Uninvited: 20 Movies About Unwanted Guests That Will Make You Feel…

Weapons (2025)

A mysteriously hypnotic horror-thriller, Weapons starts with the disappearance of 17 children from a single classroom on the same night – a premise that instantly telegraphs that nothing good is about to happen. The film unfolds through multiple perspectives – teachers, parents, and townsfolk – each unraveling as they confront the horrifying truth: the real guest is Gladys, a witch-like figure who invades homes and minds with sinister rituals. The tension is relentless, blending psychological dread with surreal, disturbing imagery that lingers long after the credits roll. Zach Cregger's direction leans into ambiguity, deliberately leaving some questions unanswered to keep viewers haunted. Strong performances lean on claustrophobic domestic spaces turned uncanny, making the “unwanted guest” theme feel disturbingly literal. It’s a fresh take on horror that uses both character-driven suspense and supernatural shock. | © New Line Cinema

Saltburn (2023)

Expect an unsettling portrait of entitlement and obsession when an Oxford student becomes drawn into the allure (and danger) of his charismatic roommate’s aristocratic family estate in Saltburn. Emerald Fennell’s direction layers social satire and psychological unease, turning every polite invitation into something darker. The guest becomes the uneasy subject, invited into a world where boundaries blur, privileges unsettle, and the line between charm and predation vanishes entirely. Beneath the estate’s stately beauty lies a buzzing tension and each charming gesture may double as manipulation. As the tension mounts, your discomfort builds almost imperceptibly, until you're questioning whether social snares are worse than overt threats. It’s a slow-burn horror of manners: intimate, sharp, and unforgiving. | © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Speak No Evil (2022)

A Danish couple’s innocent weekend getaway spirals into psychological terror when hosted by neighbors who are never what they seem in Speak No Evil. The film turns every polite smile into a weapon, as unspoken boundaries between guests and hosts are pushed – and finally shattered. Mannered greetings grow into subtle cruelty, and the veneer of hospitality becomes a mask over mounting dread. Christian Tafdrup’s direction lingers on micro-expressions and uncomfortable silences, meaning each polite request might come with a price. You watch their initial reluctance transform into fearful entrapment, and suddenly the house feels more like a prison. It’s a horror of small things – not blood, but breaches of trust, and social niceties with sharp edges. | © Profile Pictures

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s Us is a claustrophobic nightmare where the Wilson family’s vacation is ruined by the arrival of their own doppelgängers – identical strangers with murderous intent. It’s one of the most literal and terrifying forms of an unwanted guest: yourself, and in your worst, most violent form. Peele flips the invasion narrative inward, exploring identity, privilege, and trauma as the Tethered family forces their way into the Wilsons’ home and psyche. The use of mirrors, shadows, and synchronous movement makes every reflection feel like a countdown to chaos. Tense, symbolic, and eerily choreographed, Us forces you to question how well you even know yourself...and whether your humanity is something that can be invaded. | © Monkeypaw Productions

Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite doesn't just invite a guest – it shows a family’s invasion of a wealthy household that starts subtly and ends in explosive consequences. At first, the Kim family seems harmlessly enterprising, slipping into various roles in the Park household. But as they worm their way into the home, class resentment simmers and the safe haven of hospitality corrodes. Doors are forced open, basements hidden, and lives upended as “visitors” become infiltrators. The film builds its tension with razor-sharp commentary and precise sense of place, turning battlements of wealth into a battlefield. It’s a masterful dissection of social strata, fear, and the deadly consequences of pride—and it shows that the most dangerous guests can be the ones who seem most charming. | © Barunson E&A

Get Out (2017)

What starts as a simple trip to meet the parents quickly curdles into paranoia in Get Out. Chris arrives at his girlfriend’s family estate expecting awkward small talk and maybe a questionable casserole – but instead finds himself caught in a sinister undercurrent of manipulation, gaslighting, and something far worse. Jordan Peele weaponizes the politeness of the Armitage family, making each warm smile feel like a trap. The “unwanted guest” dynamic flips on its head, as Chris realizes he’s not just a visitor – he’s prey in a carefully crafted social hunt. Every tea stir, every compliment, every family gathering is loaded with danger, and the comfortable suburban home becomes a surgical theater of horror. | © Universal Pictures

Mother! (2017)

Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! begins as an intimate domestic drama before spiraling into biblical chaos. Jennifer Lawrence’s nameless protagonist opens her home to strangers at her partner’s insistence, and soon the trickle of visitors becomes an unstoppable flood. Each guest chips away at her privacy, her sanity, and the literal walls of her home. What starts as mild annoyance escalates to a full-blown invasion, with guests behaving as if they own the place – smashing belongings, making demands, and bringing a sense of doom that feels almost ritualistic. The allegory is heavy, the imagery is disturbing, and by the end, you’re left questioning whether the house itself was ever hers to protect. | © Protozoa Pictures

The Beguiled (2017)

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, The Beguiled thrives on the tension of an outsider’s presence in an isolated Southern girls’ school. When a wounded Union soldier is brought inside to recover, his charm and vulnerability begin to stir jealousy and suspicion among the women who shelter him. Sofia Coppola crafts an atmosphere so thick with tension you can feel the damp Virginia air pressing down on you. The “unwanted guest” here is a slow-burning catalyst, destabilizing the delicate balance of a closed community until civility collapses into betrayal and violence. The beauty of the cinematography makes the eventual cruelty feel even more jarring. | © American Zoetrope

All of My Friends Hate Me (2021)

There’s nothing quite like a reunion gone wrong, and All of My Friends Hate Me plays that discomfort like a symphony. Pete returns to his old university crowd expecting nostalgia and warmth, but instead he’s met with offhand comments, strange silences, and a creeping suspicion that he’s the butt of an elaborate joke. The film nails that social anxiety where every laugh feels directed at you, every whisper just out of earshot. The “guests” in this case are the old friends themselves – familiar yet somehow alien, treating Pete as though he’s the intruder in his own memories. It’s social horror that hits close to home, with no need for blood to make you squirm. | © Totally Tom Films

The Gift (2015)

Sometimes the unwanted guest is someone you didn’t even remember inviting into your life. In The Gift, a married couple’s seemingly perfect life is disrupted when an old acquaintance from the husband’s past reappears. At first, Gordo’s visits seem well-intentioned, complete with awkward but polite gifts. But the steady drop-ins, unexpected appearances, and cryptic messages quickly sour the mood. Joel Edgerton’s film builds unease through quiet persistence with each encounter revealing a little more about past wrongs and present danger. Here, the guest doesn’t just enter your home – they start digging into your history, and that’s when the real horror sets in. | © Blumhouse Productions

The Invitation (2015)

What starts as an elegant dinner party in the Hollywood Hills quickly turns into the kind of night that makes you wish you’d just stayed home with takeout. Every smile at the table feels rehearsed, every toast comes with a subtle sting, and the longer you stay, the more you start noticing the locked doors and strange glances. Director Karyn Kusama builds tension so meticulously you can almost hear it ticking away in the background, making each small talk exchange feel like a landmine. It’s not about sudden jump scares – it’s about the creeping realization that you’ve been lured into a trap, and the worst part is you can’t quite figure out why. By the time the truth surfaces, the walls feel too close, the exits too far, and your pulse is already racing. This isn’t just dinner, it’s dread served on fine china. | © XYZ Films

The Guest (2014)

Sometimes charm can be just as dangerous as a weapon, and in this stylish thriller, it’s practically lethal. A polite young man appears at the doorstep, claiming to be a fallen soldier’s friend, and at first, he’s every parent’s dream – helpful, respectful, and impossibly considerate. But it doesn’t take long for the smiles to stretch a little too wide and the “coincidences” to feel less like fate and more like strategy. The tension crackles as he inserts himself deeper into the family’s lives, blurring the line between protector and predator. It’s a genre-bending ride – part small-town mystery, part action flick, part unnerving slow burn – that keeps shifting gears just when you think you’ve got it pinned down. By the end, you’re left with the uneasy feeling that the most dangerous people are the ones who seem like they’d never hurt you. | © HanWay Films

Carnage (2011)

In the hands of Roman Polanski, a simple conversation about a playground fight becomes an unflinching microscope on adult behavior at its most petty and poisonous. Two couples meet to sort out their kids’ dispute, all civility and forced politeness at first. But as the coffee flows and the alcohol follows, polite smiles twist into grimaces, passive-aggressive remarks turn into open insults, and alliances shift faster than you can keep track. The apartment becomes a pressure cooker where every word is another degree on the dial. It’s awkward, it’s biting, and it’s an almost theatrical display of social warfare. By the time the meeting dissolves into chaos, you realize that the real fight was never between the kids at all. | © SBS Productions

The Strangers (2008)

If horror movies are often accused of over-explaining their monsters, this one takes the opposite approach, offering nothing but the chilling line, “Because you were home.” A couple’s quiet night is shattered by a knock on the door, followed by an hours-long nightmare of masked figures toying with them like a cat plays with a mouse. It’s not the gore that gets under your skin here, but the silence, the waiting, the sense that your walls aren’t keeping anyone out. Every creak of the floorboards feels amplified, every shadow looks like it’s moving. The randomness of the attack makes it all the more terrifying – there’s no logic, no safety, no reason. It’s horror distilled to its cruelest form: you don’t have to deserve it to be a target. | © Rogue Pictures

The Uninvited Guest (2004)

There’s something uniquely unsettling about the idea that you might not be alone in your own home, and this Spanish psychological thriller squeezes every drop of paranoia from that fear. A man answers the door to a stranger asking to use the phone. Harmless enough – until days later, strange noises, shifting shadows, and a creeping sense of being watched suggest that the visitor never really left. The film plays with the geography of the house, making familiar spaces feel alien and hostile. It’s a story that thrives on ambiguity, keeping you guessing whether the threat is real or imagined until the tension becomes unbearable. Every closed door hides a question, every dark hallway a possibility. It’s claustrophobia not from small spaces, but from the crushing uncertainty of your own surroundings. | © Rodar y Rodar

Sexy Beast (2000)

Retirement in sunny Spain sounds like a dream, until it’s interrupted by the human embodiment of a migraine. In Sexy Beast, a former safecracker’s peaceful life is shattered when an old criminal associate arrives, demanding one last job. There’s nothing subtle about this unwanted guest – he’s loud, abrasive, and radiates a menace that makes even the warm Mediterranean air feel cold. The tension builds not through elaborate heists, but through verbal sparring and psychological warfare, with each conversation carrying the weight of a threat. It’s a crime drama that thrives on character over action, where the real danger is having your life ripped out from under you before you even realize the game has begun. | © FilmFour

The Dinner Game (1998)

In this French classic, the premise is deceptively lighthearted: a group of smug Parisian friends hosts a dinner where each must bring the biggest “idiot” they can find. But what starts as an exercise in cruelty turns into a long, uncomfortable night that flips the dynamic completely. The “guest” proves far more disruptive than anyone anticipated, peeling away the host’s self-satisfied facade with a mix of innocence and accidental sabotage. As the evening spirals into chaos, the laughter curdles into a cringe-worthy portrait of arrogance meeting its match. It’s proof that the most dangerous intrusions aren’t always physical – they can dismantle your ego just as easily. | © Gaumont

Funny Games (1997)

Two polite young men in pristine white clothes show up at a family’s holiday home, and what follows is one of cinema’s most unsettling home invasion stories. There’s no rush of chaotic violence here, just a slow, deliberate unspooling of control, with the intruders dictating every move like directors on a twisted set. Michael Haneke turns the camera on the audience, forcing them to confront why they watch violence, and even breaking the fourth wall to remind us that we’re complicit in this nightmare. It’s a masterclass in tension, stripping away music cues and easy catharsis to leave nothing but raw discomfort. This isn’t a thriller you “enjoy”, it’s one that stays with you, daring you to look away but making it impossible. | © Wega Film

Brimstone and Treacle (1982)

What happens when a stranger worms his way into your home under the guise of kindness? In this unsettling British drama, a mysterious man insinuates himself into the life of a grieving couple caring for their disabled daughter. At first, he appears compassionate and eager to help but his intentions are anything but pure. The atmosphere grows heavier with each scene, layering domestic routine with a sense of moral rot. It’s a disturbing blend of psychological manipulation and religious allegory, where trust becomes a weapon and kindness is just another mask for cruelty. Every smile hides a sharper edge, and by the end, the question isn’t just who let him in... but why. | © Namara Films

The Tenant (1976)

Roman Polanski’s psychological horror masterpiece turns apartment living into a waking nightmare. When a man moves into a Paris flat whose previous tenant tried to end her own life, he finds himself slowly – and maybe not so accidentally – taking on her habits, her appearance, even her very identity. The building’s other residents seem complicit in the transformation, their cold stares and cryptic remarks blurring the line between paranoia and conspiracy. Every creak of the floorboards, every muttered conversation in the hallway adds to the oppressive sense that something is deeply wrong. It’s a film where the unwanted guest might just be… you, slowly becoming someone you never intended to be. | © Marianne Productions