'The Strangers: Chapter 3' Review
- Dempsey Pillot
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Release Date: 02/06/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Horror.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: Lionsgate.
The Verdict: A Maybe
After three years and two mediocre movies, the reboot trilogy that no one asked for is finally coming to an end. The Strangers: Chapter 3 is billed as the epic conclusion to the story of Maya, a young woman who has been terrorized by serial killers in the middle of a small Oregon town. While it does continue to (literally) retread some of the same ground from the previous films, it also takes enough new risks to earn it the distinction of being the best since the original.
Picking up where Chapter 2 left off, the film follows Maya as she tries to outrun the mysterious figures in the “Scarecrow” and “Dollface” masks, after killing the person in the “Pin-Up Girl” mask. As expected, she doesn’t get too far before she’s captured. But rather than kill her, the remaining two strangers bring her along on a new killing spree. Filled with rage and exposed to more violence, it isn’t long before Maya is presented with a choice that could change her life forever - one that becomes complicated when her sister and brother-in-law roll into town looking for her.
Unlike the previous two films, this one is less focused on being a chamber piece or exposition-heavy origin story, and more focused on being a thriller. In the span of the film’s 90-minute window, there are more kills and way more development with our main character that you begin to wonder why wasn’t this the actual story the filmmakers wanted to tell from the beginning.
Chapter 3 asks the simple question: Is evil contagious? While it’s an admittedly interesting idea, it’s not entirely original. Most horror fans might recall David Gordon Green tackled similar ground in his Halloween trilogy. However, its exploration through Maya is very interesting. Maya has every reason to want revenge. But does committing that revenge put her on the same wavelength as The Strangers - or is it the mere thought about doing it that has already changed her? At the beginning of the film, there feels like this entire runway to see this idea explored through Maya.
Madeleine Petsch finally comes into her own as Maya in this film, delivering a screen presence so commanding this time around, it feels her character was played by someone else in the first two films. Gabriel Basso also deserves some praise for his portrayal of Gregory, a mysterious young man continuously teased as one of the masked assailants. With very few words in the script, he’s able to do a lot with his physicality. Unfortunately, the film is so busy trying to tie up the series’ other loose ends that the game of cat and mouse between the two still feels slightly underdeveloped. Make no mistake. The film does have a definitive ending, but it does not feel satisfying considering all the build-up.
Renny Harlin’s direction is another highlight. Not to say that the film is action heavy, but there’s an unspeakable energy and enthusiasm behind the camera here that feels reminiscent of some of his wildest projects. Perhaps it’s the freedom of the film’s plot being restructured halfway through production - this just being his last entry (period). The over-the-top third act feels particularly reminiscent of Mindhunters, so drawn out and so unserious that it injects a much-needed element of entertainment to the story.
Whether you’re a diehard horror fan or someone who’s already sat through the first two, the bottom line is that The Strangers: Chapter 3 is the best of the bunch. While that’s not saying much, it proves that there was and still is a lot of potential with this idea. Ironically, as the basis for the entire franchise proves, the outcome just depends upon who you let in.