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At least it’s not shot-for-shot (Spoilers)

Maya Lucas (Madelaine Petsch) is on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) when their car breaks down, and they decide to stay the night at an isolated Airbnb. There, they are menaced by three masked strangers in an almost beat-for-beat retelling of the 2008 film. To be fair, the filmmakers made it clear ahead of this movie’s release that that would be the case, while the other two chapters of the trilogy would be bolder.

In the previous two films, the protagonists were in conflict with one another before the Strangers showed up. That isn’t the case here. Maya mentions that Ryan is giving up his whole life to move to Portland with her, but we’re given no real indication that their relationship won’t be able to weather that. She also lightly criticized him for not proposing after dating for five years, but that also doesn’t come off as a big deal.

Missed Opportunities

That could have been a fun twist on the original. The relationship between the couple in the first film, James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler), was on the rocks because of his proposal. Maya and Ryan could have been having problems because he won’t propose. Also, seeing the lowest point of the couple’s relationship in the original made the scene at the end where they reaffirm their love for one another much more poignant.

The dialogue in The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not that good. And I’m not even talking about the part where Maya becomes Miss Exposition and says, “Today is the third day of our three-day road trip across the country or our five-year anniversary.” That’s bad, but there’s also how Ryan and Maya are just clever and witty. This is like a Marvel movie where everybody always has a quip ready. Compare that to the very natural and understated dialogue of the original.

More Problems

That might be the second most common criticism towards The Strangers: Chapter 1, after how it’s the same thing as the first movie. The few things they do change are for the worse. The Stranger’s motive goes from “Because you were home” to “Because you’re here.”  Not only being safe in your own home is one of the most primal fears there is, like being scared of the dark. It might not seem like a big deal, but it isn’t as good.

This is more minor, but the Strangers teleporting as soon as the camera is off them bothered me. They’re not Michael Myers. They’re normal people. Case in point, The Strangers: Prey at Night (spoilers) ends with all three of them dying. Even before then, the Man in the Mask (Damien Maffei) passes out from all the injuries that he’s sustained. (spoilers)

It’s Not All Bad

I also kept hearing The Strangers: Chapter 1 was just jump scares. Yes, they do rely on that a little too much, but there were a few well-done suspense moments. Maya’s an architect, which comes in handy when she realizes the Airbnb is on an elevated foundation, meaning there’s a crawlspace. I thought that was pretty clever.

Overall, I thought The Strangers: Chapter 1 was fine. It wasn’t as good as the original, but it was better than expected. That could partially speak to my low expectations. The trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 2 just dropped. It seems like it has some potential. It could also be another misfire if they reveal the Strangers’ identities, which seems to be the direction the wind is blowing. I hope the next two films are good, but we’ll just have to wait and see.