"Frankly, Harlin's second take is a futile and stupid gesture. It provides us with everything we never needed to know about "The Strangers," in addition to adding random nonsense that doesn't fit. By rationalizing the irrational, all the horror has vanished. Writers Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland misunderstand everything about the devastating ambiguity at the core of Bertino's themes. Instead, we're met with this inane need to provide a backstory that betrays the very meaning of The Strangers."
"But, as Maya learns, her nightmare is far from over. Before long, the three masked assailants who ruined her life are chasing her again, with Venus' locals unable to help - or, perhaps, they're staying away by choice. There's something strange happening in the community, from the same Jesus-praising radio station they all enjoy, to a smiley face tattoo seen on necks. If Maya can outsmart her attackers, maybe she'll uncover the truth."
Renny Harlin filmed a new The Strangers trilogy in 2022, with Chapter 2 offering an origin-centered continuation that deflates the original's dread. The sequel follows Maya Lucas, who awakens in a Venus, Oregon hospital after a masked attack and soon finds the three assailants pursuing her again amid a community exhibiting unsettling signs: a Jesus-praising radio station and a smiley-face neck tattoo. Writers Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland attempt to explain the killers' motives and other mysteries, but the explanatory approach rationalizes the irrational and replaces the original's bleak ambiguity with a generic, unnecessary origin story.
Read at Inverse
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