Review: The Strangers – Chapter 2 (Fantastic Fest 2025)

28 November, 2025 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 4 categories

Title: The Strangers – Chapter 2
MPA Rating: R
Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

What It Is: Following the events of Chapter 1, Maya (Petsch) has been attacked, traumatized, and forced to watch her boyfriend be murdered before her eyes by the savage masked assailants known simply as The Strangers. As she attempts to recover in the hospital, news gets out that she’s survived. This leads the titular terrorists to hunt her down and finish what they started. They’re determined, and they’ll turn over every rock necessary to find her.

What We Think: I think my Letterboxd blurb said it all: “At this point I might just let one of them actually kill me.” I’m at a loss for words at the ineptitude on display here. It is functionally devoid of scares, logic, or anything resembling competent filmmaking. This is a truly loathsome experience. At no point do you feel like what you watched was worth sitting through. I’m not even sure what Renny Harlin is doing here. What’s the point? This doesn’t feel like a whole movie, which makes each part less enticing to watch, so much so that only the last part even matters. And this is not a journey worth taking to get there, either.

Our Grade: F. Don’t watch this. There’s just nothing here to enjoy. Who is this for? Horror fans will see right through the bullshit, and non–horror fans won’t have the patience for the terrible dialogue. This is a hard skip. Do not bother watching this. It isn’t worth your time, and Chapter 1 is an even bigger waste of time. Whatever the finale brings, it won’t be worth the two-film buildup. I don’t anticipate enjoying that one either. Do better, Renny. These are pointless horror drivel about now.