Gold Nails, They Could Never Make Me Hate You
Directed by Renny Harlin
Starring Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Richard Brake
Released February 6th, 2026
Rated R
Horror fans had a lot to say about The Strangers: Chapter 1 after it hit theaters, and the filmmakers listened. Fan feedback led to a month of reshoots (reportedly a week for Chapter 2 and three for Chapter 3). I’ve read that originally the follow up films were focused on the local police investigating the murders, and the rewrites instead put the focus on exploring the identities of the killers. I’d love to read the original scripts. It would be neat to see what changed. I wonder if the additional week of filming for Chapter 2 included the boar attack? That’s right, The Strangers: Chapter 2 has a long scene in the woods during which our heroine Maya (Madelaine Petsch), the only survivor of a vicious attack that left her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) dead, is mauled by a wild boar. It’s a crazy scene that comes out of nowhere, certainly something we are not used to seeing in a slasher film.
Chapter 2 picks up from the end of Chapter 1, with Maya in the hospital, still being stalked by masked killers. For horror movie fans, this of course evokes some pretty strong Halloween 2 vibes. Eventually Maya escapes the hospital and is picked up by some Venus, Oregon locals, who take her back to their apartment while they try to figure out what to do next. Maya understandably doesn’t trust them, as any of them could be the murderers behind those masks. In a surprising turn, we are treated to flashbacks where we learn some disturbing backstory about the killers. That’s something that’s never been done in this franchise before. The rest of Chapter 2, which is devoid of dialog for long passages, plays like one long chase scene. The tension is high, but Chapter 2 doesn’t feel like a complete experience when watching it by itself. Much like Chapter 1, the ending is not really an ending, the movie just stops and the credits roll.
By the time we get to The Strangers: Chapter 3, it’s pretty evident that the title refers to the people who come to the small town of Venus, Oregon, and not the killers themselves. We learn a lot about the histories of Dollface (Ella Bruccoleri), Pin Up Girl (Ema Horvath) and Scarecrow (Gabriel Basso), and what led to them spending their years viciously stabbing random people to death. It’s revealed that the murders have been covered up and enabled by Sheriff Rotter (Richard Brake), who has a connection to one of the killers. There are some truly brutal scenes that take place in a motel, and lots of tension involving the fate of Maya’s sister Debbie (Rachel Shinton) who shows up searching for her missing sibling. I appreciate how cruel the movie gets with its characters. Nobody is safe. The final scenes may not be what you’re expecting, and they lead to a host of questions about where these characters will go next. But I was overall happy with how the filmmakers chose to end the story.
I enjoyed Chapter 3 a lot more than Chapter 2, mostly because of what Madelaine Petsch does with Maya. By this point she’s been through the wringer many times over. She’s been attacked and attacked others, she’s lost blood and spilled the blood of others. At times, she comes across as utterly defeated, standing motionless while horrors happen around her. Other times she’s a wild animal, slashing and yelling. Petsch is the MVP of this trilogy. I read that at the premiere of Chapter 3, they screened a surprise special edition of all three films edited together into one (almost four hour) experience! I bet that would be a wonderful way to watch this story. It would save that second film, and by the third you’d be as exhausted as the characters. I would love for them to release this supercut on Blu-ray or 4K.
If they do make that version available, perhaps I’ll do a supercut of my own, editing together my review of The Strangers: Chapter 1, which covers my thoughts on The Strangers (2008), The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), and The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) and this review you’ve just read, which covers The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025) and The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026). As it is, I think Chapter 3 sticks the landing. It’s not necessarily surprising where the story goes, but it feels like a well earned conclusion. The idea to make a trilogy like this is neat, and I think director Renny Harlin and company have pulled off something pretty cool for horror movie fans.