Reasons

Let's start by stating the reasons why I'm so focused on doing something related to home invasion. I think it all started when I watched When a Stranger Calls (2006). I believe I was like 14 or 15 and I felt so connected with the protagonist. We both are brunettes and even though she was a little older than I, I was currently having a job as a babysitter as well. I think what impacted me more from the movie was that the house had an alarm system but the psychopath entered anyways. After that, it was all about the uncertainty and the anxiety that I had throughout the film due to the origin of the unknown calls.

So since then, I've been scared of someone entering my house more than I'm scared of paranormal activities. You never know if a remote sound at night is a killer entering your house or if it's just the pipes, or if the floor is creaking because of your cat or because and unsub is walking to your bedroom with killing intentions. It's just the terror that you're not safe even inside your house, you're exposed to any danger 24/7.

*the following content is full of spoilers*

When a Stranger Calls (2006)

When a Stranger Calls (2006)

As I previously stated, this film by Simon West, was one of the first horror films that I watched. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is babysitting two kids for the night when she starts getting phone calls from a stranger. Jill manages to keep the unsub in the line for more than 60 seconds so the police can track his number, and then it's revealed that the stranger is inside the house. Basically, the rest of the film is about Jill trying to protect the kids and the intruder trying to kill her before the police get there. 

Throughout the interaction of Jill and the Stranger, there's no releasement of his reasons other than he enjoys his psychological game with Jill.

The Strangers (2008)

Even though it's stated in the opening that this film by Bryan Bertino is based on true events, the movie is extremely modified to enter the thriller genre and add more suspense to the movie, thus impacting of the viewer's anxiety and fear as he/she watches it. (You can read more about the events that ''inspired'' this movie here).

Basically, the story goes about a troubled couple which, unfortunately, has to spend the night together. However,

The Strangers (2008)

their quietness is interrupted by 3 masked people who decide to terrorize them and kill them at the end. The most shocking aspect about this narration is the reason why the attackers decided to invade the house. As Kristen ask her aggressors "Why are you doing this to us?" one of them answers: "Because you were home''. There's no other logical explanation to this response other than to state that these people were psychopaths who enjoyed the psychological torture of their victims. 

Ils (2006)

This french movie, which title translates to ''Them", has been praised a lot among the top home invasion movies rating. Once again the beginning of this film states that the events presented are true, which in reality is fake.

This movie continues the cliché of a couple staying in an isolated house, surrounded only by a large extension of trees. Everything is peaceful and tranquil when suddenly the couple starts hearing noises outside and inside the house, followed by power cuts and other predictable acts to intimidate them. Throughout the film, the numb

Ils (2006) "'You'll never feel safe in your home again"'

er of attackers is never revealed nor their specific bodies/faces, leaving everything to the viewer's imagination. Nevertheless, this movie is closer to reality than the previous one since it's supposed to be based on a French couple who spent their weekend in a remote house in the Chezch Republic where they were attacked by 3 teenagers.

However, it's still hard to believe that these events happened as presented since no one survived to relate them. But if we follow the director's explanation, the perpetrators of the killings were children between 10 and 15 years old who appear to have a secret life in the sewers. The ending graphics state that the children only wanted to play with their victims, giving the illusion that they killed them because the attacked didn't want to play. Once again, psychopath symptoms appear.  

Kidnapped (2010)

To continue with the European film wage, this Spanish film directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas exposes a pretty usual and ordinary home invasion. Jaime, Marta, and Isabella are a family who just moved to a luxurious and spacious house. One of the guys from the moving agency begrudges their wealthy status and decides to pay them a little visit at night with 2 of his co-workers. What started as a simple robbery ends up being a massacre when things go south due to different unpredictable events. 

I refer to this situation as usual since, compared to the previously presented movies, the attackers didn't plan their night motivated by the entertainment of this family torture. This plot it's just about the wide gap between the rich and the poor in some European countries. 

Hush (2016)

I finish this list with my favorite film among all the previously stated. Mike Flanagan does an excellent job presenting the home invasion/kill attempt situation for a deaf person. In the beginning, cooking sounds are emphasized and later deleted to understand Maddie's condition. Towards the end of the production, sounds are deleted again and movements slow down to follow Maddie's thought process and underline her other senses. 

Hush (2016)

The film simply stands out from the rest due to the protagonist conditions, since basically, it follows the same storyline as the rest: isolated house in the woods and a psychopath killer who enjoys what he does. 

Basically, most of thriller/horror films are based on the psychopath storyline, even though some might stand out due to economic necessities. Now it's my time to decide what storyline I'm going to choose for my short film.

Resources:

• "When a Stranger Calls (2006 film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
• "The Strangers (2008 film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
• "Them (2006 film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
• "Kidnapped (2010 film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Feb. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
• "Hush (2016 film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
• "FACT CHECK: Based on a True Story,." The Blood Shed. N.p., 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.