Diksha Sundriyal
For a happy couple on a road trip that should lead them to Portland, the world turns upside down one night when they are ambushed by three serial killers who like to hunt their victims. ‘The Strangers Chapter 1’ begins with Ryan and Maya on their way to start a new life for themselves. They make a pit stop at a town called Venus and would have left it if it weren’t for their car breaking down. They are told that the car only be fixed the next day, which means they have to spend a night in the town. They are glad to discover that they can rent a cute cabin for the night, but its secluded location in the woods makes it easier for the killers to target them. Over the course of ninety minutes, we see Ryan and Maya fight for their lives, and just when it seems the worst is over, the mid-credits scene hits the screen. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Mid-Credits Scene Shows Maya is Not Out of the Woods Yet
‘The Strangers’ was incepted as a trilogy, and the inclusion of “Chapter 1” in its title makes it clear that the story is bound to continue in the next movie. It does the job of setting the expectations of the audience when it comes to anticipating the course of events in the film as it unfolds, with the mid-credits scene serving as a confirmation that the story continues, for Maya, at least.
At the end of the movie, despite all their efforts to fight their attackers, Maya and Ryan are captured. They are taken back to the cabin, bound to a chair. This is the point when the couple realizes that they will not be able to get out of this situation, and they might as well accept that this is the day they die. They express their love for each other, and as expected, the attackers, for whom the hunt is finally over, stab both of them. Ryan is the first to be stabbed, and the killer is much more vicious in his case as he turns the knife inside Ryan, making it all the more painful for him. Then, Ryan’s chair is knocked down, and as he falls, he chokes on his own blood and dies right in front of the girl he had proposed to seconds ago.
The night was traumatizing enough for Maya, who blames herself for all this. If it weren’t for her job interview in Portland, they probably wouldn’t have taken this road trip and wouldn’t have ended up in this town. Even when their car broke down, Ryan was suspicious of the townsfolk, believing that they were being scammed into something, but Maya told him not to be paranoid and eagerly accepted the offer to stay in the Airbnb cabin offered to them. If only she had listened to him, they could have escaped this situation. But now, there is no use in blaming herself because the deed is done.
Maya is stabbed by the killer, and her chair is also knocked down. While she is counting her last breaths, a sound of sirens is heard in the distance. This drives away the trio of the masked attackers, and help arrives. This is the result of the 911 call Maya made while she was hiding in the forest before she was found by the villains. If only the help had arrived a few minutes ago, Ryan could have been saved, too, but it is too late for him.
Maya wakes up in a hospital, and it is clear that she will not be going anywhere anytime soon. She has sustained severe injuries and will have to spend at least the next few days in the hospital. One would think that with the cops finding her and Ryan and her landing in the hospital, Maya would be safe now, but the mid-credits scene confirms anything but. As she gets up from the bed, Scarecrow is seen lying next to her, something she doesn’t notice. This shows that the killers aren’t yet done with her, but this also means that Maya has her chance to exact revenge on them.
While she may have been a harmless young woman when she arrived in Venus, the night she spent there has changed everything. She lost the man she was not just in love with but was going to marry and start a new life with once they moved to Portland. The killers traumatized her for life and stole her the future that she could have had with Ryan. When she is tied to the chair and faces certain death, she refuses to beg for her life and slams an f-you to the attackers. Now that she has been rescued, she will want to avenge Ryan. The fact that Maya has been confirmed as the primary protagonist of the following two parts shows that instead of jumping off to other protagonists, the story will pick up with Maya in the hospital. But this time, instead of trying to survive her attackers, Maya will fight back and be more offensive than defensive.
Read More: The Strangers Chapter 1: Is Venus a Real Town in Oregon?
