The home is often regarded as the safest place a person can be. The familiarity of the appearance and items within the home and the barriers that shield said home from the outside world offers a unique pleasantness that many take for granted. Furthermore, the community built around said structure also doubles as another home, with the people, their customs and contribution to the space serving as defining characteristics. So what happens when one’s designated sanctuary is intruded upon and corrupted?
Thesethrillersnot only explore the complex feelings of fear, violation, and paranoia, but they also critique the questionable foundation of domestic life. Overlooked enabling factors and societal expectations are analyzed under a new, cold lens, resulting in fascinatingly disturbing stories that shatter the illusion of normalcy.
10‘Swallow’ (2020)
One of the more recent entries on this list,Swallow,is a fascinating, grotesque, yet moving piece about marriage, motherhood, and mental health. Hunter (Haley Bennett) is introduced as a picturesque housewife. She has a seemingly loving husband in Richie (Austin Stowell), a luxurious home, and the support of her in-laws. Nevertheless, the isolation she experiences, alongside a recent pica diagnosis, soon culminates in an explosive journey of self-discovery. As Hunter’s pregnancy progresses, her condition worsens, and she plans for an escape before her painful loneliness consumes her.
The Eternal Ennui of a Housewife Explored
Stories of motherhood have always been illuminating, to say the least. The earnestness in which good-faith creatives approach discussing the process and complex feelings that come with pregnancy, as well as the suffocating pressure of societal expectations, much of which are informed by misogynistic beliefs. As Hunter descends deeper into her dark indulgences, audiences get a closer look at the neglect that enables her acting out. Furthermore, the film stands as a strong juxtaposition to the recent romanticization of housewive life, seen in trends like the viral “tradwife.”
9‘The Invisible Man’ (2020)
The Invisible Man
One of many adaptations of a classic,The InvisibleMan,revisits the initial H.G. Wells story. Set in the modern world, the film follows Cecilia Kass (Elizabeth Moss), a woman who recently freed herself from an abusive relationship with wealthy tech mogul Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). However, strange occurrences lead Cecelia to believe that not only is Adrian not completely gone from her life, but he might be tracking her down through unconventional means.
A Frightening, Pervasive Fear Leaps From The Screen
Through the use of a fantastical apparition,The Invisible Mancaptures the overlooked dangers that arise after leaving an abusive relationship. Activists and researchers alike proclaim that leaving an abusive relationship is the most dangerous time for a victim of intimate personal violence. While the film leans into science-fiction and horror tropes,the fear and the threatthat Cecilia and her loved ones experience is nothing but real. The cast not only excel at convincing portrayals, but said portrayals stress the urgency and perils that define this particular trek towards freedom.
8‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ (2011)
We Need To Talk About Kevin
We Need To Talk About Kevinis a daunting film that bounces back-and-forth between Eva (Tilda Swinton), a mother and travel writer-turned-travel agency employee, and her son Kevin (Ezra Miller), who was recently convicted of mass murdering his fellow high school students. Detailing Eva’s early forays into motherhood, alongside Kevin’s life since conception, the film balances the past and the present, as well as the two characters, in a manner that stresses the tragedy of the situation at hand.
A Troubling Yet Ambitious Look at Troubled Youth
While some critics at the time believedWe Need To Talk About Kevinearned strong, positive reviews in spite of its controversial premise and conclusion, others believe it earned glowing acclaim because of its controversy.
Balancing family drama with the authentically horrifying mass murder that takes place at Kevin’s school and glimpses of redemption, the film taps into the all-too-familiar anxieties surrounding mass violence at schools andtroubled youthto further explore complicated family dynamics. Following Eva and Kevin’s respective lives and connections between one another, the rest of the loved ones, and their community, the film explores one’s close confrontation with evil, the source of said evil, and a bleak yet bittersweet solution to dealing with said evil.
Why We Need to Talk About Kevin Is One of the Most Bothersome Films of All Time
We Need to Talk About Kevin’s story and its delivery are off-putting through and through, spanning visual, auditory, emotional, and internal senses.
7‘Hush’ (2016)
Hushfinds Kate Siegel in the role of Maddie. Known for her writing as much as she is known for her disabilities, the movie introduced Maddie as a secluded yet connected woman, frequently touching base with her caring neighbor Sarah (Samantha Sloyan). One night, however, changes Maddie’s life for the foreseeable future. Unbeknownst to her, Maddie is the target of a masked killer who viciously murders Sarah before hunting her down next. Throughout the film, Maddie attempts to find her way out of the killer’s relentless chase.
A New Kind of Nighttime Terror
Submerging the viewer in the terrifying cat-and-mouse game, Mike Flanagan’s creepy, contemporary slasher makes the necessary steps forward, even though the film treads familiar waters.
The premise alone is frightening, but the film avoids frankly dehumanizing tropes of people living with disabilities. Maddie’s cleverness and will to survive are both common traits found in protagonists of slasher films. However, Maddie is also an underrepresented protagonist placed in a position of power. Be it for her fluency in sign language in comparison to Sarah or her resilience throughout the film, Maddie navigates the terrifying night without being flattened down to one-dimensional, harmful stereotypes.Hushis a refreshing look at horror confined within a home, even if it does not fully live up to its potential.
6‘Funny Games’ (2007)
Funny Games
Probably one of the most controversial home invasion thrillers,Funny Gamesis a satirical look at the relentless violence that upends the seemingly serene life of a typical family. A shot-for-shot remake of the 1997 original, Michael Haneke returns to explore the fate of the Farber family, an affluent family vacationing at a lake house. Their time of relaxation comes to a bitter end when two boys, Paul (Michael Ritt) and Peter (Brady Corbet), innocuously ask for eggs. Once the duo is invited inside, their insidious intentions become clear. The rest of the film is dedicated to chronicling the sadistic trials of the two boys.
An Explicit Critique of Violence
Funny Gamesserves as a critique of violence in the media, as declared by Haneke himself. The creativity within the otherwise calamitous story underlines this all too well. From the lengths at which Paul and Peter meticulously torture the Farbers, to an unforgettable breaking of the fourth wall, the film traps and forces the audience to contend with their own, troubling obsession with violence. Several years removed from the film’s premiere, the events of the film not only mirror viral examples of unprovoked violence but continue to question how the perpetrators of said violence show up in the world, shattering illusions about violence, wealth, and suburbia.
5‘They Cloned Tyrone’ (2023)
They Cloned Tyrone
Many considerThey Cloned Tyroneto be a black comedy and a sci-fi satire of perceptions regarding Black American life, poverty, and respectability politics. However, the film also doubles as a domestic thriller, as much of the film is centered around the Glen. Following Fontaine (John Boyega), a man with a lot of rapport with the rest of the community, in part due to his drug dealing. However, he becomes the center of a significant night.
When the unimaginable happens, Fontaine allies with one of his crafty customers named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and an intelligent sex worker named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) in hopes of unearthing what quickly becomes a startling conspiracy.
A Fascinating Fusion of Stories
WhileThey Cloned Tyroneis a refreshing triumph in a myriad of ways, much to do with its embrace and consideration of working-class Black American life, the film also subtly shatters audiences' opinion on what a domestic thriller looks like. As the film’s scope widens, the insular nature of life in the Glen never vanishes. The familiarity between Fontaine, Yo-Yo, and Slick Charles not only exists before the film but is an enabling factor of their shared success and growth.
While juggling important assertions about identity, much ofThey Cloned Tyronealso chronicles the shared pain and intimate conflict within a community still reeling fromdomestic colonization, only contributing to its role as a mirror held up to its audience.
4‘Get Out’ (2017)
Influencing horrors and thrillers following its monumental premiere,Get Outfollows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a Black man going to upstate New York to meet the family of his girlfriend, Rose Armitage, portrayed by Alison Williams. Once he arrives at her home, Chris begins to notice a series of uncomfortable and concerning attributes about his hosts. Slowly but surely, Chris comes to realize that the Armitage household is the center of a seedy operation, one that hopes to claim him as their next experiment.
A Personal, Satirical Fright
A bold critique of the false notion of a “post-racial” society, Peele does not import the danger from expected sources such as the Ku Klux Klan or the alt-right, but instead relies on Chris' proximity to Rose, and by extension her family, emphasizing the intentional dehumanization of Black Americans. Concurrently, audiences also learn about Chris' personal trauma and aspirations, both from his own admission and through his close friendship with (Lil Rel Howery).
It is through his intimate connections, audiences are not only submerged in the mixed feelings of terror and hope that Chris experiences but are also left with the opportunity to reflect on the genuine fear, resentment, and mistrust many Black Americans live with.
3‘Thoroughbreds’ (2018)
Thoroughbreds
BeforeQueen’s GambitandHouse of the Dragonrespectively, Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke star as two complex friends in the filmThoroughbreds.The film opens with high school scholar Lily (Joy) returning to the home of her childhood friend Amanda (Cooke).
Living with an unspecified mental disorder that renders her seemingly emotionless, Amanda is aware of how others perceive her. For instance, she quickly deduces the dubiousness of Lily’s initial intentions behind her visit. As the two rekindle their friendship, their personal lives bleed into one another, and when Lily’s tense relationship with her stepfather comes to fatal blows, the two are left to sift through the consequences, revealing their true colors in the process.
A Complex Friendship Descends Into Darkness
Aside from the meticulous, bloody climax of the film, much ofThoroughbredsrevolves around Amanda and Lily’s relationship. Despite there being an air of sincerity linking them together, the film highlights their clear distinctions before subverting expectations. Building suspense with the two not only juxtaposing one another but also contradicting one another with their actions and reactions,Thoroughbredsis a multi-layered, successful story that engages with wealth disparities, the isolation those living with mental illnesses experience, and the complex relationships that arise from said circumstances.
2‘Gone Girl’ (2014)
Much like the Gillian Flynn novel, the movie adaptation ofGone Girlstands the new standard for domestic thrillers for years to come. Following Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), the film opens on their fifth wedding anniversary, where the former comes home to silence. Realizing that his wife has gone missing, Nick attempts to find out her whereabouts. As his investigation persists, audiences also get to follow Amy as she not only evades discovery but crafts a twisted sequence of acts that illustrate the motivations behind her disappearance.
A Twisted Trail of Terror
Between the film’s deliberate pacing, the revelation of Nick’s concerning behavior towards Amy and women in general, and Amy’s clever yet concerning approach to finally getting her comeuppance, it’s clear whyGone Girlhas gone down as a modern classic. The nuanced approach to both Nick and Amy, and their shared relationship, does not exist to pacify or nullify the frankly toxic treatment Amy experiences at the hands of Nick. Instead, the film’s embrace of the morally grey characters highlights the path to destruction one paves with their abuse and negligence.
20 Movies Like Gone Girl to Watch Next
Not many movies can compete with the near-perfect Gone Girl, but here are 20 others that will make an interesting double-bill with it.
1‘The Stepford Wives’ (1975)
The Stepford Wives
Continuing to be relevant currently, influencing conversations about misogyny within the household, the ever looming threat of femicide, and the constant objectification of women and femmes,The Stepford Wivesfollows Joanna (Katherine Ross), a woman who moves from New York City to the seemingly saccharine and homogenous small town of Stepford, Connecticut with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) and their two daughters.
Joanna quickly notices the docile demeanor of the wives, namely their shared, vested interest in housework as well as repetitive actions that lean away from typical expectations of habits and routines. As she further investigates the strange occurrences in Stepford, Joanna unveils a startling conspiracy that hits close to home.
An Epic, All-Too-Real Nightmare
One of the most imperative and informative thrillers,The Stepford Wives’skillful critiques of misogyny not only influenced films such asGet Outand,most recently,Don’t Worry Darling,but also iconic characters likeDesperate Housewives’Bree van der Kamp (Marcia Cross). Aside from its withstanding influence, the film underlines the lengths at which the patriarchy will go to protect their interests.
Throughout the film, Joanna’s ambitiousness and intellect shines in conversations with the other women, as well as in her professional life. However, her autonomy turns her into a target, isolating her from the community until she experiences the ultimate betrayal. Despite the divisive ending,The Stepford Wivesuses science fiction and horror to demonstrate the concentrated effort to silence and dominate women, by any means necessary.
