Director Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers, The Strangers: Chapter 1, might’ve been one of the worst horror movies of last year. It’s basically a remarkably bland remake of the 2008 original that contains none of the slow-building terror or focused-approach. Frankly, it was as forgettable as ever and tries to craft this unearned trilogy arc. Now, the second chapter in this new Strangers storyline arrives and, somehow, it’s even more bewildering and bad than the previous one. 

After surviving her ordeal with the titular masked killers, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) now finds herself on the run as The Strangers return to finish what they started. Honestly, it’s tough to figure out where to start with The Strangers: Chapter 2 because it’s a mess on all fronts. In terms of the story, it tries to do too much set-up as a middle entry and only creates confusing beats in the process. As expected, this film tries to dig deeper into who’s under the mask and why The Strangers have this ritualistic process. However, it taints the mysterious, dark aura of The Strangers because not knowing much about them is what makes them so scary. Their ambiguous and unmotivated nature is what makes them so damn terrifyingly real as killers. Now though, these killers are given a surprisingly vague backstory that’s cheaply constructed and doesn’t have the depth to leave a mark. We just get some uninspired connections lazily thrown into randomly placed flashbacks that deeply chop up the pacing. 

Even worse, the film doesn’t fully commit to revealing The Strangers. Instead, we get one clear person who the film tries, and fails, to work into a big twist with zero pop. Frankly, the film makes it obvious who one of them is at the start but does almost nothing to make that character a meaningful part of the story. Then, as for the other two, they’re left a mystery that isn’t worth solving or feels too clear to remain a secret. Based on the casting of a fairly well-known up-and-comer and how his character is used in the film, it would be wild or straight-up dumb if it’s not him under that Scarecrow mask. They make him purposefully creepy and suspicious in a way that’s got killer written all over it, and if it’s just a red herring pull then it’s just one of many in this film. There are way too many suspicious characters the film injects into this sequel to keep the mystery of who Maya can trust afloat, and none of them make a big impression. 

When it comes to Maya, she’s just as unremarkable as she was in the first film but now comes with a sense of paranoia that causes her irrationality to be at an all time high. She’s constantly either throwing herself into danger or creating a panic for no reason. It’s understandable that she’s traumatized by her first encounter with The Strangers and struggles with trust in a town that makes her feel like an outsider. But her trust shifts so extremely at times that her decisions to run are unprovoked and bizarre. She makes some choices that are genuine head-scratchers and the writing behind her survival arc is pitiful. There’s almost no effort to carry her heartache from the previous into this one, and it leads to a lot of moments of forced emotion. The script, in general, is pretty aimless this time around as we transition to new situations and settings with no sense of purpose. 

Often, the film throws Maya into different dangers that are crudely stitched together to create a barely cohesive narrative. One second, she could be simply on the run from The Strangers. Next, she could be battling a warthog in the middle of the woods. This film loves to throw whatever ideas it comes up with at the wall and none of it has much sticking power. It’s like they didn’t know what they really wanted to do with this sequel, and it leads to what should be a breezy horror flick feeling like a slog. And, there’s never too much surprise within the story to keep viewers interested or on their toes. The film deeply lacks real suspense and you can see scares coming from miles away. The only real area of improvement with The Strangers: Chapter 2 is the bloodshed since we probably get the bloodiest kills since the original’s ending. The Strangers are definitely more blood-hungry this time around, and there’s some decent effects for horror fans to enjoy. It’s barely enough to create a pulse in this film though, and honestly, pales in comparison to the brutality and creativity of other modern slashers. 

The Strangers: Chapter 2 only cheapens the franchise further as it presents nothing worthwhile, neither scares nor story, to keep fans remotely interested in this new arc. If you’re looking for a genuinely terrifying or at least entertaining slasher starring The Strangers, Chapter 2 provides further reasons to reminisce on the glory days of these films, which sadly seem light years ago.

Watch the Trailer Here: