<em>'The Strangers: Chapter 1'</em> is a let-down. It sets the scene well with some tension and is held together by a strong score, visually in terms of cinematography and literally in the case of the masks it is fairly effective too but the film doesn't really do enough - with those aforementioned positives and just in general. It starts onscreen by describing forthcoming events as "brutal", yet by the end I don't really feel like I saw anything all that noteworthy; just your standard horror fare, at best, really. Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez are good in the lead roles I will say...