Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Strangers: Chapter 1.
Summary
The ending ofThe Strangers: Chapter 1sets up a sequel that can replicate one of the most famous slasher franchises in cinema history.The Strangers: Chapter 1is a follow-up to 2008’s sleeper hit home invasion horrorThe Strangersand its belated 2018 sequel,The Strangers: Prey at Night. Like their predecessors,The Strangers: Chapter 1’s charactersare terrorized by masked killers who invade their secluded Airbnb in this reboot. Maya and Ryan’s idyllic road trip takes a turn for the terrifying when their home for the night is invaded by the eponymous murderers.
ByThe Strangers: Chapter 1’s ending, Ryan is dead and Maya has barely escaped the ordeal with her life. As sirens are heard in the distance, the Strangers flee from the scene of the crime and leave Maya to die alone. However, inThe Strangers: Chapter 1’s mid-credits scene, a surviving Maya is seen recuperating in a hospital bed. Just when things seem to be looking up for the traumatized heroine, one of the Strangers is shown still watching her. This sets up a sequel storyline that borrows from an iconic horror franchise.
The Strangers 2 Already Has A Massive Problem After Chapter 1’s Cliffhanger Ending
Although The Strangers: Chapter 1’s ending works fine, the twist does effectively give away the ending of The Strangers: Chapter 2’s planned plot.
How The Strangers' New Trilogy Could Mirror The Initial Halloween Movies
The Strangers: Chapter 2 Will Likely Feature A Hospital Setting
The Strangers: Chapter 1’s mid-credit scene featuring Maya in the hospital hints that the next sequel will take place in a hospital setting.The Strangers: Chapter 2’s storyand hospital setting is likely to borrow fromHalloween II, which picked up straight afterHalloween’s ending. LikeThe Strangers: Chapter 2, that iconic slasher sequel followed the surviving Final Girl as she evaded a masked killer in the hospital. DespiteThe Strangers: Chapter 2’s sequel challenges, the franchise is clearly borrowing from the best when it comes to inspiration.Halloween II’s hospital-set storyline was endlessly influential after its release.
Everything from the ending of 2006’sBlack Christmasremake to 1982’sVisiting Hoursto 2021’sHalloween Killsborrowed inspiration from Laurie Strode’s 1981 hospital stay. As such, it is no surprise thatThe Strangers: Chapter 2seems set to riff on the influential sequel. AlthoughHalloween III: Season of the Witchtook the series in a completely different direction, that sequel’s experimentation with new lore could still help shapeThe Strangers: Chapter 3. In a nod toSeason of the Witch,The Strangersreboot trilogy’s final chapter may center on the masks and the deeper meaning behind them.
How The Halloween Movies Clearly Influenced The Strangers
The Home Invasion Horror Series Inspired The Classic Slasher Franchise
The Strangers: Chapter 2borrowing fromHalloween IIadds up sinceThe Strangersfranchise always owedHalloweena creative debt. LikeHalloween’s infamous killer, Michael Myers, the Strangers are scary precisely because they have no discernible motive for their violent crimes. The Strangers also operate a lot like the villain of John Carpenter’s iconic horror movie, stalking their prey before chasing them. They mostly use bladed weapons and wear masks to hide their identity, proving thatThe Strangers: Chapter 1’s killers already borrowed from the slasher cinema icon before the franchise’s sequel relocated to a hospital setting.
