The Strangers: Chapter 1 Footage Reaction: The Horror Franchise Goes To Incredibly Tense Places [CinemaCon 2024]

Director Bryan Bertino crafted a classic of the home invasion genre when "The Strangers" hit theaters in 2010. Now, Lionsgate has teamed up with director Renny Harlin ("Deep Blue Sea") to revamp the franchise with not just one movie, but an entire trilogy that will not just remake the first film, but further explore these mysterious killers across three full movies. The studio is deeply committed, as all three movies are already in the can. Hence, they brought some new footage from "The Strangers: Chapter 1" to this year's CinemaCon, and I was on hand to see what they had to show us. Buckle up, horror fans.

Harlin explained in an interview with /Film that he hopes to "answer some of those questions that I think all of us who enjoyed the original were left wondering" such as "Why? Who were the Strangers? Why did they do this? Is this completely really random, or is there something behind this or at least some reasons why somebody is a senseless, horrible serial killer?" Three movies will allow the filmmaker to explore that in far greater detail.

The first chapter centers on a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) whose car breaks down in a small town. They are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin where they are terrorized by three masked strangers who have no mercy and seemingly no motive. The trailer for "The Strangers: Chapter 1" arrived in March, teeing up this new take on Bertino's modern classic. The second installment is expected to arrive later this year, with the third one expected to follow shortly after that. All three movies are in the can and Lionsgate doesn't plan on making us wait forever to see what they've cooked up.

Lionsgate gave CinemaCon audiences a good look at the third film in "The Strangers" series, unveiling footage from "Chapter 1" that begins with Madelaine Petsch's Maya and Froy Gutierrez's Ryan walking into their new house. As /Film's Ryan Scott reports, everything seems quite pleasant at first, but this being "The Strangers: Chapter 1," things go awry pretty quickly.

The pair enter a diner and the eyes of the patrons shift to watch them as they walk in. Next, things take a real dark turn. Maya can be seen playing a piano while a bag-headed stranger is visible in a mirror behind her. A loud knock on the door disrupts her playing, which is quickly followed by an ax through the same door. Enter the titular strangers.

The insidious group barges into the house as Maya attempts to evade them, putting a nail through her hand as she attempts to remain quiet in her crawl space. It's all very "A Quiet Place" at this point, with a tense atmosphere that, while reminiscent of the inaugural film in the original series, feels quite different. There are plenty of explosions, car accidents, guns going off, and generally a ton of action. But most importantly, "The Strangers: Chapter 1" looks genuinely scary, which bodes well for the planned trilogy.

"The Strangers: Chapter 1" hits theaters on May 17, 2024.