How To Watch The Strangers Movies In Order

Bryan Bertino's 2008 film "The Strangers" came at a time when ultra-bleak, nihilistic horror movies were very much in vogue. The post-9/11 era was a dark time for horror, and many films were hitting theaters that stressed the absurdity of life and the randomness of cruelty. These films dealt directly with torture and pain and how those things sometimes just intersect with your life, unexpectedly. The "Saw" movies, the "Hostel" films, "Wolf Creek," "Captivity," "Buried," "Martyrs," the remake of "The Last House on the Left," "Funny Games" — these films were all predicated on harm. 

"The Strangers" is a home invasion flick wherein a couple, in an awkward spot because of a stalled marriage proposal, find themselves being stalked and tormented by three masked killers who have broken into their home. When asked why they're inflicting pain on their victims, they merely reply, "Because you were home." Victims are selected randomly by fate. There is no justice in the world. 

That post-9/11 nihilism may be dated in the 2020s, but the "Strangers" film property was revived in 2018 and has since worked its way through a trilogy of myth-forward movies that explore the origins of the Strangers. The Strangers in question are nicknamed Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl, and they have been played by various actors throughout the franchise. 

The formula for the first two "Strangers" films is similar: The torturers target their victims and stalk them in a remote area where no one can help them. Bertino's movie takes place in an isolated cabin, but Johannes Roberts' 2018 sequel, "The Strangers: Prey at Night," unfolds across an entire abandoned neighborhood. However, Renny Harlin's "The Strangers" trilogy (released from 2024-2026) reboots the property to tell its own story. Hence, you're best off watching all five films in their release order.

That release order is as follows: 

• The Strangers (2008)
• The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
• The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
• The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025)
• The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026)

As mentioned earlier, the "Strangers" movies do not form a consistent continuity (see: their peculiar numbering system). For example, "The Strangers" and "The Strangers: Prey at Night" exist in the same timeline, with "Prey at Night" taking place after the events of the former. Yet, when it comes to your watch order, even this can be fudged, as the films have few connections to each other.

Case in point: The victims in "The Strangers" are played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, with Kip Weeks, Gemma Ward, and Laura Margolis portraying the killers. "Prey at Night," on the other hand, focuses on a family of four (Lewis Pullman, Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison) terrorized by the same killers, now played by Damein Maffei, Emma Bellomy, and Lea Enslin.

Meanwhile, Renny Harlin's "The Strangers" trilogy unfolds in a new continuity. Moreover, all three films feature the same actors (including Madelaine Petsch, Ema Horvath, and Gabriel Basso) and were even shot back-to-back-to-back by Harlin.

That said, it's surely appropriate that the Strangers aren't played consistently by the same actors. After all, they are "strangers." They should be anonymous. Once we get to know them, they can't be strangers anymore, and this property's trademark nihilism would no longer be present. The killers shouldn't be identifiable, and they shouldn't have motivations.

Of course, Harlin's movies undo a lot of that by introducing plot points and flashbacks explaining why the Strangers do what they do, and how they came to do it together. Oh well.

Because Renny Harlin's "The Strangers" trilogy was filmed all at once, that pretty much ensured that Lionsgate would release them all. The "Strangers" franchise has been very profitable for its backers, as they tend to be very cheap to produce. Indeed, "The Strangers" brought in $82.4 million at the box office on a $9 million budget, while "The Strangers: Prey at Night" made $31 million in theaters on a $5 million budget. There's a reason why this property has kept on rolling along.

Even the abysmal "The Strangers: Chapter 1" was a financial success, raking in over $48 million at the box office on a trim $8.5 million budget. The equally bad "The Strangers: Chapter 2," was less of a phenom, admittedly, only bringing in $22 million theatrically against its identical $8.5 million budget. Finally, the trilogy bottomed out with "The Strangers: Chapter 3," which only grossed about $10 million in theaters. Harlin was able to tantalize viewers at first, but "The Strangers: Chapter 1" was so bad that few seemed interested in seeing how its follow-ups played out. 

It doesn't help that the "Strangers" concept is stronger when it's stripped-down and lean. Expanding it into a series of elaborate, interconnected films didn't do the franchise any favors.

This means that we may be done with "The Strangers" in perpetuity. The original 2008 film was a product of its time, a reflection of the darkness and hopelessness the public felt in the mid-to-late 2000s. Of course, as wars rage around the world and corrupt, tyrannical leaders gain power in various countries, perhaps our bleak nihilism will return and the Strangers will have a place in our hearts in the future. (Provided our hearts become filled with despair.)