Why are home invasion horror movies so popular right now?

[MissChainsaw]

Hi guys

Newbie here! :) Although I was a member of another horror forum but that domain no longer exists so I thought i would try my luck here.
why do you think the home invasion sub genre is so popular now?
I always think horror movies reflect what our society is going through so I am wondering how home invasion provides a connection with what's going on in the real world?
any thoughts? Would like to write about this for class so any brainstorm ideas welcome :) Plus i thought it would make a good discussion!

[Baron Von Marlon]

Didn't know it was popular.
Imo the haunted houses/possession movies seem the most popular lately (with the mainstream audience).

Anyway, maybe it has something to do with the budget.
You only need one location and a small cast.

[shadyJ]

Anyway, maybe it has something to do with the budget.
You only need one location and a small cast.

+1 this, and you don't need to do a lot of scouting or labor to get the location ready either. A lot of times the producer or investor will lend a home for a production like that. Same thing with haunted house movies.

[Kandarian Demon]

Maybe it has to do with the bad economy in the last few years, and how a lot of us aren't as secure as we used to be. If you're worried about losing your home, your job and your financial security, then maybe a home invasion movie is exactly what will scare you the most. Just a theory...

I don't know if I agree about haunted house movies being popular (I wish!), but I guess you get to see a lot of low budget stuff that never makes it to my corner of the world.

[hammerfan]

Home invasion movies have zero interest for me. I see enough of it on the morning news.

[The Villain]

Welcome to the forum

I can't stand home invasion movies. I don't really think they're too popular but with The Purge and You're Next out recently I can see the thinking there.

I think it has to do with the fact that (with the exception of The Purges silly but interesting premise) a home invasion movie is completely possible. Plus you're being attacked somewhere you're supposed to feel safe which really amps up the fear.

That being said I find most of them boring and cliche.

[Ferox13]

Home invasion movies have zero interest for me. I see enough of it on the morning news.

You need to see Fight for your Life...

Personally I Like the genre. Not so much the ones of recent years but the exploitation classics like Last House on the Left, House on the Edge of the Park and Straw Dogs.
Don't forget real classics like The Desperate Hours (was this the original Home Invasion film),In Cold Blood and wait until Dark.

Of the newer stuff I enjoyed Ils, Kidnapped, Inside (does this count) and too some degree Funny Games.

That being said I did see one of the worse examples lately called Hate Crime.

http://www.collativelearning.com/PICS%20FOR%20WEBSITE/ACO%20expanded/dvd%20stills%202/cat%20statues%20x2.png

[totem]

Financially speaking, I agree home invasion flicks are pretty easy on production budgets; a low-cost spin on Haunted Houses. It's cheaper to use human villains than CGI'd spirits & practical effects.

Psychologically speaking, I think the home represents the ultimate in dismay. The place from which you now have nowhere left to run to. A personal safety dead end... and who likes those?

For the most part I find the Home Invasion genre more boring than anything else. I see it's status as more "panhandle-ish" than "popular".

[MichaelMyers]

Simply a reflection of the public's emphasis on personal security.

You can now pay to have surveillance cameras set up to watch every corner of your home.

My neighborhood has CPI/ADT signs staked in every yard, and it's not even that dangerous a place.

From the time we set foot on this continent, Americans have always been very fearful of their neighbors.

[Angra]

Simply a reflection of the public's emphasis on personal security.

You can now pay to have surveillance cameras set up to watch every corner of your home.

My neighborhood has CPI/ADT signs staked in every yard, and it's not even that dangerous a place.

From the time we set foot on this continent, Americans have always been very fearful of their neighbors.

AND the possibilities to make low budget movies without being forced to use fucking hand-held cameras to stay within budget. God i hate that shit.

[KissMeDissME]

iagree with what others have said in that its popular because a lot of people do have the worry of somebody breaking into their house. if somebody does break into your house and you just wake up with them at the bottom of your bed what would you do? where would you go? my phone is always on the pillow next to me like some pathetic female ha but I know if somebody was in my bedroom theyd be able to take my phone off me before id even had a chance to press my phone so the light came on so id be able to phone somebody. its scary because it could happen, freddy coming from my dreams to slice between my legs while im in bed is a little far fetched haha. I really like the whole home invasion films, they do leave me scared and unable to sleep alone and that's the exact point of a scary film isn't it? :D x

[Mormo Zine]

I think a lot of people are paranoid delusional right now. Super worried that a black man is going to take away their guns. Lots of crackpot conspiracy theorists out there. This is reflected in home invasion movies.

[Mayvock]

No idea, and I've watched a lot of them... Perhaps it has to do something with the budget.