When I was just a wee lad, 11 years old to be precise, I had two fears: frogs (still do to this day) and home invasion. For some reason, I figured that I was a special enough little boy to justify some crazed robbers coming into my house and killing me for the fun of it all. Also, for an even stranger reason (no pun intended), my best friend at the time thought it would be a smart idea for us to all watch a bootleg copy of Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers (2008) at her 4th of July cookout with her family. Frankly speaking, it traumatized me, and the rainy walk home to my house that July night that saw me battling a horde of frogs on the street, capping off a day of fear I’d never forget. However, how I handled my fears as a child was to embrace them, and with that, just as Final Destination (2000) fueled my interest in film in the way that it frightened me, I came to love The Strangers and the dread it once gave me. As time passed, my appreciation for the film became deeper, as did my appreciation for its gonzo, stylized sequel The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), a completely different, but entirely welcome and fun turn for the series.
L-R: Froy Gutierrez as Ryan and Madelaine Petsch as Maya in THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
Now, imagine my surprise when the franchise landed at with Lionsgate (The Strangers was released with Focus Features, then genre brand Rogue Pictures, and then to Relativity Media before going dormant, and The Strangers: Prey at Night is releasing with the now-defunct Aviron Pictures), and that the next installment would not be just one film, but three films in a narrative trilogy directed by Renny Harlin (The Bricklayer; Die Hard 2). I was both intrigued and concerned. On one hand, Harlin’s track record as a director has really not been particularly strong in a long while, but, on the other hand, I had to wonder what was so exceptional about his pitch to the studio that they would give a green light to three films in a cinematic trilogy.
So, the horror world waited, and when The Strangers – Chapter 1 released in theaters in June of this year, it landed not with a bang, but with a thud. Now, two months on, Lionsgate is releasing the film on home media with some special features for those, like me, who actually, strangely, enjoyed it (with caveats).
The Strangers from THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and her long-term boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are driving cross-country to Portland for a job interview while celebrating their five-year anniversary. When their car breaks down in the small, hostile Oregon town of Venus, they’re stranded as the local mechanic procures the parts needed to fix their car. Forced to stay in a local Airbnb, the couple settles into the quaint cottage for the evening. As night falls, the couple is greeted to a knock on the door with a mysterious figure asking for Tamara. Writing it off as a mistake, they don’t think much of it, but as the night goes on and the figure returns, they soon find the visits to become more and more hostile, and, soon enough, the couple finds themselves violently terrorized by three masked assailants hunting them down across the vast Pacific Northwest forest for nothing more than the fun of it.
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
Let’s not mince words. There are a lot of people who absolutely despise The Strangers: Chapter 1. I’d probably argue that it’s a majority of the viewers of the film who feel that way about it, and I really do get it. The characters aren’t particularly interesting, and Jesus Christ, they are unbelievably stupid. The scares feel occasionally recycled from the previous films and, in comparison to the first film, specifically, can simply feel like a more slick and conventional pale imitation of a once gritty horror film. I don’t seek to argue against that, but rather to instill how much comfort I can find in a straightforward, unpretentious, cheesy horror film with stupid characters. A smart person would have removed themselves from this situation at once, but that doesn’t make for a very long horror film, does it? And while I was disappointed with how similar this film is to Bryan Bertino’s 2008 original film, I really can’t say that I’m not interested in the direction that Harlin takes it with Chapter 2 and 3.
Lionsgate has released The Strangers – Chapter 1 on both standard Blu-ray (as reviewed here) and 4K. Both releases contain the same set of special features, as well as the same Dolby Atmos audio track. The only difference between the two releases is the 4K, Dolby Vision HDR video presentation of the film, the inclusion of a DVD in the Blu-ray combo pack as opposed to the standard Blu-ray in the 4K release, and different cover art to differentiate between the two formats (I actually like the standard Blu-ray’s cover more than the 4K’s, though the 4K Walmart steelbook takes the cake).
Renny Harlin behind the scenes of THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of John Armour for Lionsgate.
Visually speaking, while The Strangers – Chapter 1 looks rather sterile compared to the other two films in the series, it’s still a very attractive film that actually has some directorial flourishes come its third act where I really got the feeling that Harlin was cooking something good, and this comes through quite nicely on Blu-ray. While it lacks the depth that proper HDR/Dolby Vision can provide, this is still a clean (sometimes almost too clean) digital image that really shines when the film’s moody cabin lighting and shadowy vast night in the forest take full effect. It takes a bit for the film to become visually interesting from a filmmaking standpoint, but there isn’t a moment where the A/V transfer on this specific release isn’t excellent.
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
Speaking of the “A” in A/V, the Dolby Atmos audio track does incredibly solid work in creating a tense, engrossing environment where the fear of something hiding anywhere around you in the shadows is very real. It uses the freedom and immersion offered in the Atmos format to a balanced effect, not going overboard as, at the end of the day, this is still a grounded “it could happen to you” type of horror film, bereft of any supernatural elements that could push the audio mix into overdrive. The mix really pays off when it decides to have a little cheeky fun every once in a while. Beyond that, it’s a healthy, balanced, mostly front-heavy, but still full-bodied audio track that’s quite impressive.
The Strangers from THE STRANGERS – CHAPTER 1, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
For a film that both got terrible reviews and didn’t light the box office on complete fire, The Strangers – Chapter 1 does include special features for the home media release, as well as an audio commentary. I always appreciate when studios take the time to do this, even if it is for the five people on Earth (me inclusive) who care about it. It’s certainly not extensive here by any means, but it’s welcome regardless.
Special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary with Producer Courtney Solomon and Actress Madelaine Petsch
- Reimagining a Classic: Making The Strangers – Chapter 1
- A Hostile Environment: The Visual Design of The Strangers – Chapter 1
- Theatrical Trailer
It’s hard for me to explicitly recommend The Strangers – Chapter 1 to many people because I both A) pay attention to what other people think about wide-release films, and B) I realize that my appreciation for the film comes down to a lot of personal quirks that I find endearing in studio-produced horror like this which revels in conventionality and mainstream appeal. That doesn’t mean I still don’t have explicit appreciation for Harlin’s stylish, if occasionally tonally out-of-place, direction, as well as Madelaine Petsch’s (About Fate) very fun performance as the rock-stupid Maya, whom we’ll follow for the next two films, as well. There’s something so comforting about this film in the way that many find watching episodes of a mediocre sitcom or the food of a chain restaurant comforting. I know it’s not the best, and I know that I probably deserve better, but why should I complain when I’m content with what’s on offer? I know for a fact that there are better Strangers films that could’ve been made, because they’ve already been made twice already, but there’s almost a nostalgic early-to-mid 2000s horror element to how this film operates that is unmistakable to me. Lionsgate’s Blu-ray release for the film doesn’t go above-and-beyond by miles, but does take the time to at least outfit the film with an excellent A/V showing and some actual special features for once. It’s a recommendation for those who already know they like the film. For everyone else, I’d suggest streaming it first.
Available on VOD July 16th, 2024.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD July 23rd, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Lionsgate The Strangers – Chapter 1 website.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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