The Strangers: Chapter 1 | |
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Directed by | Renny Harlin |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Bryan Bertino |
Based on | The Strangers by Bryan Bertino |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | José David Montero |
Edited by | Michelle Harrison |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Lionsgate Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8.5 million [2] |
The Strangers: Chapter 1 is a 2024 American horror film that is the third film in The Strangers film series. It is directed by Renny Harlin, with a screenplay by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, from a story by Bryan Bertino. Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez star as a couple who come into contact with the three psychopathic masked strangers while on a roadtrip. Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath also star.
The film is also the first installment of a new trilogy of standalone films, where Chapter 1 will follow a similar premise to the first film and takes place in the same continuity as the first two installments, acting as a prequel to the first film. [3]
The Strangers: Chapter 1 had its world premiere at Regal L.A. Live on May 8, 2024. It is set to be released by Lionsgate Films on May 17, 2024. Chapter 2 is expected to be released later in 2024, and Chapter 3 on an unspecified date.
Maya drives across the country with her longtime boyfriend, Ryan, as the pair begin a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon and they are forced to spend the night in an isolated Airbnb home. Through the night, they are terrorized by three murderous masked strangers. [4]
In August 2022, producer Roy Lee announced plans for three films to consecutively enter production beginning in September of the same year. [6] Renny Harlin was revealed as director for at least one of the films, though he was in negotiations to direct each of the films. [7] The trilogy was produced by Lionsgate Films, Fifth Element Productions, and Frame Film, and will be distributed by Lionsgate. [8] [9]
Later in 2022, Harlin was announced as director on the three upcoming films; the first of the new trilogy, from a script written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland and story by Bryan Bertino. [8] [10] Courtney Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck, and Alastair Birlingham were confirmed as producers on the three films. [8] The new trilogy is a relaunch of the series with producer Canton stating that the trilogy is intended to introduce new audiences to "world of The Strangers". Solomon stated that when they began the project the intent was to tell a bigger story than before, but also to "expand that world". [8] The producer describes the three films as a "character study", compared to the previous two films. It was later clarified by the filmmaker and the actors, that the new trilogy of films takes place in the same universe as the original two films. [11] [12]
In September 2022, Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso were cast. [4] In October 2022, Ema Horvath was announced to be a part of the cast. [13] The following month, Rachel Shenton joined the cast. [14]
Principal photography on all three films commenced in September 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia, [4] and wrapped in November 2022. [15] [16] Harlin told Entertainment Weekly that it was "the challenge of a lifetime, but I also really embraced it. On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. it was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time". [17]
Lionsgate hosted the world premiere at Regal L.A. Live on May 8, 2024. [18] It is scheduled to have a theatrical release on May 17, 2024. [12]
In the United States and Canada, The Strangers: Chapter 1 is scheduled to be released alongside IF and Back to Black , and is projected to gross $7–9 million from 2,900 theaters in its opening weekend. [2]
Two sequels were filmed concurrently with Chapter 1, with Chapter 2 expected to be released in late 2024. Harlin stated they were intended to be neither a remake nor reboot, and that the tone was going to be close to the first film. [19] Harlin said in an interview: "We, of course, shot them on top of each other and mixed up, like movies are always made. But we had to keep in mind that this is one story arc. It is one 4.5 hour movie, and the first movie is a first act. It sets up the characters and the terror and the Killers and our main character, who will survive the first movie, but then go on a journey for the next two". [20]
Renny Harlin is a Finnish film director, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Hollywood, Europe, and China. His best-known films include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea.
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became widely known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Bringing Out the Dead (1999). Schrader is more prolific as a director: his 22 films include Blue Collar (1978), Hardcore (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Light Sleeper (1992), Affliction (1997), and First Reformed (2017), with the last of these earning him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work frequently depicts "man in a room" stories which feature isolated, troubled men confronting an existential crisis.
Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 American science fiction horror film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J. It is the first film of the film series by the same name. Set in an isolated underwater facility, the film follows a team of scientists and their research on mako sharks to help fight Alzheimer's disease. The situation plunges into chaos when multiple genetically engineered sharks go on a rampage and flood the facility.
The Strangers is a 2008 American psychological horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino. The film follows a couple whose stay at a vacation home is disrupted by three masked intruders who infiltrate the home one night. It is the first installment in The Strangers film series. The screenplay was inspired by two real-life events: the multiple-homicide Manson family Tate murders and a series of break-ins that occurred in Bertino's neighborhood as a child. Some journalists noted similarities between the film and the Keddie cabin murders that occurred in Keddie, California, in 1981, though Bertino did not cite this as a reference.
Bryan Michael Bertino is an American filmmaker. He is best known as the writer/director of The Strangers (2008), as well as writing its sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), with Ben Ketai.
Louis Gabriel Basso III is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and from 2010 to 2013, he had a regular role on the Showtime series The Big C. In film, he starred in the 2011 science fiction film Super 8 and the 2013 comedy-drama The Kings of Summer. In 2020, he portrayed J. D. Vance in the drama Hillbilly Elegy and in 2023, he played the title role in the action thriller series The Night Agent, both for Netflix.
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The Exorcist is an American horror media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel of the same name and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adaptation of the novel, and many subsequent prequels and sequels. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.
Vertigo Entertainment is an American film and television production company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2001 by Roy Lee and Doug Davison.
Madelaine Grobbelaar Petsch is an American actress and social media personality. She is best known for portraying Cheryl Blossom on The CW television series Riverdale (2017–2023).
The Strangers: Prey at Night is a 2018 American slasher film directed by Johannes Roberts and written by Bryan Bertino and Ben Ketai. It is the sequel to The Strangers (2008) and the second installment of The Strangers film series. The film stars Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman, Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, and Damian Maffei. The plot follows a family vacationing at a secluded mobile home park, where they are attacked by three masked strangers.
Acting for a Cause is a live read series of classic plays and screenplays created, produced, directed and hosted by Brando Crawford. The script is typically announced days before the event alongside a playbill featuring the cast and an animation on Instagram. The actors have one rehearsal ahead of time. Each reading is organized to raise money for charity. The readings garnered over 500,000 viewers between the first play read on March 27, 2020 and the last announced read on July 31, 2020.
About Fate is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Maryus Vaysberg from a screenplay by Tiffany Paulsen. It is a remake of the 1976 Soviet television film The Irony of Fate.
The Strangers film series consists of American psychological horror films. Based on an original story by Bryan Bertino, the plot centers around three masked psycho-sociopathic home invaders that prey on the innocent owners. Though the first film was marketed as "based on a true story", this was a misdirect as the filmmaker stated that he wrote the concept from a series of break-in burglaries that took place in his neighborhood when he was growing up, as well as borrowing elements from the Manson Family Tate killings. Continuing this marketing technique, a "based on a true story" tag was also included at the beginning of the sequel.
Ema Horvath is an American actress. She has appeared in the films Like.Share.Follow. (2017), The Gallows Act II and The Mortuary Collection, and What Lies Below (2020). Since 2022, she has played Eärien, the sister of Isildur, in the Amazon Prime fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is an upcoming American horror film directed by Renny Harlin, and written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. It stars Madelaine Petsch and is the fourth film in The Strangers film series. It is the second installment of a new trilogy of films, and the direct sequel to The Strangers: Chapter 1 with the plot centering around a couple who come into contact with the three psychopathic masked strangers.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 is an upcoming American horror film directed by Renny Harlin, and written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. It stars Madelaine Petsch and is the fifth film in The Strangers film series. It is the final installment of a new trilogy of films, and the direct sequel to The Strangers: Chapter 2, with the plot centering around a couple who come into contact with the three psychopathic masked strangers and the aftermath.