THE STRANGERS: Film Director Renny Harlin Set to Remake 2008 Horror Film for Lionsgate

Renny Harlin is Back in Action with a Remake of The Strangers

Action/horror movie director Renny Harlin will be coming back into the spotlight with a remake of 2008’s hit scarefest, The Strangers.

A new series of three, yes three, films spun off of the 2008 box-office hit movie, The Strangers, are going into production for Lionsgate. This trifecta of movies will all be directed by the one and only action movie genius, Renny Harlin.

Acclaimed filmmaker Harlin came on to the movie scene in a big way when he directed the 1988 Freddy Krueger horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master. Who knew Harlin was destined to become one of the best action movie directors ever? Soon, he directed Bruce Willis in the blockbuster sequel, Die Hard 2 in 1990, and he was automatically deemed a master of the art of directing action pictures. In 1993, he directed Sylvester “Sly” Stallone in Cliffhanger, but it was when he made The Long Kiss Goodnight in 1996 that people knew that Harlin was a filmmaker to contend with. In The Long Kiss Goodnight, Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson were at the top of their game in an action picture which was relentless and intense, and left action audiences breathless.

While Harlin has dabbled in a couple of different genres over the years, he is returning to his horror movie roots in a big way with the three forthcoming The Strangers movies. In the original 2008 movie, The Strangers, Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman were terrified characters when some masked crazies came to terrorize them at a home in the middle of nowhere. The results at the box-office were impressive with the movie taking home over $52 million domestically. This remake coming up that Harlin is helming will take place at an Airbnb in Oregon where a couple stays when their car breaks down.

The casting of the first new The Strangers movie has included a nice surprise. Madelaine Petsch will be starring in the movie. You may know Petsch as her character Cheryl Blossom from the hit show, “Riverdale.” She seems a natural fit for a frightfest of a horror movie such as this one.

The original The Strangers and its 2018 sequel didn’t fare extraordinarily well with CinemaScore audiences. The original scored just a “B-” while the sequel, Strangers: Prey at Night got a wobbly “C.” However, many viewers of these films were terrified by the movies and on that basis alone, the scariness factor made the movies successful because they did what they set out to do, CinemaScore grades, aside.

Renny Harlin can be a master craftsman as his The Long Kiss Goodnight is one of the most well-received action movies of all-time. Can he breathe new life into the upcoming The Strangers trilogy? We shall see as the first project rolls into production in Slovakia.

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