10 Best Horror Movies That Subverted Classic Cliches

Coming from the minds of The Guest creators Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, this politically charged home invasion thriller begins on recognizable territory before taking a turn for the subversive. First there’s a prologue whererin some barely glimpsed victims are offed by masked killers, then a rich family reunites for an awkward dinner in their remote mansion, they start being picked off one by one, but luckily one of the son’s girlfriends is a resilient and spunky final girl type—and that’s where things take a turn.

See, in this film she didn’t pick up these unlikely skills from nowhere—her father was a doomsday prepping survivalist, the sort of odd upbringing she’s hidden from her paramour. And that’s just the first of many satirical twists in this tale which gradually moves from tense, dark slasher territory into some absurdly violent and hilariously over-the-top places by its demented denouement.

Worth watching for its killer ending alone, this tightly scripted thriller upends convention and keeps you guessing throughout its taut, brief runtime.