The Wasteland Reviewer

The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025) Written Review

Are audiences ready to dive into the second installment of The Strangers sequel trilogy? After the results of the first film…maybe not. This was a bold choice in the first place taking a cult classic horror flick from the 00s and turning it into a third part horror odyssey. But that is such a challenging endeavor to take such a simple premise like a “cabin in the wood”/home invasion film and stretch it out into a 4.5-hour narrative. The story for the first film played out like a tired and uninspired retread for the franchise…with a twist! We have a final girl this time who survives the horrific actions of these violent strangers bent on human destruction. Injured and vulnerable, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) lies in a hospital bed when this threat comes back for her. 

Does Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland’s script justify this broken-up narrative? Not really at all. There are other films that have been broken into parts (namely The Lord of the Rings), but this film suffers deeply from a middle child feeling. This is a loose second act of a story that does not justify itself in the least. The first series of events fits well as a direct follow-up to Chapter 1 (which is also the best part of the film). What follows is over an hour of nonsensical and random events that only offer fleeting moments of tension. There is a completely random sequence of the film that feels like a rip-off of The Revenant, which is so odd. There are so many completely nonsensical and convenient character decisions and flat characters that make the film feel so flimsy. You can see shocks and twists coming a mile away to the point of eye-rolling. The biggest sin of the film goes against the whole heart and soul of this cult classic horror film. There are multiple flashbacks to give the titular killers a backstory…when the whole point of the film is supposed to be the randomness and mystery of the faceless killers. But not here. You get a needless origin story that feels cheap and unsatisfying on top of that. 

Does Renny Harlin inject some energy into the direction? There are some truly inspired moments sprinkled into Chapter 2, especially at the beginning of the film. Outside of a clunky and poorly written diner scene, the opening hospital sequence is quite unnerving and thrilling. The long takes and POV camera work feels quite “John Carpenter” of it which makes the film better. There are a few other sequences in the film that lean on longer takes and fluid camera movements that build tension and deliver some interesting sequences. There are also some uncomfortably close moments when the camera gets right up in the personal space of characters that make the audience uneasy. Outside of that, the pacing of the film is so awkward and clunky. This film is just a tad over 90 minutes, but it is quite boring and frustrating. The tension gets undercut too when these killers can just teleport everywhere. When there are a few moments of “action” they are not well realized and look cheap and clunky. Most of the editing is quite clunky and awkward as well.

Does the cast do much to elevate this experience? A lot of credit must go Madelaine Petsch’s way as she makes whatever hits work. Her commitment to the bit and the emotional journey that her character goes on is admirable. Petsch is really the only actor in the film that gets a ton of focus, and she brings something authentic and empathetic so the audience can connect. The actors who portray the titular killers do a good job with the physicality of the roles (there isn’t much else when you are stuck under a mask the whole time. There are some characters who Petsch’s protagonist runs across throughout the film that fall flat and unfortunately the performances are a large influence on that. There is one character who gets a few sequences with Petsch and those scenes barely work because the performance is turned up too much and makes the film feel cheesy and unbelievable. The film’s cast will be remembered for being flimsy and not adding much to the overall experience. 

Was Chapter 2 a worthwhile venture in this story? This honestly feels like a whole lot of filler to bridge the gap between Chapter 1 and Chapter 3. The film feels like a random collection of scenes with a wide range of quality with consistently terrible logic. The film also feels like it is reaching to be something that doesn’t fit the whole foundation of this franchise to begin with. The backstory elements feel contradictory to the whole spirit of The Strangers. The ending certainly does something shocking but then offers an “ending” that just ends. This is a rough go…and there is still one more to go.