The following contains minor spoilers for The Strangers: Chapter 1, now playing in theaters
The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s place in the overarching franchise is muddied by a minor but consistent detail throughout the film. The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the newest film in the horror series, focusing on a couple trying to contend with the threat posed by a trio of masked killers chasing. It’s the third film in the series, which became a surprise box-office hit in 2008 with the original The Strangers. Along with its two sequels, the film is set to explore the fallout of the violence and terror experienced by The Strangers: Chapter 1 characters who survive such an attack.
The film’s true nature has been somewhat left in the air ahead of release. The film’s title suggests it may be a prequel, as does the presence of the same masked killers who were killed off in the sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night. The creatives behind the film have also made it clear the film isn’t strictly a remake or a reboot of the original. However, there are some aspects of The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s story that makes it hard to place anywhere except in the modern day, inviting questions about how it could fit into the original continuity.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 has technology that firmly places it in the modern day, meaning it can’t be a direct prequel to the events of 2008’s The Strangers. On a thematic and story level, The Strangers: Chapter 1 is very similar to the original movie, focusing on a couple endangered by home invaders. Ahead of the film’s release, there was some speculation that the film would be effectively a prequel to the original, explaining how the villains could appear in the film despite being killed off in 2018’s sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night.
However, there are modern elements to The Strangers: Chapter 1 that make placing it in or before 2008 hard to buy. Maya and Ryan have a modern car that has a modern button ignition (that nevertheless fails at an inopportune time.) The pair have modern phones, which allows Maya to briefly have a video chat with a friend from across the world. It’s a technology far beyond what phones were capable of in 2008. Maya even casually smokes a joint, which is reflective of modern lax attitudes towards recreational drug use that would have been considered a crime in 2008.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 doesn’t work as a prequel, as it’s very much rooted in the modern day. However, this instead invites the question of whether it could be a remake or a reboot of the original film. It would make sense, given the functional similarities in the story of The Strangers: Chapter 1 and the original The Strangers. Both films follow a couple in a romantic relationship as they struggle to survive the murderous intentions of the Man in the Mask, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl.
However, that seems to go against the intentions of the film’s director, Renny Harlin. As reported by Screen Rant, The Strangers trilogy plan doesn’t make it a direct reboot or remake of the original, although it does feature several allusions and references to the first film in the series. The film has different central characters with a different dynamic, all while teasing a larger connection between the killers and the surrounding town. This helps The Strangers: Chapter 1 feel unique, even while it follows the same general storyline.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 could still technically take place in the same continuity as the previous two versions of The Strangers, but with some specific caveats. Modern technology makes it hard to imagine the film takes place before 2008’s The Strangers, but this could be a modern killing spree spurred on by the same motivations that set off the original movie. While the deaths of the three killers in The Strangers: Prey at Night means it’s impossible they’re the same people behind the mask, the anonymous nature of the killers could allow someone else to take on the mantles.
This could even play into the motivations of the killers, who lash out with seemingly no clear rhyme or reason. That sort of banal and grounded evil in the original could inspire other killers, allowing The Strangers: Chapter 1 to function as a new take on the premise but still exist within the original timeline of earlier The Strangers films. It could also play into Harlin’s plans for the trilogy, exploring the trauma caused by the killers. The Strangers: Chapter 1 may not work as a prequel, but it’s also not a direct sequel or straightforward remake.
Source:Screen Rant