A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Positive Messages
none
Movie opens with sobering statistics about violent crime in the United States but doesn't really do anything with that or comment on the violence; instead, it just provides more fictional violence.
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Positive Role Models
very little
It's made clear that Maya is the hero of this movie and the ultimate trilogy, which is probably why she survives (it seems mainly due to luck). She has a couple of good ideas that help temporarily, but she also has some poor ideas (like taking a shower after the creepy stuff starts happening).
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Diverse Representations
very little
Although we know that a woman will eventually become the hero of the three-part series, she's not any more prominent than a man here. A White couple is at the center of this story, and the two characters are in almost every scene, either together or separately. Background characters in a small town appear to all be White; other characters are masked throughout.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Killings. Guns and shooting. Knives and stabbing. Oozing pools of blood, bloody wounds. Characters are punched and knocked unconscious. Jump scares. Threats/menace. Character is impaled with an ax off-screen (there's a sickening "thunk"). Blood drips from a dead animal that's hanging from light fixture. Character impales hand on nail. Ax smashes through doors. Motorcycle explodes, bursts into flames. Characters trip over things, injured. A woman is attacked from behind, grabbed around throat. Decomposing skull. Vehicles crash into each other and up against a tree, with a person trapped inside. Character threatened with lug wrench.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Flirting, passionate kissing. A couple begin undressing but are interrupted. Suggestive dialogue. Couple lie on a couch in their underwear, implying post-sex cuddling. A woman spends several scenes wearing a long-sleeved button-up shirt and no pants.
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Language
a lot
Several uses of "f--k" and "s--t," plus "motherf----r," "ass," "hell," "oh my God." Middle-finger gesture.
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Products & Purchases
very little
Ally banking app shown and mentioned. Budweiser beers shown.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
some
Main character smokes pot; another character suggests that its effects may have caused her to "see things." Main characters drink beer, and there are empty tequila mini-bottles. Secondary character smokes a cigarette.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the third movie in a home invasion horror franchise that started in 2008—but it's also the first film in a new standalone trilogy. It's more of the same, with lots of killings, dead bodies, guns and shooting, stabbings, bloody wounds, pools of blood, and threats. A person is killed with an ax, a woman is grabbed by the throat, someone gets trapped in a smashed car, there's an explosion, characters are knocked unconscious, etc. Words like "f--k" and "s--t" are used fairly often, along with "motherf----r," "ass," "hell," and "oh my God." Characters flirt, kiss passionately, and start to undress each other but are interrupted. Half-dressed characters lie on a couch, suggesting that sex has taken place. People drink beer and tequila and smoke pot, and a secondary character smokes a cigarette. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
In THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are taking a road trip to celebrate their fifth anniversary. They stop for lunch in the small town of Venus, Oregon, but when they get back to their car, it won't start. A local mechanic (Ben Cartwright) informs them that he has to send out for a part. A server at the café, Shelly (Ema Horvath), drives them to an Airbnb where they can spend the night. At first, it seems like a romantic evening, but trouble starts when a creepy figure knocks at the door and asks for someone who isn't there. Then Ryan has to head back to town to find his inhaler, and Maya begins seeing strange masked figures everywhere. When one of them attacks her, the couple realize that they're in for the fight of their lives.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Strangers: Chapter I's violence. Why do you think the movie opens with the crawl about the frequency of violent crimes in the United States? What do you think the movie is trying to say about violence?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
What's the appeal of the "home invasion" horror subgenre?
How are alcohol and pot represented? Is substance use glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?
How does this movie compare with its predecessors? Does it try anything new?
Movie Details
- In theaters: May 17, 2024
- Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Ema Horvath
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Latino actors
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 91 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: horror violence, language and brief drug use
- Last updated: June 9, 2024
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