In The Amityville Horror (1979) a "dream house" in the Long Island community of Amityville turns out to be a nightmare. In the early-1970s a young man had killed his entire family while living in the house. A year later the house is sold, and by coincidence the new owner looks almost exactly like the murderer. Within a couple of weeks so much mayhem ensues that they leave the house without even claiming their belongings. Why all the turmoil? The audience can choose from a variety of explanations offered through the course of the film: an Indian tribe had used the site as a burial ground, a witch who had been banished from Salem built a house on the site, and the basement stairs are the gateway to Hell. The movie has a ridiculous quality to it that, in the words of Verona Geng, "force[s] random data into a pattern of evidence: Honest to God, I'm not lying, I picked up the phone and there was static on the line!" [1]

Poltergeist (1982) follows a similar pattern. The Freeling family lives in a large suburban development that was built on land that had been occupied by a cemetery. The developers claimed to have relocated the bodies, but they really only moved the headstones. The paranormal phenomena that ensue are focused on the Freeling house because they were the first family to inhabit the development. Their youngest daughter, Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), is especially singled out because she was the only child born in the house. The apparitions communicate with the little girl through the television (although they abduct her through a closet). The explanations provided for the action in the movie are woefully inadequate, but certain points are clear: that television consumes its viewers and that sprawling suburbanization has consumed land without regard for the consequences. In the end the Freeling house implodes.

In House (1986) a writer inherits his aunt's suburban house and he moves in to write a book about his experiences in the Vietnam War. He discovers that the house is haunted, but these ghosts have the ability to reach into the victim's mind. In writing about his war experiences he is forced to relive them. Robin Wood points out that the dramatic rules governing horror films have been altered in recent years. In all of these films, a threat is introduced that creates a sense of psychological intrusion from which there is no refuge. Where the threat was to an entire community in Jaws, or to households in The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, the monsters of more recent horror films invade the most private thoughts of individuals. No place is safe. Freddy Krueger , the bogeyman in A Nightmare on Elm Street ( 1984), invades the dreams of his victims. As Wood states, "The monster can no longer be repressed." [2] In a society that is increasingly aware of violence and of a wide array of social problems, a siege mentality has taken root. Suburbia, once thought to be a refuge from the problems of the city, is now seen as infested with problems. Douglas Rathgeb argues that we have come to see "some greater collective evil within ourselves that demands greater punishment, that forbids relief." [3] The monsters return for sequel after sequel, but these horror films still manage to reach some sort of resolution in the end. For example, the victim in House comes to terms with his guilt about his experiences in the Vietnam War.

Not all films in which suburbia is under threat are indictments of the suburban lifestyle or depict horrific villains. In Suburban Commando (1992) Hulk Hogan plays a commando from outer space who is stranded on Earth. Despite his repeated statement, "I hate earthlings," he comes to see the fulfilling nature of suburban life. In Home Alone (1990) Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) is left behind when his family goes away on vacation and he must defend his home against inept burglars. These films, produced as family entertainment, present external threats in a gentle and comic way.