10 TERRIFYING Horror Movie Openings (That Led To Disappointing Movies)
1. The Strangers - Chapter 2
Upon release, 2024’s The Strangers - Chapter 1 was seen as a watered-down but obligatory loose retelling of the 2008 original that would allow its two sequels to have fresher and bolder approaches. Thus, many people watched The Strangers - Chapter 2 skeptically but eager to see what director Renny Harlin and company could cook up when left to their own devices.
The answer is a meandering 90-minute chase sequence with virtually no plot progression, suspense, rational decision-making, or gratifying carnage. In fact, it’s more pointless, illogical, and aggravating than its predecessor, with one of the most laughably weird scenes of 2025 – the boar attack – and a total lack of resolution before ending with a whimper rather than a bang.
By no means revolutionary, the multipart opening of The Strangers - Chapter 2 does set up a significantly scarier experience. In a nutshell, it portrays waitress Shelly – later revealed to be Pin-Up Girl – targeting the murderous trio’s next victim, Frank Quincanoh, so that they can lure him into the woods and butcher him.
The cold and rainy setting makes their remorseless cruelty doubly distressing, as does showing both Pin-Up Girl and Dollface rubbing their faces on Scarecrow like cats – or brainwashed cultists – ready to do their leader’s bidding.
It’s a real shame that The Strangers - Chapter 2 never again depicts such creepy and primal savagery.