Movies The Strangers: Chapter 1 trailer recreates scariest moments from original film The first entry in a new trilogy of horror movies from "Cliffhanger" director stars "Riverdale" actress Madelaine Petsch. By Clark Collis Clark Collis Senior Writer EW's editorial guidelines Published on March 1, 2024 01:02PM EST Writer-director Bryan Bertino's 2008 home invasion movie The Strangers features a clutch of truly terrifying moments. These include the point when a masked character appears out of the shadows to observe an oblivious Liv Tyler, and the climactic revelation as to why Tyler's character and her Scott Speedman-played boyfriend have been targeted by the film's trip of killers. ("Because you were home.") Both of those horror highlights are referenced in the just-released trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 1 (out May 17), the first film in a trilogy of movies inspired by the 2008 original. The Strangers: Chapter 1 stars Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez as a couple who stop at a remote vacation rental in the woods during a road trip and become the prey of a mysterious gang of masked strangers who attack without warning or reason. The titular masked murderers return in 'The Strangers: Chapter 1'. John Armour/Lionsgate This new trilogy was directed by Cliffhanger and Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin, who last year told EW that overseeing the Slovakia-shot production was "the challenge of a lifetime." "On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter," he said. "It was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the makeup and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time." The Strangers: Chapter 1 costars Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath. The film will be released in theaters this May 17. Watch the trailer for The Strangers: Chapter 1 below. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: The home-invading killers are back in first look at multi-movie horror saga The Strangers Trilogy There's nothing wonderful about Tigger in sequel to viral Winnie-the-Pooh horror movie Nicolas Cage's Longlegs teaser gives us 85 seconds of gnomic terror Melissa Barrera says Scream VII firing was 'shocking,' calls Jenna Ortega a 'good egg' Director of horror film Stopmotion thinks tiny puppets are scary as hell