The Strangers: Chapter 2

Directed by Renny Harlin, The Strangers: Chapter 2 follows Madelaine Petsch’s Maya as she’s once again pursued by the malevolent title figures. Filmmaker Harlin, armed with Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland’s screenplay, delivers a perpetually misguided (and flat-out terrible) sequel that strikes all the wrong notes virtually from the word go, as the movie, which runs a punishing, padded-out 98 minutes, kicks off with a lackluster opening stretch that paves the way for an episodic midsection devoid of compelling sequences – with the arms-length vibe compounded by Petsch’s underwhelming (and often far-from-convincing) performance and a recurring emphasis on hopelessly misguided attributes and elements (eg Maya’s ongoing hallucinatory episodes). The cat-and-mouse atmosphere isn’t, as a result, able to pack the exciting, visceral punch Harlin has obviously intended, and it’s clear, too, that the repetitive structure paves the way for a midsection and second half rife with interminable encounters and digressions – with this particularly true of a laughable interlude wherein Maya is forced to battle a wild hog. (Seriously?) By the time the eye-rollingly open conclusion rolls around, The Strangers: Chapter 2 has cemented its place as a woeful misfire that couldn’t possibly be more unnecessary (or less worthwhile).

1/2* out of ****