First "Knock Knock" Clip For THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 Sets Up The Home Invasion Terror
Lionsgate has released the first clip from The Strangers: Chapter 1, which is the first of a trilogy of films that will be released. The clip sees Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale, Jane) investigating a knock at the door, and it’s the beginning of the terror that awaits her in this home invasion horror thriller.
In The Strangers: Chapter 1, a young woman starts a new life with her fiancé. “Suddenly, during a road trip stop in a remote vacation rental in the woods, they become the prey of a mysterious gang of masked strangers who attack without warning or reason. What begins as a fight to stay alive becomes one woman’s journey of courage and cunning in this horror series bridging three compelling films.”
Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea, Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight) is directing the movie from a script written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland (The Freak Brothers, Due Date).
Harlin previously talked about the film, saying: “When this opportunity came to me, the idea of not doing a remake or a reboot but doing a trilogy based on the original film, I thought it was an incredible opportunity.” In regards to the full story of the trilogy, he says it will “explore what happens to the victims of this kind of violence and who the perpetrators are of this kind of violence. Where are they coming from and why?”
When talking about casting Petsch in the lead role, the director said: "Obviously Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman did a fantastic job in the original film and those were some big shoes to fill. We looked long and hard for our scream queen. When I spoke with Madelaine I just knew that she was an exceptional person, exceptional actor, and that's what it took to play this part. In the same way, after looking long and hard, we found Froy Gutierrez, who is another wonderful young actor. We wanted a couple who feel natural and relaxed together. Their relationship, maybe it's not identical to the relationship in the original film, but it's something that feels very natural and very real, and that to me was the key to this movie and this trilogy. It's the realism."
The movie also stars Froy Gutierrez (Cruel Summer, Hocus Pocus 2, Teen Wolf).
The director shot all three films simultaneously last year in Slovakia. The first film will be released in 2024.