The Strangers: Chapter One (2024) is the third movie in The Strangers film series and the first installment of an intended relaunch as a standalone trilogy. With the movie receiving extremely low marks on several review sites we wanted to ask the question: can a film still produce noteworthy scares despite poor reviews from critics? Our test subject is no stranger to horror movies and she was excited to jump in to this new home invasion thriller.

SYNOPSIS:

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.

Where to Watch: Prime Video

Test Subject: Leah

Age: 42

Gender: Female

Fears: Xenophobia or fear of strangers

Resting HR: 60-65bpm

Walking HR: 80-85bpm

ANALYSIS:

A slow, awkward opening introduces several horror cliches that were laughable to us but our subject didn’t seem to mind. Other than a quick heart rate jolt during the opening credits, she sat fairly comfortable for an extended period of time. It wasn’t until the 20:00 mark that we got to see a true escalation of tension and fear. In fact, the slow build of dread produced her peak heart rate of 90bpm. Some of the poor decisions made by our lead actors were once again comedic. At 27:00, after it has been established that there are intruders surrounding the house (no spoilers here), our lead actress decided to smoke a joint. Paranoid much? Then, at one point she takes a shower. Again, a palm to face moment. But did these actions lessen the suspense? Not for our subject. She was still on edge and maintained an increased heart rate for the duration of the middle build. The first hint of gore came almost an hour into the film. This scene nailed a 77bpm spike but numbers began to decrease from this point on. The cat and mouse game began to get old and our subject lost interest in the chase. A slow decline during the finale is visible on our FearScale.

CONCLUSION:

The Strangers: Chapter One (2024) is chock full of poor judgment and bad decisions but through the fiasco we recorded a few heart racing moments. Share on X Even though the film lacked story, award winning performances, or direction, it still produced tension and suspense. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t get us excited for more sequels so we’ll take the quick calorie burn and move on.

The Strangers : Chapter One (2024): Burns an average of 180 Calories

Ketchup: 20 Calories

How many Fear Calories did you burn watching The Strangers: Chapter One (2024) ?  Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook