Photo via GeekTyrant
By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
If there was a book to be written on how to effectively destroy a horror franchise, this trilogy would represent the beginning, the middle, and the end of that book. Mercifully, “The Strangers: Chapter 3” is the final chapter and even though it isn’t any worse than the previous film, it isn’t any better either. The very few people that have endured all three films should be awarded a special prize for surviving, because it demonstrates an uncanny ability to withstand torture.
The story picks up right where it left off, with Maya (Madelaine Petsch) narrowly escaping her masked tormentors’ clutches in the woods. So, the cat and mouse routine begins again with more flashbacks showing the killers as kids uniting together over their thirst for blood. Unable to trust local townsfolk like Gregory (Gabriel Basso) or even Sheriff Rotter (Richard Brake), Maya rethinks her strategy to end this nightmare once and for all.
By now, most of the world should have realized how bad a director Renny Harlin is with his lazy, hole riddled filmmaking style that has plagued this trilogy from the first movie in 2024. Having shot all three movies simultaneously over the course of only 52 days in Bratislava, Slovakia, it’s really no wonder why these films are so sloppy and weak. It clearly shows Renny’s intention for a quick and cheap cash grab, uncaring of quality. This shows up in how the scenes were pieced together and edited, haphazardly smashed together in ways that disrupt the continuity of the story. The repetition and overused tropes Harlin incorporate is indicative of unclear direction in how he wanted to organize the scenes and which film they would apply to, making them more interchangeable pieces with no purpose.
The sad attempt to provide the killers with a backstory, using clunky flashbacks, is almost laughable. Harlin even tries to give the main psychopath a “Dexter” type of background, which does nothing to revive any interest in these characters. He also introduces background scenes that seem to be important only to completely nullify their existence a couple minutes later in such a mundane fashion. In fact, when looking at all three movies combined, even a decent filmmaker would be hard-pressed to find enough usable scenes for one film let alone three.
Harlin tries to drum up some tension and suspense by bringing the main character’s sister and entourage into the fray, only to have them act like NPC’s who do one predictably stupid act after another to make them easy fodder. He completely abandons what made the original 2008 film a solid slasher, and that is the randomness of the violence that catches viewers off guard. This sequel telegraphs every fight and death scene, showing a complete lack of ingenuity and stealing that surprise factor. The weakly conveyed backstories also eliminate the mystery, hence intrigue, for the motivations of the killings, leaving viewers indifferent about what happens to any of the characters.
The real victim of this atrocious trilogy is the young actress Madelaine Petsch, who actually demonstrates decent talent despite the poor writing and even worse direction. She shows a gradual and complete transformation from fearful victim in the first movie to a hardened survivalist in this latest film. Hopefully these films do not derail her career, and she gets another opportunity with a better director and screenplay.
These films may go down as the worst horror trilogy ever made, and it’s not even close. “The Strangers: Chapter 3” along with its two predecessors should never have been greenlit to begin with, but at least viewers can rejoice that this is the last one. In upholding the trend of the past few years, this will likely be a strong contender for the worst film of the year.
This movie earns:
