It’s everybody’s worst nightmare. You’re chilling in your home. Safe under your sheets. But that’s what you thought. There’s someone else in your house. Dun dun duuun.
In case you actually face a home invasion someday (but *fingers crossed* we’re hoping you don’t), take notes from these 10 best home invasion movies to see how you can survive an attack from intruders.
Top 10 Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time
Panic Room (2002)
In this thriller film, we see Jodie Foster and a young Kristen Stewart play a mother and daughter duo under attack from a group of thieves who gained access to their townhouse one rainy night.
Faced with such a big threat, they put their new panic room to good use. Unfortunately, these thieves have tricks up their own sleeves. Will they manage to get into the panic room specifically designed to deter attacks like these? Will Foster and Stewart outsmart their assailants?
Watch one of the best movies about home invasion to find out.
You’re Next (2013)
A group of siblings (with their significant others) go back home for a weekend with their parents at their childhood home. Unbeknownst to them, there’s a killer on the loose in the neighborhood. This fact is made known to them when they become the target of the killings one night.
Part slasher film and family drama, this home invasion film has a twist you won’t see coming. Safe to say, people will do everything for money and avenge a grudge. Be nice to your siblings, kids.
The Strangers (2008)
What’s terrifying about The Strangers (2008) is that it’s based on a true home invasion/murder.
Imagine enjoying a weekend getaway with your significant other, answering a knock on the door and suddenly being targeted by three masked strangers who are hell-bent to kill you for no reason at all.
Well actually, there was a reason– they were home. This is a warning no to answer strange knocks in the middle of the night. The Strangers is one of the best home invasion movies of all time.
Kidnapped (2010)
Kidnapped (Secuestrados) is a Spanish Horror, a thriller directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas. The film stars Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, and Ana Wagener in the main role.
Kidnapped (2010), follow the story of a group of Three hooded criminals burst into a house in Madrid with the objective to get as much money as possible in one night.
Desperate Hours (1990)
The film’s title perfectly captures what the film is alive.
A couple, on the brink of divorce, is terrorized by a group of criminals fresh out of a prison break thanks to their leader’s girlfriend/ defense lawyer. Now, they must try to save both their lives and marriage to survive the night. Nothing as terrifying as a group of criminals out to kill you just because they had nothing else better to do.
Desperate Hours (1990) is a remake of a 1955 film of the same name which is also based on a novel by author Joseph Hayes. Desperate Hours is considered one of the best home invasion films ever.
Vacancy (2007)
While technically not a ‘home’ invasion film, Vacancy (2007) captures the same feeling of dread people feel when they realize they aren’t safe in a place where they’re supposed to be safe.
It stars Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a couple who stay at a strange motel. There they find a television playing highly disturbing videos which later on, they’d find out were taken in the same room they’re staying in.
Now, they must make their way out of the camera-filled room before they become the next stars of a snuff film.
Funny Games (2007)
Funny Games (2007) is an American remake of the Austrian thriller film of the same name. The film is an exact remake of the original except it was filmed with different actors and language.
It tells the story of a family on vacation by a lake and the two strange young men who take them hostage one afternoon. Under threat, the family is forced to participate in sadistic games (hence, the title) in order to stay alive.
The Purge (2013)
The year is 2022. An upper-middle-class neighborhood is preparing for the annual Purge which would commence in a few hours.
What’s the Purge you ask? Well, you know, just a 12 hour period of freedom to commit a crime as a form of ‘purging’ the urge to hurt and destroy that’s apparently hidden inside every human being.
In the film, we follow a family led by patriarch Ethan Hawke and matriarch Lena Headey terrorized by a group of upper-class kids trying to retrieve a black man who found their way into their home. And since, they can’t send out. They decided to come to the house whatever it takes.
Wait Until Dark (1967)
You might remember Audrey Hepburn best from her romantic movie roles. But did you know that she also starred in a thriller film?
In Wait Until Dark (1967), she plays a blind housewife whose home is invaded by a group of criminals who think that she has a doll used by them to smuggle some drugs. Apparently, her photographer husband actually agreed to hold onto the doll after being asked by a woman he met an airport. Alone and disabled in her apartment, she must try her best to survive the night with a house full of criminals.
When a Stranger Calls (1979)
Of course, a list of home invasion movies is not complete without a mention of this classic home invasion horror movie.
You know the story. A babysitter sits in the living room. The parents on their way home. The kids safely tucked in bed. Or are they? The phone rings. It’s a man asking if she’s ‘checked on the children’. She gets creeped out. After a few more calls, she decides to call the police.
But, SPOILER ALERT, they find out that the call is coming from inside the house! The stranger has been inside the house the whole dang time.
We won’t tell any more of what happens next. So you better watch the film to find out.
Which home invasion movie premise terrified you the most? Think you’ll survive one when the time comes? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
