based On a True Story?". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TheStrangers_RT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (August 28, 2008). "The Strangers". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ Newman, Kim (August 22, 2008). "The Strangers Review". Empire. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (May 30, 2008). "A Slow Crescendo of Intimidation". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference TheStrangers_TN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Future_Deadline was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Nayman, Adam (March 9, 2018). "'The Strangers' Is Still Terrifying, 10 Years Later". The Ringer. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  10. ^ Iaboni, Rande (March 8, 2018). "Why 'The Strangers' Is Still Terrifying 10 Years Later". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  11. ^ Milici, Lauren (September 13, 2022). "Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin to reboot cult classic horror The Strangers". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  12. ^ Welk, Brian (September 13, 2022). "Renny Harlin to Remake Horror Film 'The Strangers' as Trilogy With Star Madelaine Petsch at Lionsgate". The Wrap. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Lee, Benjamin (March 8, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night review – slick sequel fails to replicate scares". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Keetley, Dawn (March 17, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night is a Travesty". Horror Homeroom. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Hamman, Cody (March 14, 2018). "Face-Off: The Strangers vs. The Strangers: Prey at Night". JoBlo. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference PreyatNight_TN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Conway, Matt (March 12, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night Review: A Future Cult Classic". Hidden Remote. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Cult Following staff (March 9, 2018). "The Strangers: Prey at Night Review". Cult Following. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  19. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (March 1, 2024). "'The Strangers: Chapter 1' Trailer: Madelaine Petsch Hides from Masked Intruders in Franchise Prequel". IndieWire. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Scafidi, Joshua (May 15, 2024). "Courtney Solomon on Producing 'The Strangers: Chapter 1' [Interview]". iHorror. Retrieved May 18, 2024. The one thing that seems to register confusion amongst the OG The Strangers fans is that we remade the movie, or that it's a prequel. Not really.
  21. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (October 13, 2023). "New The Strangers Trilogy Will Reference Original Films". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 18, 2024. When asked if the new movie, which he describes as not really a reboot nor a remake, would reference the other two The Strangers movies, Harlin replied: 'Definitely.' ... He adds: 'I have to say that the original Strangers is one of my favorite horror films ever. ...For me, it was very important to give the fans of the original film, give them the same experience. Obviously, the movie is not a carbon copy in any way, but it definitely has a similar story...I, as a fan of the original film, I wanted something that feels familiar, feels, truthful to the original. And then we obviously, we made a second movie and a third movie at the same time because we wanted to explore uh the reasons behind this. I feel like myself, and I'm sure a lot of the people who love the love, the original film were asking the question, like, why did this happen? And who were these people? And where did they come from and where are they going next? And that's the kind of answers that I wanted to explore in the second and the third movie'...
  22. ^ a b Hamman, Cody (August 15, 2023). "Renny Harlin's The Strangers trilogy set in the same universe as the previous films?". JoBlo. Retrieved May 18, 2024. Is Renny Harlin's The Strangers remake trilogy actually a sequel trilogy? Cast member Ema Horvath implies it might be ... Well, the official announcement referred to this as a remake project, anyway. But that might not actually be the case. During a recent interview with CinemaChords' Howard Gorman, cast member Ema Horvath said the trilogy is set "in the same universe" as The Strangers and its follow-up The Strangers: Prey at Night.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Future_BD3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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