Home invasion narratives have been around nearly as long as cinema itself, popularized by the silent era's "race-to-the-rescue" movies and classic Hollywood's "gangster raid" films, and influenced by the slasher and stalker sub-genres. They emerged as a fully formed sub-genre following the success of major releases like The Strangers (2008) and The Purge (2013), with more than 100 such films issued in the 2010s alone.

Commonalities and differences can be found in the home invasion films featuring criminals, stalkers, and psychopaths, in addition to the inverted and hybrid releases that revise established narratives. This book examines the history, cinematic and societal influences, and reasons for the popularity of home invasion films, offering potential allegorical readings of the narratives and a comprehensive list of these films.