The Strangers: Chapter 1 ★★½

FINLAND’S most famous film director had a string of hits in the 1990’s including Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger.

Renny Harlin also made a massive flop during the same period called Cutthroat Island.

The 2000s haven’t been too kind to Harlin with the odd film registering now and then.

His latest, The Strangers: Chapter 1, is basically a remake of 2008 horror film The Strangers.

The plan is to reboot the basic story into a set of three new films, but how it will progress beyond being a series of repetitions is hard to determine.

The hook to the first film, which also had one sequel, was that the ‘strangers’, a group of home invaders who terrorised a couple, remained anonymous and their motivations unknown.

If you decide to develop those characters then you lose the main thing that gives the story interest.

There is no doubt Harlin’s Chapter 1 is competently shot and acted, but it’s just a passing entertainment.

Maybe he will surprise us with the next one which was filmed at the same time and is also scheduled for release during 2024.

Watched at the cinema.