The Strangers: Chapter One-- My take on the movie with spoilers!

 Plot: A couple is terrorized in a cabin after their car breaks down.

Whether you will enjoy this movie or not, the sequels are still coming.

The Strangers was a 2008 cult slasher movie that had everyone who watched it, rethink their decision to go live in vacation homes.

And who wouldn't be? Imagine staying in a remote cabin and having three masked strangers stalk you before killing you mindlessly, only because you were "home".

The movie ended up turning into a series with a sequel releasing ten years later, and a trilogy planned.

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER ONE is the first part of the trilogy. It introduces the characters and the theme.

They could have very well released the first part again considering there is nothing new to watch in this part.

Considering this is a relaunch of the series, the movie lacked grit in improvising a story.

The story is too safe and too dull. There are barely any tension-filled moments and is overstuffed with horror tropes.

It feels as if AI has been programmed to rework the 2008 movie and it glitches and ends up delivering the same story with different characters.

One can hope the second chapter will kick things up a notch.

Madelaine Petsch who plays the lead, Maya, puts in an earnest effort though. You almost feel bad for her because she has a very weak script to work with. Not much can be said about the direction either.

For a thriller, this movie lacks thrills.

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 Plot

A man is seen running in the woods. We only learn later that his name is Jeff Morell. He is attacked by a man with an axe.

Cut to some time later and a lovey-dovey couple, Maya and Ryan are taking a road trip. They enter a small town that they find endearing, and then park in front of a diner.

As soon as they enter, everyone drops everything and stares at them. Maya tries a friendly smile but the townsfolk are not interested in the newcomers. The police, especially, don't appear to be happy.

There's some big thing with Maya being a vegetarian which makes people raise eyebrows.

While discussing their anniversary,  a couple announces that they too are celebrating their anniversary on the same day. They ask when Maya and Ryan got married. They reply that they are not.

More frowns. The waitress makes a comment too and Ryan tells her to get their sandwiches.

We never get to see these sandwiches which led to a big fuss being made. While paying, they notice a missing poster with Jeff's face in it.

When they leave the diner, the couple finds that their car isn't working. If found, the reward is 10,000 dollars!

Luckily, a creepy mechanic, who was eyeing them from the beginning, taps on their window which startles the couple.

Ryan suspects the mechanic had something to do with it while Maya tells him to be quiet.

When they are informed that the car will take time to repair, the couple realizes they will have to spend the night in this unfriendly town.

The waitress, Shelly, offers to take them to a cabin where they can spend the night.

Shelly looks at the cabin warily before leaving. She may know what is about to go down. Maybe the whole town is on it. Perhaps that is why the population is less too. The residents must want it to stay on the low side.

Anyway, Ryan and Maya get comfortable in the big cabin but find the refrigerator isn't working. They decide to get intimate when a woman knocks on the door, asking if Tamara is there.

The original movie had the same name. Just who is Tamara? Earlier reports had suggested that the trilogy would answer that question. This part definitely does not.

Ryan tells her that there is no one called Tamara here. The woman stays in the shadows and watches them creepily.

After some time, Maya tells Ryan she is hungry and he decides to take the motorcycle into town to collect it.

At the food truck, he meets the earlier couple who invite him to join them for beer. Ryan isn't interested in socializing with them and comes off a bit uppity. He gives his order and emphasizes that his girlfriend is a vegetarian. The cook scoffs.

A big deal is being made about Maya being a vegetarian. Let the people eat what they want and let us have a thrilling story instead. So far, the movie is dull.

Maya is at home listening to vinyl records, playing the piano, smoking, and washing her hair rather badly. All through this, she is being watched by two masked girls and a man in a mask who is known as Scarecrow.

Nothing scary still. Their presence has yet to incite any dread.

As Maya is using a hair dryer, the power goes off. She goes around the house and ends up coming face to face with a girl in the mask. Maya freaks out and goes to hide somewhere.

Ryan returns just in time for Maya to squeak and wonder if someone else is coming for her. Ryan searches the house for an intruder and thinks that Maya hallucinated the girl in the mask because there's a picture of a creepy clown in the room.

Maya believes she may be crazy as well and the couple sits down for dinner.

Ryan eats sloppily and ends up getting food all around his mouth. When he spills some ketchup, Maya is shocked to find that it isn't ketchup but blood. The couple looks up to see a dead chicken above them that decides to drip only now.

The couple scream and soon find the intruders in their house. They lock themselves in the room and crouch in a corner.

Scarecrow comes with an axe to chop down the door, then leaves.

Ryan instructs Maya to stay down even though she is already down. When the sounds stop, the couple creep out of the room but don't bother to look behind them. They are holding the wall for some reason.

The scene looks clumsily shot. The characters were just attacked and had intruders in the house. Yet they act as if they are the intruders. The scene could have been filled with tension and anticipation of the intruders popping out of nowhere but ends up looking amateurish.

The couple decide to escape using the motorcycle and end up outside just in time for the bike to blow up. Scarecrow has been timing his attacks.

The couple do some more running about and find a crawlspace. Maya is crawling weirdly because she ends up stabbing her hand on a nail. Ryan stops her from screaming and she looks at him helplessly. Finally, he removes the nail when they feel the threat has lessened.

But once Maya is out, she is attacked by the girls and as she draws her back to the wall, Scarecrow attacks her from behind.

Just then, Ryan appears with a shotgun and manages to completely miss the target. He comforts Maya and they go around the house, looking for other means of escape.

When they hear a noise, Ryan blasts his shotgun and celebrates killing one at least. Maya isn't impressed and is doubtful of his kill. She checks on the man and of course, he isn't wearing a mask. She identifies him as the owner of the house.

Ryan realizes he killed an innocent and is devastated. Maya consoles him by saying that he was only protecting them. That argument may not work in court but fortunately, Ryan doesn't have to deal with the consequences.

Adding insult to injury, the couple steals the car keys from the dead owner and flees. But then they end up destroying that car in an accident. Scarecrow hits their car repeatedly until Ryan's leg is stuck. He tells Maya to save herself and she does exactly that. She could have easily gotten out and tried to throw rocks at the Strangers to deter them from hurting her boyfriend but nope.

Luckily, Ryan manages to escape thanks to his trusty shotgun.

Maya hides under leaves and branches and then calls the police on a shaky network.

She turns and finds Jeff's corpse but doesn't get a chance to earn the ten thousand bucks. She is caught and knocked unconscious.

Ryan, who had saved his leg, is also caught and knocked out.

The couple wakes up tied to their chairs just like in the original movie.

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 Ending Explained

Ryan takes this moment to propose to Maya who says yes. The three Strangers don't find this romantic at all. Scarecrow comes forward and stabs Ryan right in the chest.

The couple give each other lovey-dovey looks before Scarecrow reminds them that this isn't a romance movie. He kicks Ryan's chair and he bleeds out and dies.

Maya is crying and asks why the three are doing this. The girl in the mask replies it is because "you are here".

Maya is then stabbed and kicked over too. The three Strangers are enjoying their kill when they hear police sirens. They make their getaway.

We see a closeup of Maya and then see her at the hospital.

To be continued.

But this movie ends at least.

Considering how dull this was, there is little chance the audience will show up for the sequel. The next part has already been shot and is set to be released in 2025. 

Hopefully, the sequel is a lot better and more thrilling than this one.

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