The Strangers: Chapter 1 did not go over so well with critics or audiences. In fact, the first film has a 21% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to the 49% held by the original). Needless to say, that's not the best start to what is supposed to be a trilogy of films.
The story follows Madelaine Petsch's Maya and Froy Gutierrez's Ryan as they are terrorized by three masked home invaders who make their lives a living hell. Chapter 1 ended with Ryan's death, but the next two parts are meant to explore what happens next for Maya after experiencing that trauma.
The cast and filmmakers of The Strangers: Chapter 2 spoke with The Direct's Russ Milheim at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 (SDCC), where they helped paint a picture about how they made notable changes and enhancements to the next two movies in the trilogy based on the feedback of the first film.
The Strangers star Madelaine Petsch shared that Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 had "the beauty and the luxury of having a studio that believes in [then] to give us money to go back and enhance" these next two movies in the trilogy, "which is so rare."
Director Renny Harlin noted that since "the first movie was successful," the studio, Lionsgate, "was very open" to making changes. He said that it "listened to the audience" and "[saw] the feedback," and making changes to Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 was something they "felt like [they owed] to the audience."
Producer Courtney Solomon explained that they "had to undo everything in 'Chapter 2,' put the enhancement footage in, and redo everything." That process "slowed [them] down and ended up putting us into this year." He further teased that "the good news is this movie is like a relentless ride, so it's actually very intense in a good way."
The entire conversation can be read below. The Strangers: Chapter 2 hits theaters on September 26, 2025.
The Filmmakers Behind The Strangers: Chapter 2 Get Candid About Changes
Lionsgate Believed In 'Chapter 2' Enough for Them to Make Extensive, Big Changes
At SDCC, the star and filmmakers behind The Strangers: Chapter 2 got candid with The Direct about going back and making massive changes to the second and third films in their trilogy based on the less-than-stellar reaction from fans and audiences from the first movie.
Star Madelaine Petsch explained how she's really learned "that the film is made in three places," and that they also had "the beauty and luxury of having a studio that believes in us to give us money to go back and enhance movie two [and three]:"
Madelaine Petsch: I think it's just a unique experience for me as a producer on the films as well. And I've really learned that the film is made in three places. It's made when it's been written, it's made when you're on set, but it's really made when you're editing. You can make an entirely new film in editing.
And we have the beauty and the luxury of having a studio that believes in us to give us money to go back and enhance movie two and enhance movie three post editing, which is so rare. And I think there are a lot of things that we were able to uncover from the first movie coming out that Renny [Harlin] always speaks about, that we didn't know people would like cling to so much, and also things that people didn't really care for.
And so I think being able to adjust accordingly, while also still remaining with artistic integrity, [and] we're not by any means backing down from things that we cared about. It is a really, really cool balance to find, and also a luxury that I don't think a lot of productions get.
Director Renny Harlin praised Lionsgate for being open to making changes after the audience's reception. He noted that he feels like they "owed it to the audience:"
Renny Harlin: Well, luckily, the first movie was successful, so the studio was very open to it when we said, like, we've listened to the audience, we've seen the feedback. We see where the audience is focusing on what they want to see, and so on. We felt like we owed it to the audience, because, to me, the whole trilogy is an homage to Bryan Bertino's original movie, which is a great movie.
We didn't want to do a straight remake. We wanted to expand on it and we owe it to the original movie and the original fans and the new fans that we give them what they want and [as a] Director, it was an incredible opportunity. The studio was willing to give us more money, and say, like, go do what you believe and that you should be doing.
Oh yes, you can never please everybody, and that's not the goal either, but the same time, when you talk about such a beloved franchise and characters, we felt that just in many ways, for example, by showing a little bit of more of a backstory for The Strangers and showing a little bit more what makes them tick, without trivializing it and saying Like, Oh, their names are this, and they live here, and this is what they eat in the morning. It still has to be mysterious and it has to be random, but I'm quite convinced that the audience will enjoy seeing glimpses of their past.
The Strangers trilogy producer, Courtney Solomon, helped explain why the wait between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 was substantially longer than initially intended. It's all rooted in the changes made due to the reaction to the first, which Solomon admitted was "misunderstood a bit:"
Courtney Solomon: Well, I think 'Chapter 1' was, to be honest, misunderstood a bit, right? So, because it was misunderstood, we read everything, and we were just finishing 'Chapter 2' at that time. And we sort of went back to the [execs and] said, 'Chapter 1' did well financially. So, can we have some more money to do some stuff? Because we think if we did this, and we did that, which is what we originally wanted to do, but we didn't have very much money when we originally did it. So, long story short, we had basically finished 'Chapter 2' at that time, because this was after the release of 'Chapter 1,' we went and did an enhancement shoot.
The producer detailed how much work they had to put into undoing Chapter 2, which was mostly edited and complete, and then piecing it all back together once the enhanced bits were added in:
Solomon: We had to undo everything in 'Chapter 2,' put the enhancement footage in, and redo everything. By that, what I mean is then re-edit it, remix it, recolor, correct it, add different effects to it, and whatever.
So, that slowed us down and ended up putting us into this year. And then we were like, we would be barely ready for the same slot that we had last year. And then Lionsgate said, well, actually, we'd like to put you here. And so that's why it took longer. The good news is this movie is like a relentless ride, so it's actually very intense in a good way.
He confirmed that Chapter 3 had enhancement reshoots as well, noting that at the end of the day, "in adversity come good things:"
Solomon: But the other good news is, by the time it comes out, literally a month later, we'll finish 'Chapter 3,' right? Because we also did enhancement shoots for that. And I just want to say, in adversity come good things. We heard a lot of the audience comments on 'Chapter 1,' and that's what inspired us to go back to the studio and ask to actually put in all this extra work and go do 'Chapter 2' that way and enhance it. So that's what it was.
Solomon admitted that they made a decision to approach Chapter 1 for "a very cognizant reason" that "audiences can't understand until they watch Chapters 2 and 3:"
Solomon: We made a decision for a very cognizant reason, which the audience can't understand until they watch 'Chapter 2' and '3,' because we said from moment one, it's one giant movie. It's one storyline. So, in judging 'Chapter 1,' you're judging the first act of a movie, but you can't really judge a full movie on the first act of a movie. And that's exactly what happened. Fair enough. There are other decisions we could have maybe made better or not made better...
The producer then explained how audiences who had seen the original The Strangers film generally disliked Chapter 1, while everyone else who hadn't been familiar with it seemed to have a high affinity for it:
Solomon: Okay, we told basically the same story in our 'Chapter 1' on purpose, right? Judgment call, right? And you know what happened was, the audience went to see it, and they're like, What the hell is this? This is nothing new.
And in fact, it's not even nearly as good, because they already loved the other movie. It's like, you're only a virgin once, so to speak, right? So, they knew all the tricks that were coming, even if there was different stuff...
The new audience we gave this to actually loved the movie, but they hadn't seen the original movie, and so that's kind of why we made the decision anyway...
Solomon made it clear that it's okay to hate on The Strangers trilogy, but try to wait and judge it until you've seen all three parts. He also teased that he's only seen one single person correctly guess where the overall trilogy is heading:
Solomon: You want to hate on 'The Strangers' trilogy at the end of watching the three go right ahead, that's your prerogative, right? But judge it once you've seen it. Don't judge it before you have. Because, so many things I read about where we're going, I know exactly where this is. They are not right. In fact, I have not seen it. I literally read everything. [There's] one person who's gotten it right yet. So I will say that.
Renny Harlin Addresses Halloween 2 Comparisons & Teases a Very Dark Chapter 3
"The Hospital Setting Is a Very Interesting and Exciting Place."
The Strangers: Chapter 1 ended with Maya lying in a hospital, a situation many quickly compared to Laurie Strode's predicament in Halloween 2.
- The Direct: "I wanted to address the hospital setting, because even before Chapter 2 came out, a lot of people were very quick to be like, Okay, so we're gonna do a Halloween II kind of situation. I'm wondering, are those assumptions or thought processes anywhere close to what Chapter 2 is going to offer audiences, or should people not expect that at all?"
Renny Harlin: I think hopefully, in a good way, for those people who like that about 'Halloween II,' that would offer them something that they will enjoy. But I honestly have to say that, though I saw 'Halloween II,' of course, I did not remember that it was set in a hospital so much.
And it came to me as total surprise when people started comparing these scenes to that, that I was, when they saw the trailer, they started mentioning that, I was like, I didn't think about that. So for me, just the hospital setting is a very interesting and exciting place. It's a scary place as it is. And then when you put a vulnerable person in that situation, in that environment, and then you turn the lights off, it gets really scary.
So, I would say that I definitely hope that we've done an original job in terms of what we experienced in the hospital and what kind of scenes we have there. And it is just a small part of the movie. The movie expands so much from the whole home invasion genre into more like a town invasion, that it just gets quite epic.
The Strangers – Chapter 2 Producer on Taking Over Saw 11's Release Date
"Being In the Footsteps of 'Saw' Is a Big Expectation In the Horror World."
- The Direct: "Chapter 2 actually overtook the release stage of Saw 11, which is a big, big horror film, and so that's a big hole to [take over] this, and [be like] we're gonna own it, and we're gonna blow everyone out of the water. What was that like? Is there any extra pressure there? Expectations?"
Courtney Solomon: I think being in the footsteps of 'Saw' is a big expectation in the horror world. I would say yes. I mean, when we heard, we were thrilled, and it was a great honor that they had confidence in us enough to put us into that slot.
So, in that way, it was like a nice vote of confidence from the studio. Like, good job. We like your 'Chapter 2,' and we're willing to go with it. So in that way, it's good. It's a little nerve-racking. I mean, we are in the big Halloween movie season. So, I mean, having done horror for most of my career, I know exactly what that time slot is.
The full interviews can be watched below:
