The Strangers: Chapter 3, the third and final movie in Lionsgate and director Renny Harlin's slasher prequel trilogy, is now in theaters, and the review embargo lifted late last night.
Critics tore the previous two films to shreds, and, not too surprisingly, Chapter 3 hasn't exactly won over many converts.
With 15 reviews counted so far, the movie is currently sitting at 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. Chapter 2 earned a slightly better 14%, while the first instalment managed to reach 21%. 2008's original The Strangers is at 50%, while 2018 sequel Prey at Night scored 40%.
Possible spoilers follow.
At the end of the Chapter 2, beleaguered final girl Maya (Madelaine Petsch) 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,” 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."
Check out some of the reviews and reactions at the links below, along with the opening scene.