Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE STRANGERS - CHAPTER 2 [Fantastic Fest 2025 - Austin, Texas]

The aspect of "The Strangers" is about the fact that anyone can be a serial killer depending on their point of view. The first retelling with "Chapter 1" simply established the plight of Maya (Madelaine Petsch) as her boyfriend and countless others are killed around her as she is trying to escape as the final girl. The story is set in the town of Venus which is meant to be a non descript town where anybody can be a killer. "The Strangers - Chapter 2" picks up right after the end of Chapter 1 keying in that Maya is still being hunted. The film is part of a planned trilogy that was all shot at once. During the introduction, producer Courtney Solomon talked about the fact that the remake of "The Strangers" was pitched to director Renny Harlin as trilogy. The second film works well but serves as the bridge to what they both said is an insane third act. The film mostly follows Maya escaping from the hospital and then heading back into the woods. It is seemingly her build on "Deliverance". One scene specifically with a CGI created creature is pretty neat but a little outside the wheelhouse even though it grounds the movie oddly enough. The better aspect is when she is stitching herself up along the creek.

This definitely shows the build in character, even as she returns to the house that was the bane of her existence on the last movie. The aspect is trying to understand who is (or might be) the killer(s). Escape is always a possibility and one sequence in a car indicates that her instincts are right but the question is what is the line that makes her go over perhaps to the other side. The ending is supposed to instill in an odd way, a sense of empathy. Renny Harlin directed some of the most celebrated action films in the 90s so he knows context even if he is working on smaller films nowadays. He hasn't lost his sense of widescreen style though the current mode of filmmaking emulates what he did in his youth. "The Strangers - Chapter 2" ends on a cliffhanger on purpose but it will be interesting to see where it goes. Petsch was present for the introduction and seemed to indicate her sense of collaboration in building this character in the process. However she ended up not being present for the Q&A for whatever reason. It will be interesting to see the crack in personality evolve in the character which might ultimately be a really cool, but not unexpected, reveal. B

By Tim Wassberg