Wolves at the Door (2016) is a horror-thriller film directed by John R. Leonetti, loosely inspired by the infamous Manson Family murders. The movie is set in 1969 and follows four friends who gather at a house for a farewell party, unaware that they are being stalked by a group of intruders with deadly intentions.
The film takes place primarily inside a single house, creating a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere. The group of friendsโSharon (played by Katie Cassidy), her husband John, and their friendsโare unaware that they are being watched and targeted by a group of sadistic killers. As night falls, the intruders break into the home and terrorize the group, leading to a brutal and terrifying night of survival.
While the film is marketed as “based on true events,” it draws obvious parallels to the Manson Familyโs 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and others. However, the movie avoids directly using the real names of those involved or delving deeply into the Manson cult itself, focusing instead on the home invasion and the terror experienced by the victims.
Wolves at the Door is a tense home invasion thriller, but it received generally negative reviews for its lack of depth, character development, and over-reliance on familiar horror tropes. Some critics felt that the film’s attempt to fictionalize such a notorious true-crime event was handled too simplistically, with little exploration of the underlying horror beyond the surface-level fear of being attacked.
