Skip to content

Moria

The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

  • Home
  • All
  • Science Fiction
  • Horror
  • Fantasy
  • Film Themes
  • Annuals
  • Directors
  • Actors

Theme: Home Invasion Thrillers

The Home Invasion thriller centres around people at siege from violent attackers who have or are trying to break to their homes. The reasons for this can sometimes be criminal – ie. attempting to find money, the contents of a safe etc – or else purely psychopathic – that the home invaders are Psychos and Serial Killers who delight in torture and sadistic games.

The first home invasion film was The Desperate Hours (1955) about criminals on the run who take a regular suburban family hostage. This set down the basics that have been used without too much variation since then.

The 1970s Backwoods Brutality cycle bought some particularly savage variants with Straw Dogs (1971) and The Last House on the Left (1972). The genre has been pushed to even more brutal and sadistic extremes with the Torture Porn and French Extremism cycles of the 2000s/10s. The 2010s has also brought a spate of films where burglars break into a house only to find themselves in the midst of something disturbing – where they are hunted or imprisoned by serial killers.


ABCs of Death 2 (2014)

1 November 20143 June 2023

Rating: ★★½

Horror Anthology

Director: E.L. Katz, Julian Barratt, Julian Gilbey, Robert Morgan, …
Actors: Andy Nyman, Julian Barratt, Tristan Risk, Conor Sweeney, …
Category: Horror

The Aggression Scale (2012)

15 September 20137 June 2020

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Steven C. Miller
Actors: Dana Ashbrook, Ryan Hartwig, Fabianne Therese, Boyd Kestner, …
Category: Horror

The Bad Man (2018)

29 November 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Couple Imprisoned by a Depraved Clown

Director: Scott Schirmer
Actors: Ellie Church, Arthur Cullipher, Jason Crowe, Dave Parker, …
Category: Horror

Bad Samaritan (2018)

2 February 202115 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Burglar Tries to Rescue a Woman Imprisoned by a Serial Killer

Director: Dean Devlin
Actors: David Tennant, Robert Sheehan, Kerry Condon, Carlito Olivero, …
Category: Horror

Becky (2020)

1 January 20211 January 2021

Rating: ★★★

Young Girl Fights off a Home Invasion

Director: Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion
Actors: Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, Joel McHale, Robert Maillet, …
Category: Horror

Berkshire County (2014)

30 October 20142 August 2021

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion Thriller/Babysitter Stalked

Director: Audrey Cummings
Actors: Alysa King, Madison Ferguson, Cristophe Gallander, Samora Smallwood, …
Category: Horror

Better Watch Out (2016)

22 March 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Babysitter Stalked with Twists

Director: Chris Peckover
Actors: Olivia De Jonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic, …
Category: Horror

Black Butterfly (2017)

22 October 2018

Rating: ★★

Sinister Stranger Invades a Writer’s Home

Director: Brian Goodman
Actors: Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Piper Perabo, Vincent Riotta, …
Category: Horror

Cadence (2016)

14 October 201619 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Nightmare Visions/Parallel Reality

Director: Alex Lasheras
Actors: Max Chadburn, Kaitlyn Bernard, David Kaye, Tony Giroux, …
Category: Horror

Cleopatra’s Second Husband (1998)

17 October 200022 April 2020

Rating: ★★★

Unwelcome Tenants/Psychological Games

Director: Jon Reiss
Actors: Paul Hipp, Boyd Kestner, Radha Mitchell, Bitty Schramm
Category: Horror

The Curse of Downers Grove (2015)

21 July 201730 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Jocks Take Brutal Revenge

Director: Derick Martini
Actors: Bella Heathcote, Lucas Till, Kevin Zegers, Martin Spanjers, …
Category: Horror

Death Weekend (1976)

12 August 20003 July 2020

Rating: ★★★

Brutality and Torture

Director: William Fruet
Actors: Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata
Category: Horror

Deliver Us From Evil (2009)

13 December 200916 July 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Danish Backwoods Brutality Film

Director: Ole Bornedal
Actors: Lasse Rimmer, Jens Andersen, Sonja Richter, Henrik Prip
Category: Horror

Dementia 13 (2017)

19 January 201820 July 2020

Rating: ★

Psycho-Thriller/Haunting

Director: Richard LeMay
Actors: Channing Pickett, Julia Campanelli, Steve Polites, Ana Isabelle, …
Category: Horror

Don’t Breathe 2 (2021)

17 September 202117 May 2023

Rating: ★

Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Rodo Sayagues
Actors: Stephen Lang, Madelyn Grace, Brendan Sexton III, Adam Young, …
Category: Horror

Don’t Breathe (2016)

3 September 201617 May 2023

Rating: ★★

House Breakers Stalked by a Blind Man

Director: Fede Alvarez
Actors: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, …
Category: Horror

Funny Games (1997)

2 April 199929 March 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Sadism and Torture

Director: Michael Haneke
Actors: Susanne Lothar, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering
Category: Horror

Funny Games U.S. (2007)

26 October 200829 March 2021

Rating: ★★★

Sadism and Torture

Director: Michael Haneke
Actors: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, …
Category: Horror

Ghostland (2018)

11 January 201915 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Home Invasion/Reality Bender

Director: Pascal Laugier
Actors: Crystal Reed, Mylene Farmer, Adam Hurtig
Category: Horror

The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)

10 June 201915 February 2022

Rating: ★★

True Crime/Precognitive Dreams

Director: Daniel Farrands
Actors: Hilary Duff
Category: Horror

Hellions (2015)

10 January 20167 July 2021

Rating: ★★

Masked Children Pursue a Girl on Halloween Night

Director: Bruce McDonald
Actors: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rachel Wilson, Rossif Sutherland, …
Category: Horror

He’s Out There (2018)

30 March 202028 February 2022

Rating: ★★

Backwoods Maniac

Director: Dennis Iliadis, Quinn Lasher
Actors: Yvonne Strahovski, Anna Pniowsky, Abigail Pniowsky, Ryan McDonald, …
Category: Horror

House on the Edge of the Park (1980)

23 March 20178 October 2022

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion/Sadism and Brutality

Director: Ruggero Deodato
Actors: David A. Hess, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Salle
Category: Horror

In Their Skin (2012)

8 November 20124 November 2021

Rating: ★

Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal
Actors: Joshua Close, Selma Blair, James D'Arcy, Rachel Miner, …
Category: Horror

Inside (2007)

18 March 201712 October 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Brutal Home Invasion/Pregnant Woman Pursued

Director: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
Actors: Alysson Paradis, Beatrice Dalle
Category: Horror

Inside (2016)

22 September 201922 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion/Pregnant Woman Pursued

Director: Miguel Angel Vivas
Actors: Rachel Nichols, Laura Elena Harring, Ben Temple, Gillian Apter, …
Category: Horror

Isolation (2021)

12 November 202119 January 2022

Rating: ★★

Anthology of Covid Lockdown Horror Stories

Director: Larry Fessenden, Andrew Kasch, Dennie Gordon, Bobby Roe, …
Actors: Larry Fessenden, Alix Austin, Graham Denman, Beck Underwood, …
Category: Horror

Jackals (2017)

3 December 20183 December 2018

Rating: ★★½

Home Siege by a Sinister Cult

Director: Kevin Greutert
Actors: Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen Dorff, Johnathon Schaech, Ben Sullivan, …
Category: Horror

Keep Watching (2017)

21 July 202221 July 2022

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion/Found Footage

Director: Sean Carter
Actors: Bella Thorne, Ioan Gruffudd, Leigh Whannell, Chandler Riggs, …
Category: Horror

Kidnapped (2010)

6 March 201210 August 2019

Rating: ★★

Spanish Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Miguel Angel Vivas
Actors: Fernando Cayo, Manuela Velies, Ana Wagener, Guillermo Barrientes, …
Category: Horror

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

4 March 20234 March 2023

Rating: ★★★

End of the World Prophecy

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Actors: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, …
Category: Fantasy, Horror

Knock Knock (2015)

26 October 20154 November 2022

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion by Two Malicious Girls

Director: Eli Roth
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Aaron Burns, …
Category: Horror

The Last House on the Left (1972)

1 May 200112 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Sadism and Revenge

Director: Wes Craven
Actors: David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Martin Kove
Category: Horror

The Last House on the Left (2009)

17 July 20103 June 2020

Rating: ★★

Sadism and Revenge

Director: Dennis Iliadis
Actors: Garrett Dillahunt, Tony Goldwyn, Sara Paxton, Monica Potter, …
Category: Horror

Mockingbird (2014)

7 January 201513 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Found Footage/Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Bryan Bertino
Actors: Barak Hardley, Todd Stashwick, Alexandra Lydon, Audrey Marie Anderson, …
Category: Horror

Monster Party (2018)

18 May 20203 June 2023

Rating: ★★

Support Group for Serial Killers

Director: Chris von Hoffmann
Actors: Julian McMahon, Erin Moriarty, Lance Reddick, Robin Tunney, …
Category: Horror

Mother’s Day (2010)

22 June 201228 February 2021

Rating: ★

Home Invasion/Torture Porn

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Actors: Rebecca De Mornay, Jaime King, Shawn Ashmore, Patrick Flueger, …
Category: Horror

The Owners (2020)

13 December 202015 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion/Sinister Occupants

Director: Julius Berg
Actors: Maisie Williams, Sylvester McCoy, Rita Tushingham, Andrew Ellis, …
Category: Horror

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

7 February 200015 September 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Children Imprisoned in the Basement

Director: Wes Craven
Actors: Everett McGill, Ving Rhames, Wendy Robie, Brandon Adams, …
Category: Horror

Phobias (2021)

4 October 202210 January 2023

Rating: ★★

Horror Anthology

Director: Joe Sill, Jess Varley, Maritte Go, Chris von Hoffmann, …
Actors: Macy Gray, Lauren Miller Rogen, Leonardo Nam, Stephen Park, …
Category: Horror

Scream for Help (1984)

1 February 201214 February 2023

Rating: ★

Psycho-Thriller/Slasher Film

Director: Michael Winner
Actors: Rachael Kelly, David Allen Brooks, Rocco Sisto, Corey Parker
Category: Horror

Southbound (2015)

2 April 20167 March 2023

Rating: ★★★

Horror Anthology

Director: Radio Silence, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, …
Actors: Larry Fessenden, Anessa Ramsey, Justin Welborn, Maria Olsen, …
Category: Horror

The Strangers (2008)

19 August 200813 November 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Home Invasion and Brutality

Director: Bryan Bertino
Actors: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Glenn Howerton
Category: Horror

The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018)

16 December 201815 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Home Invasion and Brutality

Director: Johannes Roberts
Actors: Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman, Martin Henderson, Christina Hendricks, …
Category: Horror

Straw Dogs (1971)

20 July 199924 September 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Brutality and Assault

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, Jim Norton, …
Category: Horror

Straw Dogs (2011)

7 October 201128 January 2023

Rating: ★½

Brutality and Assault

Director: Rod Lurie
Actors: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård, James Woods, …
Category: Horror

Them (2006)

17 August 200728 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Mysterious Home Assault

Director: David Moreau, Xavier Palud
Actors: Olivia Bonamy, Michael Cohen
Category: Horror

They’re Inside (2019)

10 May 202110 May 2021

Rating: ★★

Filmmakers Stalked/Home Invasion

Director: John-Paul Panelli
Actors: Karli Hall, Amanda Kathleen Ward, Chelsea D. Miller, Sascha Gafoor, …
Category: Horror

Trespassers (2018)

12 October 202112 October 2021

Rating: ★★½

Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Orson Oblowitz
Actors: Angela Trimbur, Zach Avery, Fairuza Balk, Jonathan Howard, …
Category: Horror

Twice Dead (1988)

15 October 202015 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Haunted House/Home Invasion

Director: Bert Dragin
Actors: Tom Breznahan, Jill Whitlow, Todd Bridges, Charlie Spradling
Category: Horror

Us (2019)

1 June 20193 September 2022

Rating: ★★★

Doppelgangers

Director: Jordan Peele
Actors: Lupita Nyong'o, Wilson Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Elisabeth Moss, …
Category: Horror

Villains (2019)

1 March 202128 May 2023

Rating: ★★★

Criminals on the Run Imprisoned by Psychos Comedy

Director: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Actors: Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Jeffrey Donovan, Kyra Sedgwick, …
Category: Horror

The Violent Kind (2010)

25 March 202125 March 2021

Rating: ★★½

Home Invasion by Resurrected 1950s Gang

Director: The Butcher Brothers, Mitchell Altieri, Phil Flores
Actors: Cory Knauf, Bret Roberts, Tiffany Shepis, Cody Knauf, …
Category: Horror

Violent Night (2022)

31 December 202231 December 2022

Rating: ★★★

Dark Christmas Film

Director: Tommy Wirkola
Actors: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo, Alex Hassell, …
Category: Fantasy

With a Friend Like Harry (2000)

31 May 20011 January 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Sinister Houseguest

Director: Dominik Moll
Actors: Sergi Lopez, Laurent Lucas, Mathilde Seigner, Michel Fau
Category: Horror

Wolves at the Door (2016)

30 June 202230 June 2022

Rating: ★★

Manson Family Killings

Director: John R. Leonetti
Actors: Katie Cassidy, Elizabeth Henstridge, Adam Campbell, Miles Fisher, …
Category: Horror

You’re Next (2011)

24 August 20139 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Home Invasion Thriller

Director: Adam Wingard
Actors: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, Nicholas Tucci, A.J. Bowen, …
Category: Horror

Recent Posts

  • There’s Something Wrong With the Children (2023)
  • Castle in the Air (1952)
  • Ju-on (2000)
  • Realive (2016)
  • Mayflower II (2020)
  • Afterlife of the Party (2021)
  • Vesper (2022)
  • Nocebo (2022)
  • 13/13/13 (2013)
  • Legend of the White Horse (1986)
  • Genocidal Organ (2017)
  • Ascendant (2021)
  • Wifelike (2022)
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
  • V/H/S/99 (2022)
  • Sharktopus vs Whalewolf (2015)
  • The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)
  • The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines (2006)
  • He Dreams of Giants (2019)
  • Evil Dead Rise (2023)
  • The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)
  • The Embalmer (1965)
  • The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963)
  • The Green Hornet (1940)
  • Night of the Animated Dead (2021)

Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being Based on True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns

© Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2023

∧
Jump to top