Strangers In Your House: The Best 20 Movies About Home Invasions

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Ignacio Weil

Entertainment - June 3rd 2025, 19:00 GMT+2

Cropped no one will save you 2023 — No One Will Save You (2023)

What do you get when you mix an introverted young woman, a mysteriously silent town, and aliens with a taste for home decor? *No One Will Save You* is like *Home Alone*, but replace the burglars with extraterrestrials and the paint cans with full-blown psychic terror. Kaitlyn Dever delivers a near wordless, utterly captivating performance as Brynn, a recluse forced to battle invaders from beyond—who, apparently, didn’t get the memo about knocking first. It’s creepy, bold, and practically dares you to blink during its nerve-shredding sequences. This one’s for fans of “What did I just watch, and why did I love it so much?” sci-fi thrillers. | © 20th Century Studios

Cropped barbarians 2022 — Barbarians (2022)

Dinner parties are awkward enough without the added bonus of masked home invaders, right? *Barbarians* invites us to a lovely country home for a civilized evening that—surprise!—spirals into chaos faster than you can say “pass the wine.” Iwan Rheon (yep, that’s the guy who played Ramsay Bolton in *Game of Thrones*, so you *know* he’s trouble) leads a small ensemble cast as tension unravels, secrets spill, and the knives come out—literally. It’s part psychological thriller, part violent social commentary, and all delightfully unhinged. Just maybe reconsider that next Airbnb stay in the countryside. | © IFC Films

Cropped villains 2019 — Villains (2019)

Breaking into a house is never a good idea, but in *Villains*, our hapless criminal couple gets more than they bargained for when they stumble into a pastel-colored nightmare. Bill Skarsgård (yep, Pennywise himself) and Maika Monroe (*It Follows*) play two delightfully dysfunctional outlaws whose bad luck turns worse when they meet the twisted homeowners, played with deliciously sinister charm by Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick. What begins as a dark comedy takes a hard left into unsettling territory, yet keeps its tongue firmly in cheek. Think *Bonnie and Clyde* meets *The Addams Family*, and you’re halfway there. | © Gunpowder & Sky

Cropped parasite 2019 — Parasite (2019)

Is it a home invasion if the invaders are technically “employees”? *Parasite* doesn’t kick in your door—it slides in, subtly and brilliantly, with social satire so sharp you’ll need a Band-Aid. Director Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-sweeping masterpiece blends comedy, drama, and horror into a genre-defying tale about class warfare disguised as domestic employment. Song Kang-ho and a stellar ensemble cast weave a twisted tale of infiltration, deception, and consequences that sneak up on you like that basement you didn’t know existed. Elegant and explosive, *Parasite* is home invasion cinema at its absolute smartest. | © CJ Entertainment

Cropped Us — Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s Us asks a terrifyingly simple question: What if the people breaking into your house… were *you*? Lupita Nyong’o stuns in a dual performance that somehow manages to be emotionally raw *and* absolutely terrifying. When a family’s beach vacation is crashed by their doppelgängers in red jumpsuits and a very stabby mood, things get existential real fast. It’s a home invasion with a mirror held up to society—and then shattered with a pair of golden scissors. Add in Winston Duke’s dad-joke energy and a bone-chilling soundtrack, and you’ve got a modern horror classic with a twisty soul. | © Universal Pictures

Cropped Mother — Mother! (2017)

If your idea of home invasion horror includes biblical allegory, artistic chaos, and a whole lot of screaming, then *Mother!* is your fever dream. Darren Aronofsky’s polarizing film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a serene homemaker whose peaceful world crumbles—literally—when unexpected guests start barging in. And by guests, we mean *waves* of increasingly rude and destructive people, including Javier Bardem’s cryptically charming poet character who’s... not very helpful, to say the least. It’s not your typical break-the-window-and-steal-the-TV kind of invasion—it’s more “burn the house down in the name of metaphor.” Art house? Haunted house? Honestly, both. | © Paramount Pictures

Cropped dont breathe 2016 — Don't Breathe (2016)

Rule number one of breaking and entering: make sure the person you’re robbing isn’t a blind military vet with supernatural reflexes. *Don’t Breathe* flips the script with claustrophobic thrills and some very unexpected twists. Jane Levy leads a trio of small-time thieves who make the very bad decision to mess with Stephen Lang’s blind—but *very* deadly—homeowner. What follows is a tense, near-silent game of cat-and-mouse that will have you holding your breath along with the characters. It's inventive, nasty in all the right ways, and just when you think it can’t get weirder... oh, it *really* does. | © Screen Gems

Cropped hush 2016 — Hush (2016)

Silence isn’t golden—it’s terrifying. *Hush* is a minimalist home invasion thriller with a deliciously simple premise: a deaf writer, alone in the woods, is stalked by a masked killer. Kate Siegel (who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Mike Flanagan) plays Maddie, a woman whose disability turns into her greatest weapon as she outwits a slasher who clearly didn’t do his research. Tense, smart, and filled with clever reversals, the film never wastes a minute—and yes, it’ll have you nervously checking your windows even if you live on the 10th floor. Sometimes the quietest films scream the loudest. | © Blumhouse Productions

Cropped the purge 2013 — The Purge (2013)

Ah, *The Purge*—the one night a year when murder is legal, and apparently, home security companies make *a killing*. Ethan Hawke plays a suburban dad who thinks he’s bought his way into safety, until a very polite gang of masked psychos shows up demanding he hand over a stranger hiding in their house. As social commentary goes, it’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer—but it *works*. The film kicked off a whole franchise of satirical carnage, but the original still hits hardest for its mix of dread, class critique, and “maybe don’t let your kid open the door” energy. | © Universal Pictures

Youre Next 2011 — You're Next (2011)

What happens when a family reunion meets *The Hunger Games*? You get *You're Next*, a bloody fun and subversive home invasion flick that gleefully throws kitchen utensils at the horror genre playbook. When a wealthy family is attacked during dinner by masked killers wielding crossbows, all hell breaks loose—until one guest reveals she’s basically a one-woman army. Sharni Vinson steals the show as Erin, the cool-headed, trap-setting final girl we didn’t know we needed. Come for the axe fights, stay for the booby traps and dry humor. Also: animal masks have *never* been creepier. | © Lionsgate

Cropped the strangers 2008 — The Strangers (2008)

Ever answered the door to a stranger asking, “Is Tamara home?” Yeah, don’t. *The Strangers* makes a strong case for never vacationing in remote rental homes and always owning a good deadbolt. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as a couple dealing with relationship issues—until masked intruders show up and make those issues seem like adorable little speedbumps on the road to terror. With its haunting “because you were home” tagline, this film brought back old-school slow-burn dread and made porch knocking officially creepy again. It’s minimalist horror done right—and trust us, you’ll never look at a sack mask the same way. | © Rogue Pictures

Cropped them 2006 — Them (2006)

Short, savage, and supposedly inspired by real events, *Them* (or *Ils*, if you're feeling fancy) is a lean French-Romanian thriller that keeps you guessing right up to its chilling final moment. Olivia Bonamy and Michaël Cohen play a couple living in an isolated country house, because of course they do, and one night, things go bump—and then stab—in the dark. With almost no backstory and barely any score, the film strips down the genre to its raw essentials: two people, a lot of shadows, and a creeping sense of “What the hell is happening?” Bonus: the twist will make you want to throw your phone in a lake. | © Mars Distribution

Cropped panic room 2002 — Panic Room (2002)

Before home invasion thrillers were a dime a dozen, David Fincher gave us *Panic Room*—a stylish, tech-savvy game of hide-and-seek with a heavy dose of claustrophobia. Jodie Foster leads the way as a recently divorced mom trying to protect her daughter (a young Kristen Stewart, already mastering the art of anxious stares) from a trio of burglars who picked the *wrong* brownstone. Forest Whitaker brings surprising depth to his morally torn thief character, while Jared Leto rocks cornrows and bad decisions. With sleek direction and plenty of locked-door suspense, it’s basically Home Alone for grown-ups—with better lighting. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped funny games 1997 — Funny Games (1997)

If you've ever yelled at a horror movie, “Why don’t they just run?!” then *Funny Games* is here to troll you directly. Michael Haneke’s icy, fourth-wall-breaking psychological horror film isn’t here to entertain—it’s here to *mess with you.* A vacationing family is tormented by two eerily polite young men in white gloves, and what unfolds is as cruel as it is self-aware. Arno Frisch and Frank Giering play the intruders with unsettling charm, like if sociopaths had a prep school etiquette class. It’s not fun in the traditional sense—but that’s exactly the point. Viewer discretion (and maybe therapy) advised. | © Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner

Cropped scream 1996 — Scream (1996)

Do you like scary movies? Of course you do, and *Scream* is the ultimate wink-wink, stab-stab love letter to the genre. Directed by horror maestro Wes Craven, this meta-slasher reinvigorated the genre with a cast of then up-and-coming stars, including Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. Oh, and Drew Barrymore in the most iconic opening scene since *Psycho*. With Ghostface’s creepy calls, the “rules” of surviving a horror movie, and a whip-smart script by Kevin Williamson, *Scream* made horror cool again—and just a little bit too real. It’s a home invasion *and* a genre deconstruction. Genius. | © Dimension Films

Cropped when a stranger calls 1979 — When a Stranger Calls (1979)

If you’ve ever babysat and thought, “This gig is boring,” *When a Stranger Calls* is here to change that—permanently. With the legendary line, “The call is coming from inside the house!” this thriller made babysitting feel like extreme survival training. Carol Kane stars as the poor sitter who just wanted to watch TV and maybe eat someone else's snacks, but instead ends up in a slow-burning nightmare. The film's opening twenty minutes are so nerve-wracking they could’ve been a standalone short. Bonus points for helping launch the “creepy phone call” genre long before *Scream* made it meta. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped The Last House on the Left 1972 — The Last House on the Left (1972)

Wes Craven’s debut film is as brutal as it is infamous, delivering a grimy, gut-punching take on vengeance and home invasion. *The Last House on the Left* tells the story of two girls who fall into the hands of sadistic criminals—only for the tables to turn in the most violent way imaginable when the killers unknowingly seek shelter in one of the girls’ homes. With a raw, documentary-style aesthetic and an anything-goes tone, this is the kind of movie that makes you want to take a shower afterward. It’s disturbing, yes—but it also laid the groundwork for future horror rebels. | © Hallmark Releasing

Cropped a clockwork orange 1971 — A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Home invasion, but make it art house. Stanley Kubrick’s *A Clockwork Orange* is notorious for many things, but its harrowing break-in scene—complete with a twisted rendition of “Singin’ in the Rain”—still makes skin crawl decades later. Malcolm McDowell’s Alex is charismatic, chaotic, and deeply disturbing as the ultraviolent antihero leading his “droogs” on a spree of assault and destruction. The film may be dystopian, but its scenes of psychological and physical intrusion hit alarmingly close to home. This isn’t popcorn horror—it’s an unsettling masterpiece that dares you to keep watching. | © Warner Bros.

Cropped straw dogs 1971 — Straw Dogs (1971)

In *Straw Dogs*, Dustin Hoffman plays David, a quiet mathematician who relocates to rural England hoping for peace and quiet—but instead gets toxic masculinity, repressed rage, and a siege on his home. Director Sam Peckinpah’s controversial film explores the blurry lines between victim and aggressor, all set against an atmosphere of creeping dread. Hoffman’s transformation from passive academic to brutal defender is both disturbing and fascinating. It's a slow burn, but once the invasion begins, it’s full-on chaos with an unnerving moral aftertaste. Also: probably not a great date movie. | © Cinerama Releasing Corporation

Cropped wait until dark 1967 — Wait Until Dark (1967)

Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman outsmarting three con men in her apartment? Yes, please. *Wait Until Dark* is a masterclass in suspense, where every creaking floorboard and flickering light becomes a weapon. Alan Arkin steals the show as a menacing criminal who underestimates his target, leading to a nail-biting climax set entirely in darkness. Hepburn’s performance is as vulnerable as it is powerful, and the film makes incredible use of its limited space to crank the tension to eleven. It's classy, terrifying, and proof that you don’t need gore to make your audience squirm. | © Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

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Home invasion movies tap into one of our deepest fears: the violation of our personal space and safety. Whether it's a masked intruder, a psychological stalker, or a group with sinister motives, these films deliver edge-of-your-seat suspense and relentless tension. In this list of the top 20 home invasion movies, we explore the most chilling, thrilling, and unforgettable entries in the genre. From cult classics to modern masterpieces, these films will make you double-check your locks and think twice about who's really knocking at your door. If you're a fan of horror, suspense, or thrillers, this curated guide is your ultimate watchlist for home invasion cinema.