The Strangers: Chapter 2 is now available to purchase on Digital platforms, and the slasher sequel's post-credits scene has been officially released online (via FearHQ.com).
After narrowly surviving the harrowing events of the previous movie, beleaguered final girl Maya (Madelaine Petsch) wakes up in a hospital, only to come to the realization that her boyfriend has been killed and her nightmare is far from over.
At the end of the Chapter 2, Maya manages to kill one of her attackers - the Stranger in the Pin-Up Girl mask - and escape into the forest.
The post-credits scene is basically the first teaser for Chapter 3, and shows Maya wearing the mask herself. Though her hands do appear to be tied (literally), there's speculation that she will ultimately become Pin-Up Girl's replacement and join the other Strangers on their killing spree.
"So, not to trivialize it or spell it out too much, the second and the third movies are an exploration of where did this come from,” director Renny Harlin said in a 2024 interview with Bloody Disgusting. “More than anything, they are the exploration of what could happen to a person, in this case, a young woman who is the victim of such senseless violence. What does that do to you mentally and physically, and what’s your journey after that? It’s an exploration of that more than anything. And I think that we will answer a lot of the questions that the fans of the original have and then go far beyond that. By the end of the third movie, there are more questions than answers, really."
The official synopsis reads: "The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way."
Harlin shot the entire trilogy back-to-back, but Chapter 3 may not be given a theatrical release after the current movie's underperformance at the box office.
"[It was] the challenge of a lifetime, but I also really embraced it," the filmmaker said in a recent interview. "On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. it was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time"
The Strangers - Chapter 2 was written by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland, based on Characters Created by Bryan Bertino. Courtney Solomon, p.g.a., Mark Canton, p.g.a., Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Alastair Burlingham, and Charlie Dombek are on board as producers. The cast also includes Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath.