The Strangers (2008)

“Because you were home.” These words, chillingly delivered by one of The Strangers’ anonymous assailants at the very end of the movie, have never failed to make my spine tingle. The Strangers is no gore fest, nor is it a rampage. It’s got arguably one of the lowest kill counts of similar horror movies, and yet it is one of the most terrifying things in the world.

What if death and violence just comes for us indiscriminately one night? What if it creeps into our home and snuffs us out just because? What if there’s no significance to these life-or-death matters beyond being in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the sights of the wrong people? That’s the paranoia that The Strangers taps into as you slowly watch a trio of masked strangers terrorize a couple, creepily linger in the background of scenes, and finally shed blood just for the hell of it. If you want to be scared off from ever living in the suburbs, or are a millennial or Gen Z kid who’s never going to own one anyway and wants to feel alright about it, watch The Strangers. — Moises Taveras