It seems downright kooky to remake The Strangers, and even kookier still to do so by making a whole trilogy. But that’s exactly what director Renny Harlin did, and you can finally watch the trailer for the first installment, The Strangers: Chapter 1.
Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) and Froy Gutierrez star in the remake as a couple on a road trip who stop in a small town and decide to stay in an Airbnb rental. Based on the trailer, it seems there’s something off with the townsfolk—particularly the kids.
Released in 2008, Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers remains one of the best horror movies of the modern era. (“Because you were home” is still so chilling.) A sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night, was released in 2018. Directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down), the sequel stars Christina Hendricks and Lewis Pullman and is actually pretty damn solid. Hard to knock a movie with a killer sequence set to “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
The Strangers remake was announced in 2022, and not long after, it was revealed that Harlin—whose previous credits include Deep Blue Sea and Cliffhanger—would direct all three installments in a full trilogy of films set in the same universe as the 2008 original. Harlin shot all three films back to back.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 hits theaters on May 17.
(featured image: Lionsgate)
