The Strangers Chapter 1 Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a 2024 horror film directed by Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea, Exorcist: The Beginning, Mindhunters, and Prison). It’s written by Alan R. Cohen (King of the Hill, Impastor, American Dad!, and The Freak Brothers) and Alan Freedland (Due Date, Wedding Band, Guys with Kids, and Vendetta Revolution). It was produced by Bryan Bertino (The Dark and the Wicked, Hurt, The Strangers, The Strangers: Prey at Night, Mockingbird, and The Monster). It’s the 3rd film in The Strangers franchise and it’s the 1st in the upcoming new trilogy. The entire brand new trilogy was filmed in 2022 for a 52 day shoot. It grossed $43,116,841 worldwide at the box office. Maya (played by: Madelaine Petsch from Riverdale, Sightless, Polaroid, Jane, and The Shadow Diaries) and her boyfriend Ryan (played by: Froy Gutierrez from Teen Wolf, Hocus Pocus 2, Initiation, and Cruel Summer) are taking a road trip. They are celebrating their five year anniversary so they decide to get away from everyday life for a little bit. They end up getting lost plus they are hungry so they stop in a very small town in Oregon called Venus. The locals which includes Sheriff Rotter (played by: Richard Brake from 31, The Mayor of Kingstown, Doom, Hannibal Rising, The Munsters, 3 From Hell, Mandy, The Last Stop in Yuma County, and Batman Begins) stare them down as they walk in. After they are done with their meal, they discover their vehicle won’t start so they are forced to stay there for the night until it can get fixed. A girl appears at the front door asking “if Tamara is here l” to the couple. Ryan goes back into town to retrieve his inhaler. Maya is now left alone, two additional strangers that resembles a Scarecrow (played by: stuntman Matus Lajcak from The Line, Van Hesling, and The Bricklayer) and a Dollface (played by: stunt woman Olivia Kreutzova from Dracula, and Ultimatum) start to terrorize the isolated woman. Ryan comes back and tells his girlfriend that she’s just seeing things. As the night goes on, they both realize that their nightmares are real. The Strangers which includes Pin-Up Girl (played by: Letizia Fabbri from Mother – Enter the World of Hans Zimmer and Tieni gli Occhi Chiusi) invade their place and they are forced to fight for their lives as the psychopaths get closer. The couple barely escapes them and they are struggling to hide. Can they survive this living hell? or Is it too late???? The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a brand new start to the creepy Strangers universe. The original director and creator Bryan Bertino decided to let others direct and write this project while he produced it. Legendary action director Renny Harlin returns to the horror sub-genre after doing some great back in the day. He actually filmed all three films of this reboot trilogy together a few years ago so hopefully the other two sequels are not too far behind this one. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is basically a remake of the original with a few changes but it’s still very similar. There’s lots of nods and easter eggs in this relaunch. Chapter 1 is more about the tension, suspense, and scares rather than actual gore. There’s some violence here but honestly not much, it goes for the psychological approach. It takes a little bit for it’s build up besides the opening scene which I wish they shown more for. They were going for a teaser to everything but it was very tame and I felt it was a great opportunity for some attention grabbing violence. Lead actors Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez are mainly known for television. They both had decent chemistry together. Madelaine Petsch definitely stood out more in this and I’m definitely more curious about her now. I was excited when I seen that the great character actor Richard Brake was in this but he’s in a blink and you’ll miss him type of role here. I’m hoping he has a bigger part in the next two because he was wasted in The Strangers: Chapter 1. The stunt workers that played Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl did a great job as the main villains. Those characters always look very creepy and they are slowly becoming horror icons with each movie. The supporting cast includes Ryan Bown, Ben Cartwright, Stevee Davies, Pedro Leandro, Ema Horvath, Janis Ahern, Rafaella Biscayn, Sara Freedland, Rachel Shenton, and Rebecka Johnston. I know this didn’t do great at the box office and it got mixed reviews but I’m hoping the rest of the sequels still get a solid push when they are released. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the weakest entry from the horror franchise so far but it was still decent. Let’s hope that they actually take advantage of that R Rating next time because it felt more like a hard PG-13 to me. Chapter 1 is more suspense thriller than horror but it has a stronger 2nd half that keeps you glued to the screen. It’s worth checking out, I think it’s better than what people say but you should still keep your expectations low. Give it a shot!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.39:1) looks amazing on blu ray, I unfortunately didn’t get the 4K for coverage but I can only imagine what the UHD looks like because this version is very impressive. Renny Harlin has always been great when it comes to the visuals and The Strangers: Chapter 1 is no different. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, and French: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the disc. The audio is fantastic on this home video release. All of the dialogue is crisp, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a quality technical disc, everything delivers here. It has an “Audio Commentary” with producer Courtney Solomon and lead actress Madelaine Petsch. It has the “Reimagining a Classic: Making THE STRANGERS — CHAPTER 1” which is little over 17 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. They chat about bringing back The Strangers. They talk about filming the whole trilogy together. They mention every character is important in this horror franchise. They bring up this one feels more real than your typical horror. They go over their experiences from it. They chat about the characters and story for Chapter 1. It has the “A Hostile Environment: The Visual Design of THE STRANGERS — CHAPTER 1” which is almost 11 minutes. It has interviews with the crew and cast. They talk about the horror production. They bring up the atmosphere and the look of The Strangers. It focuses on the production design, locations, and the colorful visuals. They get very detailed and technical on how it was shot. It has some nice behind the scenes footage in this. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It also comes with a slipcover, a digital code, and a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere on July 23rd, CHECK IT OUT!!!!