The excellent psychological thriller film Watcher just made its Netflix debut and its bound to attract millions of new viewers who might have missed out on this underrated movie when it first came out in 2022.
Maika Monroe is exceptional in the leading role and this film also marks the feature directorial debut of Chloe Okuno (who was once rumored to be directing a new Fear Street, manifesting that this still happens someday).
For those who decide to stream Watcher now that it's on Netflix and then find themselves hankering for more thrillers/home invasion flicks, this list is for you! All of the movies below are available on streaming, a couple are on Netflix, while the others are on Max or Shudder.
The Strangers (2008)
- Writer/Director: Bryan Bertino
- Cast: Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman
- Where to stream: Max
I wonder if Bryan Bertino was aware of just how impactful this 2008 horror movie would become on the home invasion subgenre and the horror genre as a whole. In many ways, this film set the gold standard for modern home invasion thrillers, and it does so with a lean, mean 90-minute runtime.
Tapping into the primal fear many of us carry that someone (or something) could break into our home or safe place at any moment in time, The Strangers really drove home that fear by presenting the possibility that sometimes the reason people do awful things to each other is just because these can.
I Came By (2022)
- Director: Babak Anvari
- Writers: Babak Anvari and Namsi Khan
- Cast: George MacKay, Percelle Ascott, Kelly Macdonald, and Hugh Bonneville
- Where to stream: Netflix
Home invasion thrillers are often nerve-wracking films, but there's a subgenre within the subgenre that I've grown fond of in recent years. The reverse-home invasion, like in the case of British film I Came By (and the Fede Álvarez movie Don't Breathe).
In these films, we follow a protagonist who breaks into someone else's home and often finds that their target is far more of a threat than they ever could have imagined. In I Came By, George MacKay plays a graffiti artist who gets his kicks by breaking into houses and tagging the walls with his titular catchphrase. But one day he enters the home of a high court judge who happens to have someone imprisoned in his basement.
See For Me (2021)
- Director: Randall Okita
- Writers: Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue
- Cast: Skyler Davenport, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Laura Vandervoort, Matthew Gouveia, Emily Piggford, Joe Pingue, and Kim Coates
- Where to stream: Netflix
You know that app Be My Eyes? It's a cool way for people to connect and for the visually impaired to seek assistance quickly. In See For Me, former athlete Sophie (Skyler Davenport) starts using a similar kind of app after losing her vision to a degenerative eye disease. She connects with a woman named Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who ultimately becomes a lifeline when people break into the house where Sophie is staying. Sophie must rely on a total stranger to help her survive.
Them (2006)
- Writers/Directors: David Moreau and Xavier Palud
- Cast: Olivia Bonamy and Michaël Cohen
- Where to stream: Shudder
Them is a lesser-known French horror film and one of the most suspenseful movies you will ever watch. Supposedly based on a true story, Them follows a young teacher on the move from France to Romania with her partner. But then the film takes a frightening turn when they are attacked and stalked by strangers intent on killing them.
The Rental (2020)
- Director: Dave Franco
- Writers: Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg
- Cast: Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, and Toby Huss
- Where to stream: Shudder
Later this year, married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie will star in the twisted body horror film Together. Before that, check out one of their previous collaborations with this 2020 film that Franco directed and co-write, with Brie in the lead role. In the era of Airbnb and the popularized concept of renting out other peoples' homes instead of booking a hotel room, The Rental taps directly into the fear of staying somewhere and learning that the host isn't who they first appear to be.