Don’t Breathe hit theaters over the weekend, and it seems to have struck a chord with moviegoers. It has impressed critics and topped the box office, so it got me thinking; what else can I and other horror movie fans do to satisfy our home invasion horror movie craving?
Never fear, because there are quite a few horror movies out there involving home invasions. Here are my faves:
The Collector (2009)
This movie is pretty gruesome. A man doing helping with maintenance at a family’s home is revealed in the beginning to actually be (SPOILER ALERT) casing the residence to break in while the family is away on vacation. He follows through with his plan, but after he’s inside, he finds himself in a house rigged with Saw-like booby traps and the family being tortured. It’s pretty crazy, but if you can’t take so-called “torture porn,” you might want to watch this one with your finger on the fast forward button.
The Strangers (2008)
This movie gets a lot of flack for the poor decisions made by the lead characters played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, but I still love this movie. An on-the-rocks couple is spending some time at an isolated house, and terror comes knocking on their door in the form of a skinny, young lady looking for “Tamara.” She ain’t, and soon the lady and a few other masked creeps begin to freak the hell out of the couple and (SPOILER ALERT) ultimately kill them in a “gut-wrenching” way.
That was a pun I just made.
Silent House (2011)
Elizabeth Olson is helping her father and uncle renovate a cabin to get ready for its sale and soon becomes isolated from them. She gets trapped inside with intruders and has to try out a few hiding places in the house. I don’t want to give anything else away, so just watch it. This one is creepy and filled with some great twists and turns.
The Purge (2013)
The Purge movies have become pretty popular, and although I like Anarchy and Election Year better than the first, it’s still a pretty great example of home invasion horror. Even a super-rich family with all sorts of security measures protecting their home isn’t safe from annual purgers after their son lets in a man trying to escape being murdered.
High Tension (2003)
This is one of my favorite French horror movies, and I love the craziness of it all. A woman travels to her family’s country home to visit and brings along her friend. They’re brutally attacked, and the thrill ride that follows is so stressful and insane. I love it.
That’s only a small portion of home invasion horror movies out there. If you run through those, you can try The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, or the French movies Martyrs or Inside. I haven’t seen Inside yet, but I plan on remedying that within the next week or so.
And I only recommend Martyrs if you’re ready to be messed up for a little while. That movie, man. It’s rough.