Thursday Movie Picks: Halloween Edition: Home Invasion


Lock your doors because shit is about to get real with Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks as it's time for the Halloween edition, and the theme for this first week of October is home invasion, probably the most varied horror/thriller subgenre.

Hush (2016)

A deaf writer (Kate Siegel) who lives alone in a house in the woods must fight for her life when a masked stranger (John Gallagher Jr.) appears at her window with only one thing in mind, killing her. I picked this in the past and I'm picking it again because it's sooo good and fits the theme perfectly. 

mother! (2017)

A young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) and her husband (Javier Bardem) are living a happy and peaceful life at their country home. Then one night a stranger (Ed Harris) knocks on their door and brings havoc into their lives. I hated this movie, every second of it --Lawrence and Domhnall Gleeson give good performances though--, but when I think of home invasion this is the first that pops into my head. 

It's that time of the year when all crimes are allowed, so the Sandins lock themselves inside their house and plan on following their usual routine. But nothing goes as it's supposed to do and a group of masked people tries their best to break-in and kill them all. Not the best of the series (I still haven't seen this year's flick), but it's fine. 

12 comments :

  1. We match on Hush. That's such a good movie. We almost matched on The Purge. I decided not to pick it at the last moment. I hadn't thought of mother! as a home invasion flick, but you're right. It is. I think I like that movie. I think. My head was swimming after I watched it. I plan on giving it another go so I can attempt to organize my thoughts on it for a review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hated it but the more I think about it, the more I think I should give it another chance. I don't though because I'm afraid I may end up liking it.

      Delete
  2. I haven’t seen any of these. Hush might be a popular film this week. I’m not sure I want to see Mother and I will pass on The Purge because I don’t care for the plot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't bother with those two if I were in you. Hush though, that's a pretty good film.

      Delete
  3. We match on Hush! I've still never seen a single Purge movie. I feel like the only person that hasn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. I'm the only person I know in real life who has seen those movies.

      Delete
  4. Well I'm temporarily 0 for 3 on these, mother! is in my queue but I just haven't managed to convince myself I really want to see it yet. Honestly I'll never watch the other two though Hush is incredibly popular today but still no. This sort of fright is just not something I purposely seek out.

    With that said this was a tough week for me though I did ultimately find a trio that worked but they fall more into the thriller side of things rather than horror.

    He Ran All the Way (1951)-After a failed stickup during which he kills a cop Nick Robey (John Garfield) ducks into a local public pool house where he strikes up an acquaintance with Peg Dobbs (Shelley Winters). Upon leaving he offers her a cab ride to her home and she invites him in. Discovering he’s pursued he takes Peg and her family hostage leading to a tense standoff holding the police at bay while terrorizing the family. This was the great Garfield’s final film before the stress of being blacklisted lead to his fatal heart attack at only 39.

    The Desperate Hours (1955)-On the run after a prison break Glenn Griffin (Humphrey Bogart), his brother Hal (Dewey Martin) and Sam Kobish (Robert Middleton) break into the suburban Indianapolis home of businessman Dan Hilliard (Fredric March) and his family and take them hostage while they wait for Griffin’s moll to show up with loot for a getaway. What is supposed to be only a few hours stretches into nerve jangling days as the woman doesn’t show. William Wyler directed thriller is a tense suspenser. Badly remade in the 80’s.

    Cul-de-sac (1966)-George (Donald Pleasance) and his much younger French wife Teresa (Françoise Dorléac) live in an isolated castle on a remote tidal island. American gangster Dickey (Lionel Stander) fleeing a botched robbery with his wounded sidekick Albie (Jack MacGowran) cross the causeway at low tide and take over the castle but then the tables turn. Roman Polanski directed this strange thriller with both dramatic and comic overtones. Leading lady Dorléac was Catherine Deneuve’s sister and a rising international star before she was killed in a car crash the year after this was made.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a shame because Hush, in my opinion, is the only of the three that really deserves to be watched.

      I haven't seen any of your picks, but they sound interesting. I'll definitely check out Cul-de-sac as I'm planning on watching more Polanski films.

      Delete
  5. Ah, Mother!. That is an inspired pick. I haven't seen your other picks as Cul-de-sac is the film I want to see the most as I'm a Polanski fan and I've been waiting to get it on TV but it's often unavailable as I also tried to get it on DVD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No chance of seeing it on TV here. We only get crap :(

      Delete
  6. Sonia,

    "Hush" is on my Netflix watch list. The other two I'm just discovering through this week's movie prompt. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've heard of mother! of course, just never knew what it was about.

    ReplyDelete