The idea of a home invasion is undeniably terrifying and — unfortunately — a real thing that some people have experienced. Because of this, a home invasion plot makes for a great movie, because it instills genuine fear in the audience, and because it’s a real thing that could happen. Some home invasion movies take a lot of creative liberties and create scenarios that seem far from reality. On the other hand, though, there are some that are so realistic that they’re almost hard to watch. If you’re looking for more realism and want a genuine scare, here are six of the most realistic home invasion movies out there.
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6 The Purge (2013)
Universal Pictures
The Purge premiered in 2013 and led to a massive franchise spanning four more movies and a TV series. The movies are about a seemingly normal, crime-free America, but it’s not as perfect as it seems because the country is actually a bizarre dystopia that celebrates a yearly holiday called “the Purge.” On the holiday, all crime — including murder — is legal for 12 hours. For some, The Purge may not seem like a realistic home invasion movie, but if you’re willing to think outside the box a bit, there are definitely parts of The Purge that feel realistic and probable.
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While it’s not likely that there’s ever going to be a national holiday celebrating decriminalized crimes, the idea of people taking advantage of something like that and flying off the handle feels believable. If it were legal to steal from the grocery store or gas station, it totally makes sense that people would do that — look at what happens during natural disasters and other times of crisis. Because of that, it makes the concept of The Purge feel even scarier and realistic, because if people have no problem acting that way already, what else could they be capable of if given the opportunity?
5 In Cold Blood (1967)
Columbia Pictures
In Cold Blood is a unique entry on this list because it’s actually based on true events. In 1959, in rural Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were murdered in their family home in the small farming town of Holcomb. Ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard Hickcock were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death in 1965. Then, in 1966, Truman Capote detailed the crimes in his novel In Cold Blood. Capote spent six years working on the novel, and it was a massive success that had a substantial impact on the literary community, even though Capote later caught flack for changing some of the facts of the story to better suit his book.
In 1967, In Cold Blood became a movie, that both told the story of the Clutter Family murders while also bringing parts of Capote’s novel to life. The concept of a home invasion and cold-blooded murder is nightmare-worthy and unfortunately a very real thing that some have had to experience. Despite Capote’s fact-twisting storytelling, In Cold Blood is a very realistic, very scary depiction of a home invasion gone horribly wrong.
4 You’re Next (2011)
Lionsgate
You’re Next premiered in 2011 and is about an estranged family that all come together for a family reunion at a rural vacation home in Missouri, when they fall under attack by a group of creepy, masked intruders. You’re Next is a solid slasher that delivers some creepy scares, while also relying heavily on humor and the dysfunctional family dynamics to keep things interesting. It’s an intense movie full of twists and betrayal, and in terms of the home invasion plot line, is pretty believable.
The general idea is that two of the family members hired the intruders to kill their family, so they could get their inheritance. Considering how often news of crimes and murders fueled by a desire for money pop up, this is a pretty believable storyline. This level of realism also adds to the movie’s scare factor, as it makes you feel like second-guessing the circle of people around you that you trust.
3 Ratter (2015)
Vertical Entertainment/Destination Films
Ratter is a found-footage horror/thriller that premiered in 2015. It’s about a graduate student named Emma (Ashley Benson) who lives alone in New York City. She starts being stalked by someone who is hacking into all of her electronic devices and watching her through the cameras. However, eventually the stalking progresses and the person starts physically stalking Emma and breaking into her home. Ratter has a scary element of realism because people always say to cover your webcams and to be careful with your electronics specifically because of things like this. While Ratter is obviously a very dramatic story where everything goes wrong and ends badly, it’s absolutely possible for someone to hack into your electronics and gain entrance to your home.
2 Hush (2016)
Netflix
Hush is a slasher directed by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) that premiered in 2016. It’s about a deaf and mute author who travels out to an isolated, wooded area to focus on her writing career. All is well until a masked killer shows up and decides to make her his next victim. Once he realizes Maddie (Kate Siegel) is deaf, he sneaks around in the house and steals her phone to take pictures of her and send them to her. When she realizes she’s being stalked, Maddie goes on high alert and fights for her life against a relentless killer intruder.
Part of what makes Hush so scary is that Maddie can’t hear anything. So in other horror or home invasion movies, if the intruder unlocks the back door or breaks in through a window, the main character typically hears that and starts scrambling to protect themselves. But that’s not the case with Hush. Though it’s certainly a dramatic, intense slasher, Hush is realistic in its approach to showing what a home invasion could look like for someone who is deaf, which is something that often isn’t represented in other similar movies.
1 The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers premiered in 2008 and is the first installment in the film franchise. It’s about a couple staying at a vacation home when three masked intruders break in. The screenplay, which was written by Bryan Bertino, was inspired by the Manson Family Tate Murders in 1969 and several break-ins that occurred in Bertino’s neighborhood as a child. The Strangers is a classic home invasion movie and has all the elements that make it extra eerie, from creepy masks to a secluded area.
The Strangers is obviously dramatized — as is the sequel that came 10 years later, TheStrangers: Prey at Night — but there’s no reason why the events in the movie can’t happen in real life. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility for a group of criminals to break into a house in a secluded area for no reason other than “just because.” It also plays on the fear a lot of people often have of staying in an isolated area and being home alone at night. Simply put, it’s a terrifying plot. While it may not be likely that three weirdos in masks are going to stalk you and break into your vacation home, it could totally happen.
