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The Strangers: Prey at Night turns 5

Published by: IsTamaraHome.net
Date Published: 10 March 2023

It took 10 years. Multiple reboots and cancellations. Promises of a cameo from Liv Tyler and teasing of a trailer park setting. Ten years fans waited for news and they would soon lose hope. And then finally in June 2017, the green light was shone in Covington, Kentucky, and Johannes Roberts brought the sequel to life. The sequel fans had been eagerly waiting for.

Following the success of the original movie, Director Bryan Bertino went to work on a script titled The Strangers 2. It followed a family of four who had been evicted from their home due to a drop in the economy. Whilst looking for somewhere to take refuge, they come upon an old trailer park belonging to a friend of the father’s. What they don’t realise is that The Strangers are there too. Having already killed off Kristen McKay, who just barely survived the events of the first film, they have now moved on to killing whoever was inhabiting the trailer park, including the new family.

It was a fantastic script, and you can read it right here on this site. I remember the first time I’d ever gotten a chance to read it, after searching for it for years, I actually felt like I was in the movie and could feel my heart beating at certain points. So much so if I was an actor, I would’ve wanted to be in the sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel was doomed from Day One. Kip Weeks, Gemma Ward and Laura Margolis were all expected to reprise their roles as The Strangers, and Liv Tyler had read the opening scene in which she dies and was prepared to return too. But the first cancellation came when Universal Studios sold off their child company Rogue Pictures, the company that held the IP for The Strangers film.

Editor of the first film, Kevin Greutert, tried himself to pitch the sequel to different companies, all attempts failed. In his pitches he also intended to pitch himself as the editor of the sequel. Over the next 10 years, the IP of The Strangers kept changing hands and with each change came an announcement of a sequel being greenlit. Laura Margolis, the actress of Pin-Up Girl, received numerous phone calls that the sequel was happening, but with each confirmation came a cancellation not long after. In one case, actress Liv Tyler was even asked if she wanted to direct the sequel, a request she turned down as she was not in a place where she felt ready and able to direct a movie. The IP for the franchise eventually ended up in the hands of Relativity Media. But by 2016, the company was going into bankruptcy and all their assets were being sold off. Including The Strangers.

Enter Johannes Roberts. He had just finished work on a film called 47 Metres Down and was struggling with finding more work. He then had a sit down with The Fyzz Facility, a company that now no longer exists, and it went something along the lines of: “Look Relativity are going into bankruptcy and are doing a fire sale, so we can pick up The Strangers for ‘X’ amount of money” (source: Den of Geek). They knew the first one had done really well and that it’d been some time since the original. But after reading the script, Johannes saw the potential and how he could make it his own, and so the sequel was finally greenlit. The script had been given a heavy rewrite by writer Ben Ketai, and after casting some familiar faces: Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson and Christina Hendricks, and some relatively new faces: Lewis Pullman, Damian Maffei, Lea Enslin and Emma Bellomy, production began in Covington, Kentucky in 2017.

The sequel was released in 2018 to mixed reviews, some loved hit, some hated it, but die hard fans of the original love the sequel and how it takes on the mantra of an 80’s slasher movie. The film ended with most, if not all, of The Strangers dying but there’s one final surprise at the end of the film that indicates one was still alive, but unfortunately even now, five years later, there is still no hope of seeing the alternate ending that was filmed. And whilst it seemed that The Strangers were done and dusted, we are now eagerly awaiting a remake trilogy coming from Lionsgate hopefully in 2023.

The Strangers: Prey at Night was released in 2018 and brought us the likes of Damian Maffei, Lea Enslin and Emma Bellomy, three brilliant actors who took the roles of The Strangers and made them their own. Five years later, people still recognise them for their roles in the film and thanks to Myers House North Carolina, you have a chance to celebrate the five year anniversary with them.

Myers House North Carolina

Kenny Caperton is a fan of the horror movie franchise “Halloween” and is known for his dedication to recreating the iconic Michael Myers house. Kenny’s interest in horror began at a young age, and he became fascinated with the “Halloween” movies in particular. As a result of his fascination, he built a wonderfully accurate replica of the Michael Myers house in North Carolina. In addition to that, he has also started an event called On-Set Cinema.

On-Set Cinema is a rare ongoing film series unlike any other that hosts screenings of cult favourites and horror classics in the locations where they were actually filmed. In July 2023, you’ll have a chance to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Prey at Night with a screening at the actual trailer park where they filmed as well as a meet and greet with Damian Maffei, Lea Enslin and Emma Bellomy.

You can find out more about the event here.

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