This article contains spoilers for some of the following movies about killer familiesThere is no shortage of horrific, twisted, and dysfunctional families in the horror genre. From the cannibalistic Sawyer family, to the sadistic Armitage family. One killer is terrifying enough, but being stuck in the home of a truly deranged family is the stuff of nightmares. On the surface, they may seem like a level-headed, kind, loving, and neighborly family. But once you get invited into their home, you will soon meet the real twisted versions of them, and you may never leave. If you thought your family was dysfunctional, then this list will certainly make you appreciate Grandpa’s fishing story that you’ve heard over and over again. So, grab your loved ones and appreciate that they aren’t killers, as we rank the best horror movies with killer families.
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7 Ready or Not (2019)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Remember the classic game of Hide and Seek? It’s not so fun if you’re the victim of playing this game against the Le Domas’. As part of every wedding ritual night, the Satan-worshipping Le Domas family always makes the new edition to the family pick out a card from Le Bail’s puzzle box. This goes unfortunately for Grace (Samara Weaving), as she pulls out Hide and Seek. Anyone would be remiss to think this sounds fun, until the Le Domas’ arm themselves, ready for the hunt.
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6 You’re Next (2011)
Lionsgate
You’re Next puts a great twist on not only the home invasion genre as a whole, but also the killer family sub-genre. The main final girl, Erin, defies all expectations by being an unstoppable killing machine, with impressive survival skills. The film also made the Davison family a pretty normal, but exceptionally flawed family. While this entry may be cheating, considering not all the family members were murderers, there were however, three who wanted the rest of them dead, by any means necessary.
You’re Next is one of the best horror comedies of all time, due to how dysfunctional this family is, and how somewhat terrible they are at killing. The Davisons are definitely the least intimidating on this list, but with their wit and drive to kill the rest of their family, they still deserve a solid place on the list.
5 Get Out (2017)
Universal Pictures
On the surface, the Armitage family looks like a great and loving family. They are kind and very welcoming, but they hold a very dark secret about their home and their family. The Armitages are extreme racists and part of an evil cult organization called The Order of the Coagula. They horrifically use their daughter to date young Black men and women, so they can entrap, sell, and transfer the consciousness of prospected buyers into the young, Black bodies. There is no doubt that the Armitages are pure evil, and their sadistic “auction” makes this twisted family much more terrifying.
Jordan Peele did a brilliant job at making us think that The Armitages are a warm and welcoming family, which made the reveal of who they really are that much more terrifying, and helped make Get Out one of the best and most revolutionary horror films of the past decade.
4 The Last House on the Left (1972)
Hallmark Releasing
In Wes Craven’s disturbing directorial debut, audiences are introduced to the Silos, a clan of sexual assaulters and murderers. The Silos are a depraved group, who sexually assault and murder a young hippie girl. This led to her parents seeking their revenge in equally gory fashion. The Last on The Left isn’t exactly an easy watch, mostly because of this family and the uncomfortable scenes Craven put us through. Craven made this family so depraved and twisted, that the film was banned in most countries. It wasn’t until the 2008 remake that the original was unbanned.
3 House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Lions Gate Films
The Firefly clan quickly became one of cinema’s most perverse families, with their sheer brutality, unpredictability, and truly unstable minds. This was all thanks to Rob Zombie’s directorial debut, House of 1000 Corpses, introducing us to this crazed killer family. House of 1000 Corpses demonstrated how unhinged this family is, showing no remorse towards anyone, living or dead. We witness the Firefly clan scalp innocent travelers, disembowel them, and create horrifying shrines of their gruesome kills. 2003 was a time when torture porn was a staple of horror movies, and Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses was one of the greats to come out of that sub-genre.
House of 1000 Corpses’ cult following resulted in Zombie bringing the Firefly clan back for more bloody and brutal kills in two more sequels, The Devils Rejects and The 3 From Hell. While not as successful as House of 1000 Corpses, they still got to demonstrate how brutal the Firefly clan was.
2 The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Vanguard
Another Wes Craven classic, The Hills Have Eyes introduced us to another killer family, in the form of the Jupiter Clan. This family was a clan of mutated cannibals who survive on the flesh of those unlucky enough to cross their paths. Jupiter (the Patriarch and head of the family) had a somewhat tragic backstory, by being born irregularly for unknown reasons, causing his mother’s death. Jupiter was similarly more aggressive and larger than usual, which led to him murdering his sister, and once his father found out, he beat Jupiter with a tire iron and left him to die in the hills. Jupiter soon fell in love with a prostitute and had four children. This then led to how his parade of violence and cannibalism on innocent tourists came to past. Perhaps what makes this group more frightening is that Wes Craven based the film and family on a true story.
1 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Bryanston Distributing Company
At the top of our list is the depraved, twisted, and cannibalistic Sawyer family, from Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film introduced us to one of the most infamous families and characters in horror movie history. Texas Chain Saw was so disturbing and horrific, that it had to be banned in most countries at the time of release, because of its brutal violence, uncomfortable dinner scene, and a sadistic, unruly, bloodthirsty family. Of this, Leatherface was born, the intimidating man-child who wields a chainsaw to kill his victims. On top of this, he loves to wear his victims’ faces to hide his deformities. Leatherface is undeniably iconic, and the revs of his chainsaw are enough to make your skin crawl, which also made for one of the greatest final scenes in horror history. But Leatherface is only one member of this highly-disturbed family of cannibal hillbillies. The cannibalistic Sawyer family were prolific, for torturing tourists, and skinning their victims to make furniture pieces from their skin and their bones. Texas Chainsaw was hauntingly based on the true story of Ed Geins.
