STORYLINE:  In the climactic conclusion of the “Strangers” trilogy, the survivors seeking rehabilitation from their past encounters with the masked strangers are thrust back into a fight for survival. Amidst their struggle, they uncover unsettling secrets that threaten to alter their fate, blurring the line between life and death.  (IMDb)

     In the grand scheme of cinena, when a film strikes gold, a way to cash in is with the prequel.  Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) kicked off the Star Wars prequel trilogy.  The Alien franchise added a prequel to its ranks with Prometheus, in 2012.  The horror film X (2022) had a prequel, Pearl, released that same year. This February weekend, horror franchise The Strangers, releases the third entry in its prequel trilogy, The Strangers: Chapter 3.

    Shock value has its place in horror. That place is there to support the story. Films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece Psycho, or 1973’s The Exorcist, from director William Friedkkin, both incorporate shock value into their films, as a way to support the story.  This creates some authentic scares, within each film.  The Strangers: Chapter 3 goes for the unfortunate reverse. This film has the story there to support the shock value.  It does this with gory, violence  throughout the feature. Ninety one minutes of this tactic created a film with artificial scares, that could not end soon enough.

     Telling stories, in a prequel, is a tricky thing to do.  In a sense, an ending has already been established.  The Strangers prequel trilogy, did well in telling its own story.  The viewer gets the back story to the original 2008 movie, while telling three stories that can be enjoyed if you are not aware of the events of the original material. One, just has to be a gan of the presentation of the material.

   The Strangers: Chapter 3 is a shock value prequel that focuses more on shocking the audience, with its violence and gore. 

   Until next time I will see you at the movies!