The Strangers – Chapter 2’s Madelaine Petsch on Making Horror Sequel Feel Different | Interview
ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to The Strangers – Chapter 2’s Madelaine Petsch about starring in the new Lionsgate horror sequel movie. Petsch discussed why filming all three Strangers movies was the biggest challenge of her career thus far, her other upcoming movie titled Maintenance Required, and more.
“The Strangers are back – more brutal and relentless than ever,” the official synopsis reads. “When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.”
The Strangers – Chapter 2 will be released in United States theaters on September 26, 2025, from Lionsgate.
Brandon Schreur: To start, I’d love to just hear a little bit about your relationship with The Strangers franchise. Obviously, there were the two movies that came before this new trilogy. Were you a fan of those before you signed onto this project? What about joining the greater Strangers franchise were you most excited about?
Madelaine Petsch: So I watched every horror film at my local Blockbuster as a kid, because I was just obsessed with that genre. The Strangers was that film that really stuck out to me. I watched it home alone for the first time. There’s actually a clip of me somewhere on the internet where I talk about how much I love that movie long before I made these movies — so it’s true, I promise.
I think, originally, getting The Strangers in my inbox — like, Lionsgate, The Strangers trilogy — I was like, ‘What the f— is this?’ Then I opened it, I read it, and I was like, ‘If anyone is going to remake these movies, it better be me because I love them so much. I’m going to do my best to give them justice.’ And the format made sense to me. I’ve always wondered what happened after Liv Tyler opened her eyes in the original film. And that’s the question we’re trying to answer, or is our own take on that, with these movies. So we kind of had to remake the first one in order for her to get to how crazy it was for her to continue through the experience. Obviously, it’s two different characters, but that’s why we did it. To play around with idealizing what that would look like.
I was a fan of the original — massively, massively a fan of the original, but it’s fun to have our own take or our own spin on this universe.
Yeah, totally. Speaking of having your own take, I loved the first chapter, but I loved Chapter 2 because it feels different. It opens things up to the rest of the world — it’s a deadly game of hide-and-seek that’s going on through this whole town, and I was really into it. Was that something that surprised you when you read the script for the first time? How do you feel that Chapter 2 is different than Chapter 1?
I’m so happy it is because I think you can’t make three home invasion movies with the same characters. That’s just completely uninteresting. Also, when I read Chapter 2, I was like, ‘Oh my god, she is in the woods the entire movie, literally fighting for her life.’ And I was excited. It’s so fun, as an artist, to play, and some of the things that I do in this film — I’m sure you can imagine what I’m talking about — I probably will never do again in my career. My job is to play, as an adult, which is the coolest thing in the world. There’s so much variety in these films.
I think, also, the first one that we made is, of course, going to be compared to the original because it is the exact same format. This is such a different format. I think it will kind of transport audiences out of comparison and into almost an escapism into a whole new world. That’s what we’re hoping for.
Sure. I heard a little bit about how you guys filmed these, doing all three at the same time. When I talked to Renny Harlin last week, he said he would absolutely do that again — there were some challenges that came up, but he’d do it again, no sweat. Do you feel the same? If there was an opportunity in your career to do this again, shoot three movies back-to-back-to-back, would you jump in again, or was once enough?
It’s different for a director than it is for an actor, my dear. For a director, you have to have a good idea, but for an actor, you’ve got to really know what’s going on. I think it was one of those things where I’m so happy to have had the experience to do it. It was literally the biggest challenge in my career. It’s very early in my career, and I acknowledge that, so I’m sure there will be larger challenges later on.
If it was for the right role, where it really called for it — like Boyhood, where they had to shoot it because that kid was going to grow up. If it was integral to the story for me to do three movies at once, I absolutely would do it if I love the story. But I think, in terms of this, it was such a crazy behemoth that it’s a one-time experience for me. I have too much knowledge now to do it again.
That makes total sense. Madelaine, The Strangers – Chapter 2 isn’t the only movie you have coming out. I know you have another movie, Maintenance Required, coming out right at the same time, too. I’ve seen the trailer, it looks really good, and I can’t wait. Can you tell me a little bit about your character and what we can expect from that movie?
I’d love to! I love this movie, it’s so near and dear to my heart. It’s about a young girl, Charlie, who runs an all-female mechanic shop. The funnest part, to me — if you can’t tell, I love a challenge, and I got to go and actually learn how to fix cars before I did the movie. What a fun experience for me to get paid to do that. So, it’s about a young girl who runs a mechanic shop with an all-female team. She has a competitor opening up across the street, who she can’t compete with their prices. So she’s basically in this David and Goliath war with him, while simultaneously in an online relationship who happens to be the person opening the shop across the street.
It’s very You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner kind of themes, but it’s new and improved modern-tale of that, basically. It’s sweet and it’s charming, and I like that we turned the trope around on its head. I think, oftentimes, in rom-coms, it’s the man who doesn’t want the relationship, and it’s the girl who is really chasing after him. In this, it’s very clear that Charlie is the one who doesn’t want the relationship, and Beau is trying to change her mind.
Thanks to Madelaine Petsch for taking the time to discuss The Strangers – Chapter 2.
Source: Comingsoon.net