REVIEW: ‘The Strangers Chapter 3’ Makes The Trilogy Worth It

The Strangers Chapter 3 is fighting an uphill battle. A clear attempt to cash in on the novelty of Ti West‘s slasher trilogy for A24, consisting of X, Pearl, and MaXXXine, the Renny Harlin-directed The Strangers reboot project kicked off with a whimper in Chapter 1 and didn’t win over any new fans in its follow-up. While I felt those films were fine, audiences did not agree, trashing their incomplete nature and lack of effectiveness compared to the 2007 original and its cult-hit sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night.

Many have probably tapped out of this The Strangers trilogy project altogether. That’s a shame, because while it still suffers from being part of a much larger narrative, The Strangers Chapter 3 is a nasty little treat that offers a fresh take on the material. Maybe the biggest compliment one can give the trilogy capper is that it made me want to marathon all three films together immediately. 

If Chapter 1 was the first act setting up who The Strangers were and Chapter 2 was largely an extended chase sequence, screenwriters Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland position The Strangers Chapter 3, appropriately, as the grand finale. After killing one of the titular Strangers, Shelly/Pin-Up Girl (Ema Horvath) at the end of the previous film, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) tries to make her escape. This doesn’t last long as the leader of The Strangers, Gregory/Scarecrow (Gabriel Basso), captures Maya and decides to have her take Shelly’s place. 

The Strangers Chapter 3 offers a grand finale and a reason to dive into this trilogy.

That’s all the summary you’re getting, as The Strangers Chapter 3 is essentially all the sparse plot threads of the previous films coming together for an epic conclusion. Yet, it’s much more than the sum of what came before. Immediately, what’s impressive about this entry is how much more alive it feels than its trilogy predecessors.

Renny Harlin has woken up behind the camera, staging effective scare sequences that have their desired effect and even allowing cinematographer José David Montero to have some fun this time around. Especially impressive is a scene where Maya is riding in Scarecrow’s truck as a hostage while “Crazy on You” by Heart is playing – not the last great needle drop I’ll mention – and the camera glides around the truck, showing us both how trapped Maya is and the velocity with which she’s hurling towards her dark destiny. 

The tone is much improved as well. The Strangers Chapter 3 feels significantly meaner; a large part of that is that it offers a fresh perspective on the franchise that feels less beholden to emulating what came before. Here, without giving too much of its perverse pleasures away, we see how the town of Venus essentially allows The Strangers to do what they do best. Their enablement is a fascinating wrinkle to the story, with Richard Brake as the town sheriff reminding one of a harder-to-swallow version of Harry Morgan from Dexter.

Gabriel Basso adds weight and gravitas to a previously underdeveloped villain.

Although the previous film (poorly) flirted with this idea, The Strangers Chapter 3 fully asks, “What does it take to make a Stranger?” The flashbacks in this film build on those in Chapter 2, going further to show what happens when a sickening drive from an early age is nurtured rather than stamped out. It’s not subtle material, but it’s visceral as hell, and that counts for a lot here.

A problem the previous films also had was that The Strangers themselves felt incredibly dull. Gabriel Basso dismisses that notion with a complicated performance that elevates the threadbare material on the page into a genuinely fascinating, layered villain. 

Madelaine Petsch continues to shine bright.

Madelaine Petsch has consistently been the bright light in this franchise. Her work in this film is done with great subtlety, which fits the trilogy’s closer central dynamic between her and Basso. You see, this is not a film about Maya trying once again to escape The Strangers; it is about her trying to escape becoming one of them. Her evolving dynamic with Gabriel Basso captivates until a climax set to “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues that makes the entire trilogy worth it. 

The Strangers Chapter 3 suffers from once again feeling like a piece of a bigger movie, sure. What’s different this time around is that it’s plenty compelling on its own, even in its fragmented form. Featuring a fascinating re-imagining of how The Strangers operate, a white-knuckle central dynamic between Madelaine Petsch and Gabriel Basso, and a delightfully mean tone, The Strangers Chapter 3 goes beyond being a serviceable slasher to a genuinely quite good one. It looks like the third time really was the charm. 

The Strangers Chapter 3 is now in theaters.