<P> Originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007, it was postponed before a theatrical release on May 30, 2008 . It grossed $82 million at the box office worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its atmosphere and tension, and others criticizing its script and characters . Contemporary film scholars have interpreted it as a criticism of the perceived safety of pastoral life, as well as an exploration of stranger - on - stranger violence . A sequel, titled The Strangers: Prey at Night, was released ten years later in March 2018 . </P> <P> James Hoyt and his girlfriend Kristen McKay arrive at James' childhood summer home, tired and irritable after a long evening at a friend's wedding reception . It is revealed through flashback that while they were there, James proposed to Kristen and she refused . James calls his friend Mike and asks him to come pick him up in the morning . Shortly after 4 a.m., there is a knock at the door, surprising since the house is so remote and far from any civilization . A young blonde woman, whose face is obscured by low lighting, asks for Tamara . When told that she is at the wrong house, she leaves with the casual caveat that she will "see them later ." </P> <P> Due to the tension between them, James leaves to go for a drive and purchase a pack of cigarettes for Kristen; before he departs, he starts a fire in the hearth . Shortly after he leaves, Kristen realizes the chimney flue is closed, and attempts to open it; while she does this, smoke emanating from the fire triggers a smoke alarm . Kristen attempts to disarm the smoke alarm when she is startled by another knock at the door; she drops the alarm on the floor and retreats to the bedroom, unnerved . She calls James' cellphone from the landline, but their call is cut short . When she returns to the living room, she sees the smoke alarm now sitting on a chair, and realizes someone else has been in the house . When she hears a noise from the backyard, she arms herself with a knife, and opens the curtains to find a man wearing a sack mask, staring at her . Panicked, she stumbles into the hallway, and watches as the front door opens . When she goes to push the door closed, she sees the blonde woman outside, now wearing a doll mask . After locking the door, Kristen hides in the bedroom and hears people outside banging violently against the walls of the house . </P> <P> The noise eventually stops and James returns to the house . After she explains what has happened, he finds his car ransacked and the blonde woman watching him from afar . His phone has also had its battery stolen and he realizes the house has been breached . The couple attempt to leave in James' car but a third masked stranger in a pin - up girl mask rear - ends them with a pickup truck, forcing them to flee . Back inside the house, Kristen and James find a shotgun and wait for the intruders in a bedroom . One of the strangers puts a country record on the turntable, filling the house with music . </P>

What happens in the end of the strangers