If you’re a fan of the cult classic horror film You’re Next, then you know how awesome it is to watch a badass heroine turn the tables on a group of murderous intruders. The 2011 film directed by Adam Wingard follows Erin, a woman with a secret survivalist background, as she fights back against masked killers attacking her boyfriend’s family reunion. It’s a refreshing twist on the home invasion subgenre that leaves you cheering as Erin outsmarts and brutally dispatches the villains one by one.
You’re Next has gained a well-deserved following over the years for its perfect blend of scares, dark humor, and Erin’s empowering transformation into a final girl for the ages. If you loved watching Erin’s gory quest for vengeance and survival unfold, then you’re probably hungry for more horror films that deliver similar thrills. Look no further, because we’ve rounded up the 15 best movies like You’re Next that every fan needs to see.
These films share key elements that made You’re Next so gripping – creepy masked intruders, deadly games of cat-and-mouse, and protagonists who find untapped reserves of strength to fight back against the odds. Get ready for pulse-pounding tension, brutal violence, and the cathartic release of watching villains get their bloody comeuppance. Here are the essential films to watch after You’re Next:
1. The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers is a chilling home invasion film that preys on the fear of senseless, random violence. The story follows a couple, played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, whose stay at an isolated vacation home is shattered by a terrifying visit from three masked intruders. Unlike You’re Next, the protagonists here are ordinary people, not secret survivalists. Watching them try to outwit the attackers is a nail-biting experience that leaves you breathless.
What makes The Strangers so effective is how it grounds the horror in realism. The intruders’ motives are never explained and their identities remain a mystery, making the situation feel like it could happen to anyone. When one of the killers eerily states “because you were home” as the reason for their reign of terror, it cuts right to the existential dread at the heart of the story. The Strangers is a must-watch for any fan of You’re Next looking for a relentlessly tense and scary home invasion tale.
2. Hush (2016)
Hush is another home invasion story with a resourceful heroine at its center. Kate Siegel stars as a deaf-mute writer living in an isolated house in the woods. One night, a masked killer begins stalking her and cutting off her communication with the outside world. With no one coming to save her, she’ll have to rely on her own wits and will to survive to fight back against the intruder.
Directed by Mike Flanagan, Hush is a lean, mean horror film that wrings maximum tension out of its simple premise. Home invasion films are often built on the victims’ isolation and helplessness, and Hush takes that to the extreme by making its heroine deaf. Watching her use her perceived weakness as a strength against the killer is incredibly satisfying, similar to Erin’s arc in You’re Next. Hush is a smart, suspenseful film that horror fans need to check out.
3. The Purge (2013)
On paper, The Purge has a very different premise than You’re Next. It’s set in a near-future America where all crime, including murder, is legal for one 12-hour period each year. But at its core, it’s another story of a family under siege in their own home by sadistic masked intruders.
Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey star as a wealthy couple who find themselves the target of a murderous gang after they provide shelter to a stranger on Purge Night. As the defenses of their high-tech security mansion are breached, the family must band together to survive the night.
Like You’re Next, The Purge takes a gleefully brutal approach to the ensuing violence as the family fights back against the intruders. It adds an additional layer of social commentary, portraying the Purge as a way for the ruling class to cull the poor and disenfranchised population. But it never loses sight of delivering intense action and gory thrills. The Purge kicked off a massive horror franchise, but the original is still a solid pick for You’re Next fans.
4. Green Room (2015)
Green Room trades a family mansion for a remote neo-Nazi club, but otherwise follows a similar trajectory as You’re Next. A young punk band finds themselves trapped in the club’s green room after witnessing a murder. Outside, a gang of vicious white supremacists, led by a quietly menacing Patrick Stewart, are determined to eliminate them as witnesses.
Desperate and cornered, the band must use their wits and find weapons to fight their way out of the club alive. What follows is a brutally violent and claustrophobic siege thriller in the same vein as You’re Next. With a cast that includes Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Alia Shawkat, Green Room is an intense, pulse-pounding ride with moments of shocking carnage. It’s a must-see for anyone who likes their horror with a heavy dose of action and unflinching violence.
5. Ready or Not (2019)
Ready or Not is probably the closest film tonally to You’re Next on this list. It’s another darkly comedic tale of a young woman fighting for her life against murderous in-laws on her wedding night. Samara Weaving is a delight as Grace, a newlywed who finds out her blue-blood husband’s family has a deadly wedding night ritual – the bride must draw a card to play a game, and if she draws the “Hide and Seek” card, the family hunts her until dawn.
The film takes this absurd premise and runs with it, delivering a tight, wildly entertaining horror comedy. The script crackles with funny dialogue and jabs at one-percenter entitlement. But it also delivers some wince-inducing gore and violence as Grace turns the tables on her homicidal in-laws. Watching her tear her way through the eccentric Le Domas family like a blond buzzsaw, decked out in a blood-soaked wedding dress and wielding antique weapons, is a blast. Ready or Not is a perfect chaser for You’re Next.
6. Funny Games (1997/2007)
Funny Games is a much more nihilistic and challenging film than You’re Next, but it’s a key reference point for any home invasion horror fan. Austrian director Michael Haneke made the film as a critique of media violence and the audience’s complicity in it. He even did a shot-for-shot English language remake of his own film in 2007 to make the same point to American audiences.
The story is simple but horrifying: two clean-cut young men invade a family’s vacation home and subject them to psychological and physical torture through twisted “games.” Funny Games offers no catharsis or hope for the victims. It denies the audience any release, even breaking the fourth wall to taunt the viewer. It’s a notoriously polarizing and upsetting film, but it’s a must-see for anyone interested in exploring the origins and implications of home invasion horror.
7. The Collector (2009)
The Collector is a twist on the home invasion formula in that the protagonist is himself an intruder. Josh Stewart plays a thief who breaks into a remote house to rob it, only to find that a masked serial killer has gotten there first and set up a maze of deadly traps, turning the house into a giant torture den.
The thief must use his skills to survive and attempt to rescue the house’s captive residents from the killer’s clutches. It’s a clever setup that adds some freshness to the typical siege scenario. The traps set up by the Collector are also wildly inventive and wince-inducing in their brutality. If you like the gory fun of You’re Next and the Saw franchise, The Collector is a perfect blend of the two.
8. Mother’s Day (2010)
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman of the Saw franchise, Mother’s Day is a loose remake of a nasty 1980 Troma film. It’s about a trio of murderous brothers who return home after a botched bank robbery to find that their mother lost their house to foreclosure. The new owners are having a birthday party there when the brothers break in and take everyone hostage.
The mother, played by an unhinged Rebecca De Mornay, shows up and begins manipulating her boys into torturing the hostages to get “her” house back. But the hostages, led by Jaime King, begin fighting back against their captors. Mother’s Day is a brutal, gory film that earns comparison to You’re Next for the sheer brutality the protagonists unleash on their tormentors. It’s a nasty piece of work, but a good pick for hardcore horror fans.
9. Them (2006)
Them, also known by its French title Ils, is a lean French-Romanian home invasion film reportedly based on real events. It follows a young couple living in a remote house in the Romanian countryside. One night, they find themselves under attack by a group of mysterious, hooded assailants.
With a runtime of only 74 minutes, Them is a masterclass in ruthlessly efficient tension-building. Directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud wring maximum scares out of minimal dialogue, bare-bones characterization, and a less-is-more approach to the attackers. By keeping the intruders mostly unseen, the film preys on the fear of the unknown and unseen threat lurking in the dark. Them is a stylish French take on the You’re Next formula that horror fans should seek out.
10. The Aggression Scale (2012)
Take the basic framework of You’re Next – a family under siege in an isolated house, a mysteriously skilled protagonist fighting back – and add a dash of Home Alone, and you’ve got The Aggression Scale. The film follows a mafia enforcer and his crew who have been sent to rob a seemingly ordinary family. What they don’t know is that the family’s teenage son, Owen, is a seriously disturbed kid with a history of violence.
As the criminals invade the house, Owen begins picking them off one by one in a variety of clever, brutal ways. It’s a gleefully nasty film that really delivers on the “kid with mysterious combat skills” front. Watching Owen lay waste to a crew of hardened criminals is just as satisfying as watching Erin’s bloody revenge in You’re Next. The Aggression Scale is an under-the-radar gem waiting to be discovered by fans of hardcore home invasion horror.
11. Kidnapped (2010)
Kidnapped, also known as Secuestrados, is a Spanish home invasion film that takes place almost entirely within a single house. A well-off family’s housewarming party is violently interrupted by a crew of masked men who hold them hostage and empty their safe.
What sets Kidnapped apart is its bold decision to tell the story in a series of long, unbroken takes, each one lasting around 20 minutes. This gives the film an immersive, you-are-there feel that cranks up the tension to unbearable levels. It’s a gimmick that could come off as empty showboating, but in Kidnapped it’s a masterstroke. It locks you in with this family and forces you to experience their terror in real-time. If you want to see the techniques of You’re Next taken to a technical extreme, Kidnapped is a white-knuckle ride.
12. Cherry Tree Lane (2010)
Cherry Tree Lane is a nasty little British home invasion film that takes a slightly different approach to the formula. Rather than a random attack, it’s a revenge story about a gang of teenage thugs who invade the home of a middle-class couple. The couple’s son owed the gang money and snitched on their leader, leading to his arrest. The gang has come to get even.
What follows is a sadistic, uncomfortable film that sees the couple degraded, tortured, and worse. It’s a brutal, uncompromising movie that offers little hope for the protagonists. But it’s also a well-made, well-acted thriller that takes a hard look at class warfare and the cycle of violence. Cherry Tree Lane is a tough watch, but a worthwhile one for fans of intense, nihilistic home invasion films.
13. Intruders (2015)
Intruders, also known as Shut In, is a lean, mean home invasion film with a simple but effective premise. Beth Riesgraf stars as Anna, a young agoraphobic woman who hasn’t left her childhood home in ten years since the death of her father. When a trio of criminals on the run from a botched robbery invade her house, she becomes an unlikely agent of vengeance.
The film does a great job of setting up Anna’s psychological state and the geography of the house before the intruders arrive. This pays off when she begins luring the men into deathtraps set up around the house, Home Alone style. But Intruders also has a wicked streak of dark humor, particularly in a subplot about Anna’s complicated relationship with a local delivery boy. It’s a satisfying, well-crafted thriller that should please fans of You’re Next.
14. Tiger House (2015)
Tiger House is a British home invasion film with a young protagonist who turns the tables on her attackers, but it’s got a darker edge than You’re Next. Kaya Scodelario stars as Kelly, a teenage gymnast who sneaks into her boyfriend’s house for a romantic rendezvous, only to find that a gang of armed robbers have taken his family hostage.
Using her gymnastic skills and clever homemade traps, Kelly becomes a one-woman army bent on saving the family. Tiger House is a slick, fast-paced thriller that delivers some inventive action beats as Kelly outsmarts the crooks. But it also has a grim, gritty tone that sets it apart from the more darkly playful You’re Next. If you want a more grounded, somber take on the “unlikely hero” home invasion story, Tiger House is a solid pick.
15. Kristy (2014)
Kristy is an underrated gem of a thriller about a college student who stays on campus alone over Thanksgiving break and finds herself targeted by a group of mysterious hooded assailants. Haley Bennett stars as Justine, the resourceful heroine who must use her wits to survive as the attackers hunt her across the deserted campus.
Kristy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a stylish, suspenseful ride that delivers some intense set pieces as Justine faces off against her pursuers. Bennett makes for a likable, root-worthy protagonist, and the film has a gritty, lo-fi aesthetic that sets it apart from glossier Hollywood thrillers. Kristy flew under the radar when it was released, but it’s well worth seeking out for fans of You’re Next and scrappy, indie horror.
These 15 films represent the cream of the crop when it comes to home invasion horror in the same vein as You’re Next. They showcase the subgenre’s possibilities, from gory, darkly comedic romps to deadly serious, slow-burn thrillers. Whether the villains are masked intruders, twisted family members, or even the protagonists themselves, these movies wring nail-biting tension and shocking violence out of the terrifying idea of the home as an unsafe space.
If you’re looking for more films that deliver the same satisfying thrills of watching a seemingly helpless victim turn the tables on their tormentors, you can’t go wrong with this killer lineup. Just make sure to double check your locks before pressing play.
