The Strangers (film series)
Series of American psychological horror films / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Strangers film series consists of American psychological horror films. Based on an original story by Bryan Bertino, the plot centers around three masked psycho-sociopathic home invaders that prey on the innocent owners. Though the first film was marketed as "based on a true story", this was a slight misdirect as the filmmaker stated that he wrote the concept from a series of break-in burglaries that took place in his neighborhood when he was growing up, as well as borrowing elements from the Manson Family Tate murders.[1] Continuing this marketing technique, a "based on a true story" tag was also included at the beginning of the sequels.[2]
The Strangers | |
---|---|
Based on | Original characters by Bryan Bertino |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures (1) Aviron Pictures (2) Lionsgate Entertainment (3–5) |
Release date | 2008–present |
Country | United States |
Budget | $22,500,000 (Total 3 films) |
Box office | $147,229,894 (Total of 3 films) |
The first film was initially met with mixed critical reception upon its release,[3][4][5][6] though it made a large profit at the box office.[7] Despite this, contemporary film critics have since praised it as a cult classic in the horror genre.[8][9][10][11][12] Conversely, its sequel was also met with mixed reception with criticism directed towards its inferiority to the original,[13][14][15] while making much less monetary gain.[16] Alternatively, some critics have positively reviewed the movie and stated that it too deserves a cult following,[17] elaborating that, where the first film was a tribute to 1970s horror films, the second film was meant to replicate the scares of the 1980s.[18]
The series continued with the release of a standalone sequel trilogy of films starting with The Strangers: Chapter 1,[lower-alpha 1] which was released on May 17, 2024. Two more sequels, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, will follow.[8][23][21][22]