The Strangers: Chapter 2, Picks and Piques, Hollywood Film Review, Johnson Thomas
Hollywood Film Review
Johnson Thomas
Hollow recompense
Film: The Strangers: Chapter 2 Two Towers
Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Richard Brake, Rachel Shenton, Brooke Lena Johnson, Froy Gutierrez, Florian Clare, Janis Ahern, Pablo Sandstrom
Director: Renny Harlin
Rating: * *
Runtime: 98 min.
Renny Harlin’s second instalment of his intended three chapter universe of The Strangers is quite a let down. “Two Towers” merely exist as a stepping stone for the third chapter and there’s neither logic or sense going in.
This middle chapter has nothing new to depict. The masked figures are there but their appearance is drawn on past memory. We get a segment of flashbacks telling us what happened previously. Maya has survived the attack from the first film, and begins to wonder if everyone around her might be one of the masked figures who killed her fiancé and tried to kill her. Even the Sheriff (Richard Brake), acts shady and is made out to be a suspect here.
Maya (Madelaine Petsch) is in a state of perpetual flight. Her shift from a dark cabin to a sterile hospital room is not without its demons either. Her ordeal doesn’t seem to have an end. So Maya ends up stalked by the strangers again. And its an ongoing never ending nightmare where she escapes repeatedly and finds herself at the mercy of Strangers and a giant CGI wild boar.
The film opens with statistics about random violence and then goes on to contradict that by giving the menacing strangers a sociopathic back story that hints at being somewhat connected to Maya. Harlin is obviously trying to juice up the narrative by throwing in red herrings along the route.
Harlin orchestrates a brisk tempo and has a visual style that is brighter, less mean and leaner than that of the original film. The atmosphere doesn’t drum up anxiety or fear in the audience. Maya’s nightmare unfolds across the hostile environments of the hospital, the Oregon woods, and the confines of an ambulance. It’s all presented in a harried style mimicking a sort of frenzy but it fails to connect emotionally. Harlin’ shots vary between impressive and mediocre and the inconsistencies in this telling make it a hard to watch movie.
Madelaine Petsch’s sincere effort is in vain here. There’s not much dialogue to lend sense, instead the focus is on Maya/Petsch’s ability to communicate her fears while she goes from victim to active survivor. The performance comes across as hollow because there’s nothing in the narrative to hold on to.
The film is impressively mounted, Renny Harlin’s direction is reminiscent of his big budget action films but it’s not enough to grab your attention and hold you in thrall.
Johnsont307@gmail.com
Johnson Thomas
Hollow recompense
Film: The Strangers: Chapter 2 Two Towers
Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Richard Brake, Rachel Shenton, Brooke Lena Johnson, Froy Gutierrez, Florian Clare, Janis Ahern, Pablo Sandstrom
Director: Renny Harlin
Rating: * *
Runtime: 98 min.
Renny Harlin’s second instalment of his intended three chapter universe of The Strangers is quite a let down. “Two Towers” merely exist as a stepping stone for the third chapter and there’s neither logic or sense going in.
This middle chapter has nothing new to depict. The masked figures are there but their appearance is drawn on past memory. We get a segment of flashbacks telling us what happened previously. Maya has survived the attack from the first film, and begins to wonder if everyone around her might be one of the masked figures who killed her fiancé and tried to kill her. Even the Sheriff (Richard Brake), acts shady and is made out to be a suspect here.
Maya (Madelaine Petsch) is in a state of perpetual flight. Her shift from a dark cabin to a sterile hospital room is not without its demons either. Her ordeal doesn’t seem to have an end. So Maya ends up stalked by the strangers again. And its an ongoing never ending nightmare where she escapes repeatedly and finds herself at the mercy of Strangers and a giant CGI wild boar.
The film opens with statistics about random violence and then goes on to contradict that by giving the menacing strangers a sociopathic back story that hints at being somewhat connected to Maya. Harlin is obviously trying to juice up the narrative by throwing in red herrings along the route.
Harlin orchestrates a brisk tempo and has a visual style that is brighter, less mean and leaner than that of the original film. The atmosphere doesn’t drum up anxiety or fear in the audience. Maya’s nightmare unfolds across the hostile environments of the hospital, the Oregon woods, and the confines of an ambulance. It’s all presented in a harried style mimicking a sort of frenzy but it fails to connect emotionally. Harlin’ shots vary between impressive and mediocre and the inconsistencies in this telling make it a hard to watch movie.
Madelaine Petsch’s sincere effort is in vain here. There’s not much dialogue to lend sense, instead the focus is on Maya/Petsch’s ability to communicate her fears while she goes from victim to active survivor. The performance comes across as hollow because there’s nothing in the narrative to hold on to.
The film is impressively mounted, Renny Harlin’s direction is reminiscent of his big budget action films but it’s not enough to grab your attention and hold you in thrall.
Johnsont307@gmail.com
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