The Strangers: Chapter 2 | Film Review

 

After learning that their previous victim, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) has survived, three masked figures return to finish the job.

I gave the first film a 4/10, so you can tell exactly how excited I was to see a sequel, or to even hear that a sequel was coming out.

This was not a good film. I didn't think it would be, and yet it still surprised me.

For a start, the thing that the first three Strangers movies did was centre each story around completely different people with no connection. Not only does that keep things interesting, but it also means that these villains actually feel scary because they can do this to anyone.

I wasn't interested in seeing the characters from Chapter 1 again, and have no idea why the film didn't just go for another fresh take.

While watching, it feels like most decisions are made for comedic effect, because it made no sense for a single person to make so many bad decisions over and over again.

It got so bad that I actually ended up rooting against our protagonist, because it started to feel like she wanted to get caught!

There were also so many plot holes that it made things feel unrealistic. The biggest one - where the hell were all the people while this was happening? Most of the film takes place in a hospital, not mentioned to be abandoned or anything, and yet this girl can be chased up and down each hall over multiple floors by three killers and not one person is around? No one hears her scream and comes to investigate? Maybe I missed something, because that made no sense.

Speaking of the hospital chase scene, it felt like it was going on for at least three hours. A change of scenery earlier on really would have helped keep the viewer interested. As it was, I lost interest around the 27 minute mark.

And then things just got crazier and crazier. When she started fighting creatures in the woods rather than the killers I mentally checked out, because what was going on?

And trying to turn this into an origin story when this is one horror movie that definitely never needed that was just bad and weak! There was no need, no one asked to find out where these killers started, that was part of what made them so scary!

I never say things like this, because I feel like all films have their place, even 'so bad it's good' movies, which I love watching. But movies like this really make me think about all the films that never get made, the movies stuck in development hell or the ones that get made and then shelved. Sometimes I really don't understand the way the industry works.

And the fact this is getting a third movie?? There are no words.

2/10