‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’ offers Madelaine Petsch a new experience

Though Madelaine Petsch’s latest film, “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” is a Pacific Northwest film in name only, with Slovakia standing in for Oregon, she has deep roots in both the genre and region. Specifically, she got her comprehensive cinematic horror education via a Blockbuster across from a Taco Bell in the small town of Port Orchard, where she was born.

“I made it my mission to see every horror film in my local Blockbuster by the age of, like 15, so I’ve seen all the ones up to I’d say probably 2009 or 2010. That was a really important thing to me,” Petsch said in an interview. “I loved ‘The Conjuring.’ I remember thinking it was absolutely incredible. I watched the 2008 original ‘The Strangers.’ I watched that home alone and that was the worst experience of my life, but also the best experience of my life because here we are.” 

Now, Petsch is leading not just a horror movie of her own, but three of them in rapid succession. “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” coming to theaters this week, is just the first in a new trilogy in the horror series that will be followed by “The Strangers: Chapter 2” and “The Strangers: Chapter 3.” The first begins with Petsch’s Maya driving with her boyfriend, Froy Gutierrez’s Ryan, through the Pacific Northwest with plans to start a new chapter in their lives together. They get more than bargained for when their car breaks down and, of course, end up staying the night at a remote cabin. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, quite a bit. Specifically, the start of three movies’ worth of unexpected visitors who love just one thing: killing.

Petsch was integral to helping the film come together. Not only is she the lead, but she helped shape it after first getting sent a 290-page script in July 2021.

“There were things that I thought weren’t right on the page, so I met with [producer] Courtney [Solomon] and [director] Renny [Harlin]. I was, like, ‘Hey guys, I love this, this is why I think I’m her’ — kind of selling them on me,” Petsch recalled. “About six minutes in they were, like, ‘Cool, you’re Maya. That’s very clear to us. What are all the notes you have? Can you give them to us?’ ”

From there, Petsch flew to Slovakia and assisted in rewriting the script through preproduction. Though she had helped produce films before, this was a new experience in terms of scale.

“I was on set every night, and after, we’d wrap, rewriting scenes for the next day,” Petsch said. “I just got so much autonomy in the craft and the art of filmmaking to a degree that I’d never thought I would get from this experience ever. … I’m just learning so much about the process and it’s really exciting.”

All of this represents the culmination of Petsch’s passion that began in the real Pacific Northwest. In addition to the now-closed Blockbuster, she also attended the Tacoma School of the Arts. While showing her latest horror series there may be something a little too bloody for the younger students, Petsch joked that she is still waiting on an invite to speak at a graduation. 

“Tacoma School of the Arts was such a formative experience for me. … It gives you a lot of autonomy and freedom as a teenager and really teaches you to lean into your art. There are so many little places in Washington that obviously made me who I am today and that I hold in such a deep and sacred part of my heart.” 

Carrying those parts of Washington with her, Petsch said she always wants to keep pushing herself out of her comfort zone — it’s what she loves about being an artist. Following this new horror series, that means finding a new project outside the genre that could maybe be back home. 

“I’m going to step away from the horror genre for a little bit, I think. [It was the] same with [the CW TV show] ‘Riverdale.’ That was such a big thing that made such a cultural impact, positive or negative, and this is also a big thing,” Petsch said. “However, I would adore shooting back in my hometown. I would love to live where I grew up and be able to shoot in Bremerton or Seattle or Tacoma.”