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Plot: What’s it about?
After The Strangers: Chapter 1 was met with a more tepid response than expected, it pumped the brakes a little bit on this sequel. Director Renny Harlin set out to do a new trilogy of films with our masked killers. I enjoyed the 2008 film and the sequel, but I admit the previous installment, Chapter 1 was more of a mixed bag. I never hated the film like many seemed to, but it did act as essentially a remake of the 2008 film. Chapter 2 continues to offer a frustrating and incomplete experience, but I still ultimately find it worth seeing for already established fans. I will dive more into plot specifics in a bit, but there are some genuinely effective moments here. We also get some downright baffling ones, but this being a middle chapter of an already-filmed trilogy, we’re still waiting for the final piece of this puzzle.
Once again, we find Maya (Madeline Petsch) who is the sole survivor this time around. She had been informed that her boyfriend, Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) didn’t survive. She is recovering in hospital, but things quickly heard south as the strangers are looking for her. It’s clear from early on that the local sherif may be up to no good as he brushes off her claims about the killers. For a while it seems that the film may take the original Halloween II route with the hospital setting, and that might’ve made the film effective, but only a portion is there before the film takes Maya out into the woods as she rushes to find help and survive. There are some truly chilling early moments in the film, especially when Maya hides in a morgue and we can truly understand just how dire her situation is. I honestly can’t think of a recent film (horror or any) that has put its main character through so much torture. With a gash on her forehead and along her stomach as well, I just wanted her to seek care before anything else. There is also a sequence where she fends off a wild hog which is equally frustrating and frightening.
While I enjoyed the film overall and do feel a lot of the critics were hard on it, I also have some major issues with it as well. I can give the benefit of the doubt with it being a middle chapter of a trilogy. What I am less forgiving of is the general confusion I had with several flashback sequences. The film takes a bit of time showing us some of the strangers in their youth, most notably when they’re very young on the playground at school. What exactly Harlin is trying to do here is strange. I suppose he needed to flesh out the running time, but one of the strengths of the original film is what we didn’t know about our masked killers. If you strip that away and reveal too much, it takes away the mystique. I also just didn’t find their backstory that interesting. There is also a bit of repetition here as when a character finds someone to potentially offer some help only to be shot from afar. Horror films have been showing far too much lately. This film does that twice. Petsch remains a strong leading lady, and I was truly rooting for her character. I am not sure when we’re getting the final chapter which has been filmed, but it will be interesting to see where Harlin takes things. Be sure to stick around through the early parts of the end credits for a teaser of chapter 3.
The Bottom Line
Credit must be given for some truly effective moments here. I feel the film would’ve been more effective with a narrower approach and keeping to the hospital setting. Unfortunately, confusing flashback sequences ask more questions than they answer. I still think there are enough moments that work here to recommend the film. Once the third and final chapter is released this one might flow better within that context. Meanwhile, it earns my mild recommendation.
