The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
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A couple on a road trip finds themselves hunted by three psychopathic masked strangers.
The story
In 2017, in the small town of Venus, Oregon, a businessman named Jeff Morell is ambushed in the woods by three masked perpetrators. Some time later, Maya and her boyfriend Ryan are driving across the country to Portland for a job interview while celebrating their five-year anniversary. They stop at Carol's Diner in Venus, where they encounter hostile locals and notice a missing persons poster for Jeff. When their car fails to start, they are taken to a secluded Airbnb cabin in the woods for the night. While staying there, they begin to experience unsettling encounters with a mysterious woman and other figures in the shadows.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2017, in the small town of Venus, Oregon, a businessman named Jeff Morell is ambushed in the woods by three masked perpetrators—Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl. Scarecrow kills Jeff with an axe. Later, Maya and her boyfriend Ryan, traveling to Portland for a job interview, stop at Carol's Diner in Venus. After their car breaks down, they stay at a secluded Airbnb cabin. During the night, they are stalked by Pin-Up Girl. When Ryan leaves to find his inhaler, Maya is stalked by Scarecrow and encounters Dollface. They eventually find themselves trapped in the cabin as the three masked figures break in. After a violent struggle involving a shotgun and a getaway car, the couple is separated. Maya finds Jeff's decaying corpse while calling 9-1-1, and is eventually captured by Dollface. Ryan is captured by Scarecrow. Both are tied to chairs and eventually attacked by Pin-Up Girl and Scarecrow. The film ends with Maya waking up in a hospital bed the next night, only to find Scarecrow lying beside her.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Renny Harlin
- Writers
- Alan R. Cohen · screenplay; Alan Freedland · screenplay; Bryan Bertino · story
- Cast and characters
- Madelaine Petsch; Froy Gutierrez; Ema Horvath; Gabriel Basso; Ella Bruccoleri
- Genres
- horror; thriller
- Themes
- survival; isolation
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; menacing
- Setting
- Venus, Oregon in 2017
- Premise and plot tags
- home invasion; stalking; slasher
- Franchise connections
- The Strangers
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 22; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 50% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The film is the first installment of an intended relaunch in the form of a standalone trilogy.; Production on the films took place in Bratislava between September and November 2022.; The film's sequel, The Strangers – Chapter 2, was released on September 26, 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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