The Strangers – Chapter 2

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The Strangers – Chapter 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRenny Harlin
Written by
  • Alan R. Cohen
  • Alan Freedland
Based onCharacters
by Bryan Bertino[1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJosé David Montero
Edited byMichelle Harrison
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate Films
Release dates
  • September 16, 2025 (2025-09-16) (Hollywood)
  • September 26, 2025 (2025-09-26) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8.5 million[3]
Box office$17 million[4][5]

The Strangers – Chapter 2 is a 2025 American horror film serving as the fourth film in The Strangers film series, and the second installment of a new trilogy following The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024). The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Madelaine Petsch, with Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath.

The film had its Hollywood premiere September 16, 2025, and was released in the United States by Lionsgate Films on September 26, 2025. As with its predecessor, the film received generally negative reviews.

Plot

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In 2021, in the small town of Venus, Oregon, Carol's Diner waitress Shelly greets a man named Frank Quintanno, sharing the information she learns about him with an unseen patron. Later that night, Shelly knocks on the door of his motel room and asks if Tamara is home. Sometime later, Shelly (Pin-Up), Dollface, and Scarecrow kill Frank in the woods before embracing in the rain.

In the present day, Maya Lucas is recovering in the Venus County Hospital following her encounter with the three masked murderers. Her claims are brushed off by the Sheriff and his Deputy, who try to avoid the involvement of the state and federal police to avoid their cover-ups being unmasked. As night falls, Maya finds herself trapped in the hospital as the Strangers seek her out after discovering she is alive. After evading Scarecrow in the morgue, to which he kills an Orderly, Maya is able to escape and comes upon a horse farm where she seeks help from the owner who is killed by Pin-Up with a crossbow. Maya attacks her with a pitchfork before flagging down Nurse Danica and roommate, Chris Sampson, who are driving home on a nearby road.

Maya agrees to go to their home. On the drive, they discover their roommates, Gregory and Wayne, walking home in the rain. The two get in the car. A few minutes later, Maya escapes from the car after having a panic attack about the occupants of the car being her attackers. She hides in the woods where she stitches up her opened wounds. Maya comes upon an abandoned campsite and starts a fire but is soon attacked by a wild boar who was freed from captivity by Scarecrow. Maya successfully kills the boar and flees back through the woods. Meanwhile, Pin-Up, who was watching Maya, has flashbacks to when she was a child in school with Scarecrow, where she killed another student, Tamara, whom she was jealous of.

Back in the present day, Maya comes upon the cabin in which she was attacked in the previous film and changes into new clothes. She is found by Billy Bufford, a state police officer, who tries to help her but he is killed by Pin-Up. Maya flees in Bufford's car but the engine eventually dies down outside a house belonging to Nurse Danica, Chris, Gregory, and Wayne. They take her in for the night and Gregory asks Maya about her wounds. After Gregory leaves the house, Pin-Up and Dollface attack and kill the remaining occupants as well as the driver of a private EMT sent to take Maya to Portland.

Maya escapes into the EMT but is ambushed by Pin-Up who was hiding inside. She stabs Pin-Up in the neck with scissors, seemingly killing her. Maya flees in the EMT, but during the ride, Pin-Up tries choking her to death. Maya intentionally crashes the EMT, causing Pin-Up to fly out of the windshield, resulting in her death. Maya flees into the woods as Dollface and Scarecrow arrive in their truck. The pair mourn their loss, removing Pin-Up's mask as Maya watches them from the woods.

Cast

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Production

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Further information: The Strangers: Chapter 1 § Production

Principal photography on all three films commenced over 52 days in September 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia,[8] and wrapped in November 2022.[9][10] Following the release of the first installment, The Strangers: Chapter 2 and The Strangers: Chapter 3 underwent a month of additional photography to rework the film with audience feedback from the first film in mind.[11] One week of the reshoots was devoted to Chapter 2, with flashbacks added to flesh out the villain's backstory and an investigation subplot involving Joplin Sibtain cut.[12]

Release

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The Strangers: Chapter 2 had its Hollywood premiere on September 16, 2025.[13] It also screened at Fantastic Fest on September 20, 2025.[14][15] The film was released in the United States by Lionsgate Films on September 26, 2025.[7]

Reception

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Box office

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In the United States and Canada, The Strangers – Chapter 2 was released alongside One Battle After Another and Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, and was projected to gross $6–8 million from 2,650 theaters in its opening weekend.[3] It ended up debuting to $5.8 million, finishing fifth at the box office.[16][17] In its second weekend the film grossed $2.8 million (a drop of 51%), finishing in eighth.[18]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 15% of 67 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A tired and tensionless slog, Chapter 2 squanders its potential for suspense with lazy storytelling, predictable scares, and a complete misunderstanding of what makes The Strangers so terrifying."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 28 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the franchise.[16]

Sequel

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Main article: The Strangers – Chapter 3

The final installment of the trilogy titled The Strangers – Chapter 3, will be released on an unspecified date.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 2". Writers Guild of America West. April 5, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 2 [14A]". Alberta Film Classification. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (September 24, 2025). "Box Office: Will Oscar Buzz Help Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' Open Over $20 Million?". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  4. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  5. ^ "The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Squires, John (October 18, 2024). "The Strangers: Chapter 2 – Watch the Teaser Trailer for Upcoming Horror Sequel". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 24, 2025). "The Strangers: Chapter 2 Going This Fall Instead Of Saw XI". Deadline Hollywood.
  8. ^ Grobar, Matt (September 13, 2022). "'The Strangers' Remake In Works At Lionsgate From Director Renny Harlin; Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez & Gabriel Basso Set For First Title In New Trilogy". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  9. ^ Grobar, Matt (November 1, 2022). "The Strangers: Rachel Shenton Boards Lionsgate's Horror Remake". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Davids, Brian (May 16, 2024). "The Strangers: Chapter 1 Director Renny Harlin on Shooting a Trilogy in 52 Days: "Nothing Is Too Ambitious for Me"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Gearan, Hannah (July 25, 2025). "The Strangers 2 & 3 Underwent 20+ Days Of "Enhancement Shoots" To Address Fans' Feedback". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  12. ^ The Strangers: Chapter 2’ Director Renny Harlin Says Fan-Driven Additional Photography Retooled Upcoming ‘Chapter 3
  13. ^ "Madelaine Petsch Brings Dark Glamour to The Strangers: Chapter 2 Premiere". Sports Illustrated. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (August 14, 2025). "Fantastic Fest Lineup: Black Phone 2, Sisu: Road To Revenge, Shelby Oaks, Primate, Vicious & More Set For 20th Anniversary Edition". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  15. ^ "Fantastic Fest 2025". Fantastic Fest. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Anthony D'Alessandro (September 28, 2025). "'One Battle After Another' At $22M+ Reps Record Debut For Paul Thomas Anderson; Leonardo DiCaprio's 11th Movie To Open To $20M+ – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "Weekend projections: One Battle After Another and Gabby's Dollhouse hoping for good word-of-mouth after middling debuts". The Numbers. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 6, 2025). "'Taylor Swift: Showgirl' Kicks Higher To $34M, Still An Anomaly For Album Pic Launch; Dwayne Johnson's Lowest Opening Ever 'The Smashing Machine' At $5.9M – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  19. ^ "The Strangers – Chapter 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  20. ^ "The Strangers – Chapter 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  21. ^ Collis, Clark (October 4, 2023). "The home-invading killers are back in first look at multi-movie horror saga The Strangers Trilogy". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
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