On September 27th, 2025, I experienced one of the strongest cases of FOMO known to man. Nothing will ever top the feeling of sitting in a theater at 10:35 AM on a Saturday morning watching THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO, knowing there was a showing of ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER in the next room. I would even go as far as to say that the showings of GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE probably had a higher reception, because at least there was an audience that was geared towards bright colors and a fun plot. I have zero clue who THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO was for, or what type of person could possibly enjoy this film. Even the most diehard horror fan will have a hard time investing in this plot.
You might remember that just a mere year ago, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER ONE was showing in theaters. I have lived a million lifetimes since seeing that mess in the theater, and I honestly forgot that we were promised a sequel, much less a trilogy. THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO picks up right where the first chapter ends. With Renny Harlin returning as director, the film is just as stagnant as the first one. I just now found out that Harlin also directed A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER, which is a shame to me and me only because I deeply enjoy that film. This is the fourth, and hopefully the penultimate, film in the SCU (Strangers’ Cinematic Universe). In 2008, we got THE STRANGERS, a film I am sure you have heard of due to its iconic line (“Because you were home”). I find THE STRANGERS (2008) incredibly overrated, so we already have a bad start to a whole series. Following that was THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT, which I cannot comment on because, admittedly, I have not seen it. Now we arrive at THE STRANGERS trilogy. About 100 minutes worth of content, stretched out into 3 feature-length films. I made my dad come with me to see the first chapter, and we both hated it equally. I’m not sure why I had any hope that the second one would be any better, or if it was that I just felt obligated to see it. But this brings me back to my opening statement. Why go see THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO when there are SO many better films in the theater right now? THE LONG WALK, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, Presumably GABBYS DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE? There is no need to waste your time with the nonsense that is THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO.
If I had to describe this film using a real-life situation, it would be something that actually happened to me while watching it. I was constantly looking at the time, and when two minutes had passed instead of one, I was ECSTATIC. This film has a runtime of 1 hour and 38 minutes, but no substance to fill it. I was actively rooting for the characters to die because of their stupid choices, but more so for everyone to be put out of their misery. For the sake of real life Maya (myself), the character Maya (Madeline Petsch), and the strangers themselves, I wanted someone to die just so that I could at least say something was happening. There was just enough time in between these two films so that you could start to forget you had even seen it, but not enough time to fully block it out of your memory. If I had to set up a plot structure with a first, second, and third act, I do not believe I could, as it is the same scene over and over. If you enjoy chase scenes and near-death experiences, this movie actually might make you hate them. The scenes have a fine setup, and if edited properly, they could actually be quite tense and scary. However, the film sucks the life out of every scene, making it equivalent to watching paint dry. Madeline Petsch is single-handedly carrying this film on her back, solely because she is the only one in the film. We meet a few other townsfolk, but they are not memorable enough to even remember their names. We see the three “Strangers”, and I will give them the compliment that they are very good at walking. I’m sure they could’ve been cast in THE LONG WALK if they were not wasting their time with this.
The film is almost scary; you definitely feel the hopelessness and the lack of escape, just as Maya does. The issue is that you just don’t care. The first film does not set you up to care about these characters, so why should I start feeling invested now? Petsch has been set up in bad projects, from this series to CW’s RIVERDALE and the Amazon rom-com ABOUT FATE. She does have a hidden gem, a thriller on Netflix called SIGHTLESS that I highly enjoy, and would recommend you go watch. I wish this film were as interesting as that one was.
I am disappointed that the past two films I’ve seen have been this bad and hard to watch. Especially as we approach Halloween, I expect horror releases to be stronger around this time of year. Hopefully, we will have THE BLACK PHONE 2 as a successful horror film this season. Even if you are a fan of the original STRANGERS series from 2008, I do not think this movie will please you. There is nothing to say about the film’s artistic details because, frankly, there are none. It is tiring, like a marathon where you don’t have the legs to run, so you just have to sit there while you wait for something to happen.
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER TWO is now playing in theaters.
