The final entry of The Purge franchise, The Forever Purge, hits theaters this week, and it’s hard to believe that the action-horror series began with an intimate home invasion thriller. Home invasion horror movies tend to unnerve more than most subgenres because they trigger a universal fear. Few things are as terrifying as having the one space meant to provide comfort and security ripped away by strangers, or worse.
This week’s streaming picks belong to home invasion horror movies that test the bounds of the subgenre. Whether dabbling in comedy, changing the terms of the invasion, or proving that those we know could be more dangerous than strangers, these five horror movies unsettle in different ways.
Here’s where you can stream them this week…
When a Stranger Calls Back – Prime Video, Tubi
One of the earliest examples of a sequel far superior to its predecessor, this under-seen cable movie delivers severe tension starting with one of horror’s best openings of all time. Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather, Cutting Class) stars as this outing’s babysitter, the target of an unseen stranger when left to care for two sleeping kids. While the first film delivered the iconic “The calls are coming from inside the house” trope, this sequel goes to surprising and frightening places, often involving home invasion. When a Stranger Calls Back offers up one of the most eccentric killers of the decade, and that’s saying a lot.
Sweet Home – Tubi, Vudu
This Spanish home invasion thriller sees a real estate broker planning a romantic weekend for her boyfriend in an old apartment building. Their celebration gets interrupted by a trio of men that have come to kill the building’s last tenant, leading to a real-time fight for survival. Never mind the wacky decision to choose one of the creepiest apartment buildings for a romantic outing; this is an intense thriller that never lets up. Sweet Home doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does offer a stylized home invasion thriller with relentless tension.
Better Watch Out – AMC+, Plex, Pluto TV, Shudder, Tubi
Chris Peckover’s home invasion horror movie breaks all the rules, so it feels only fair to watch this Christmas-set tale during the summer. Better Watch Out follows 12-year-old Luke Lerner (Levi Miller) as he’s left alone for the night with babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) while his parents attend a holiday party. Harboring a longtime crush, Luke is hoping to seduce Ashley. Their quiet night of pizza and horror movie watching is interrupted first by Luke’s best friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) and then by a masked and armed intruder. All hell breaks loose. Full of biting, pitch-black humor, expect this one to get mean.
The Vagrant – Tubi
This ‘90s horror-comedy doesn’t adhere at all to the conventional home invasion thriller. Bill Paxton stars as a yuppie businessman, Grant, who buys a new home only to find a nearby homeless bum keeps inviting himself in. The vagrant keeps breaking into Grant’s house and playing mind games as the body count starts to pile up. Before long, Grant loses his grip on reality as the mayhem increases. Home invasion thriller tropes get woven into this oddball tale. The Vagrant also starred Michael Ironside and was executive produced by Mel Brooks.
Sleep Tight – AMC+, Shudder, Tubi
Jaume Balaguero’s Sleep Tight gets under your skin, especially if you live alone. Luis Tosar is one of horror’s most underrated and scariest villains as apartment concierge, Cesar. He’s miserable, and all he wants is for everyone around him to be discontent too. He revels in making the tenants’ lives hell, and they’re typically easy to agitate. But the unflappable Clara, with her sunny outlook, becomes the object of Cesar’s fixation in his fervent desire to induce a mental breakdown in her. It means consistently breaking into her apartment – often with her there at night, sleeping peacefully in her bed – to find new ways to inflict suffering without her being aware. It’s bleak, disturbing, and one of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences ever.
source https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3671426/stay-home-watch-horror-5-home-invasion-horror-movies-stream-week/
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