The American Dream isn’t always what it seems. There is something so compelling and creepy about movies that take the idyllic Suburban lifestyle and flip it on its head to reveal the disturbing nature of humanity that even the cutest neighborhoods can’t avoid. Check out 24 unsettling movies that will have you side-eyeing your neighbors.
1- Vivarium (2019)
Vivarium is a chilling and disturbing movie that will have you on edge the whole time, debating whether or not to shut it off. A young couple heads to one of those cookie-cutter development neighborhoods where every house looks the same and quickly realizes they cannot leave and become part of some twisted experiment.
2- Serial Mom (1994)
This satirical black comedy and crime thriller is a wild ride from start to finish. A lovely and charming housewife and mother lives in a gorgeous suburban home and enjoys an idyllic life until someone disses her son, and she goes on a murder range, developing a taste for taking people’s lives.
3- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
I never would’ve thought of Edward Scissorhands as a suburban surrealist movie, but once someone mentioned it, I saw how perfectly it fits into this category. Tim Burton curates a fascinatingly normal world that surrounds this peculiar and terrifying man. The contrast between the state and the lead character makes him even more alarming.
4- The Stepford Wives (2004)
You can also watch the 1975 version of this movie, which many people feel is exponentially better. But I’m here to defend the 2004 remake! No matter which one you watch, the eerie suburban setting and facade of happiness will leave you unsettled and questioning the happy housewives in your neighborhood.
5- The Burbs (1989)
One of Tom Hanks’s more unorthodox movies, The Burbs, is about a typical family man who begins to suspect his new neighbors, the Klopeks, are dangerous. Along with his two eccentric buddies, he tries to investigate the new family and protect his neighborhood from these weirdos.
6- The Invitation (2022)
In The Invitation, a grieving daughter who just lost her mother receives a peculiar invitation from her newly discovered family. The movie begins with typical suburban and familial vibes but soon descends into a bloody disaster the lead character has to escape.
7- Parents (1989)
This horror comedy is about a ten-year-old boy who begins to think his parents may not be the typical people he thinks they are. The massive cuts of meat they bring home every night for dinner and glimpses at their peculiar and suspicious behavior lead him to take action against them and escape the horror of his seemingly picturesque family.
8- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of the most terrifying films from the 70s, and part of its terror is the normal suburban vibe that persists throughout the movie. While people have their bodies taken over by the body snatchers, the quaint neighborhoods devolve into paranoia and panic, making you question how well you know the people around you.
9- Heathers (1988)
My all-time favorite cult classic, Heathers, is a strange movie about high schoolers who go on a murder spree for seemingly no reason. Veronica, bored with her superficial and cruel friends, befriends the creepy new kid in school. After murdering two football players and one of her best friends, the couple goes on a downward spiral of crime.
10- Little Evil (2017)
This hilarious horror comedy is about a sweet and normal man, played by Adam Scott, who marries a woman with a son. While things seem normal at first, he slowly begins to see odd behavior in his stepson and eventually discovers he is the spawn of Satan.
11- Disturbia (2007)
Inspired by the iconic movie Rear Window, Disturbia, starring Shia LaBeouf, is about a troubled high schooler who believes his neighbor is a gruesome serial killer. When he is put under house arrest, he does nothing but watch his suspicious neighbor and sees some disturbing things.
12- The Truman Show (1998)
Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to go into The Truman Show blind. But if you didn’t know the story, the beginning depicts a charming and wholesome suburban life that raises no alarm bells until Truman starts to see the cracks in his fake life. It’s the perfect level of creepy and thought-provoking.
13- Pleasantville (1998)
Pleasantville depicts the fragility of the picturesque suburban lifestyle. A high school student obsessed with an old 50s TV show gets the opportunity to live in his favorite show in a simplistic black-and-white world. However, his sister joins him, and the doses of reality she gives the TV characters cause the environment to crumble.
14- Don’t Worry Darling (2022)
Don’t Worry Darling is about a happy couple living in a beautiful suburban neighborhood in the 50s or 60s. Everything seems pleasant, albeit a little robotic, but the lead character, one of the wives in the neighborhood, begins to question her reality and the legitimacy of her suburban life.
15- The Babysitter (2017)
A young boy sneaks out of bed to see what his hot babysitter is up to. Well, it turns out she’s part of a satanic cult full of dark teenagers. Despite his wild crush on his babysitter, he has to escape from her cult before they use him as a human sacrifice. The movie will have you looking back on your childhood babysitters with a quizzical lens.
16- American Beauty (1999)
American Beauty has some questionable themes, but suburban surrealism is a potent one. All the characters are seemingly normal, but the movie reveals the dark, twisted fantasies in the most standard suburbanites, showing the creepy side traditional families can have.
17- Honeydew (2020)
One online film buff described this movie as a weird, sick, slow burn, which is insanely accurate. It’s not a fast-paced movie, but it will unsettle you to your core with the eerie soundscape and strange plot. I highly recommend it to people who like unorthodox horror movies that leave you with questions.
18- Meet the Applegates (1990)
This movie is a brilliant adulteration of the suburban American way of life. It takes place in a small town in Iowa, following a family of rainforest insects disguised as humans. Their plan is to destroy a nearby nuclear plant, and in the process, they frighten the cookie-cutter neighborhood they infiltrated.
19- Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me takes place before Twin Peaks the TV show. Both capture the quintessential charm of a small town in the 90s, but the darkness lurking beneath the surface is complex and terrifying. I suggest watching the TV show as well as the movie if you enjoy suburban surrealism.
20- The Stepfather (2009)
You can also watch the 1987 version of The Stepfather, but I have a crush on Penn Badgley, so I’m recommending this one. A teenager is less than happy about his mom marrying someone new. However, he soon starts to feel like his stepfather is dangerous and maybe even homicidal.
21- Greener Grass (2019)
Greener Grass is an unrated comedy thriller that is captivating from beginning to end. It’s about two lovely suburban soccer moms who engage in a heated rivalry that spins out of control in no time. While their kids battle it out on the field, the two women begin to attack each other’s personal lives, all while looking pristine and pretty.
22- Suburbicon (2017)
Suburbicon is a disturbing movie about a peaceful and proper neighborhood known as Suburbicon. Matt Damon and Julianne Moore star have a couple who begin to unravel the darkness that lurks beneath the perfectly manicured lawns and cookie-cutter homes.
23- Disturbing Behavior (1998)
A high schooler moves to the lovely town of Cradle Bay but is suspicious of the top cliques that rule his school. When one of his friends decides to join this weird clique, the main character, Steve Clark, decides to go on a hunt for the truth and is shocked by what he finds.
24- Mom and Dad (2017)
While children usually feel safest with their parents, this movie shows how terrifying it is when the two people you trust most turn against you without explanation. Selma Blair and Nick Cage are horrifying as they attack their children along with all the other parents in this once-normal neighborhood.
Source: (Reddit).
