Claustrophobic Movies

From Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Rated Approved

12 Angry Men is a classic courtroom drama directed by Sidney Lumet. The story follows a jury of 12 men as they deliberate over a murder case. After the judge's instructions, the jury's initial vote stands at 11-1 in favor of guilty. However, Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) stands alone in his insistence that the accused may be innocent, and sets out to prove it. Through a series of heated debates and moral dilemmas, the jurors slowly come to reconsider the evidence of the case and to doubt the prosecution's case. In the end, all 12 men come to a unanimous decision of not guilty, demonstrating the power of standing up for one's beliefs.

From Ridley Scott, starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Rated R

Alien is a 1979 science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Set in the distant future, the story follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo, who investigate a distress call from an alien planet and unwittingly bring aboard an extraterrestrial deadly creature that stalks and hunts the crew. After a series of deadly encounters, the remaining crew members, led by Warrant Officer Ripley, must battle the creature in a desperate fight for their lives.

From Terry George, starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
Rated PG-13

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 British-Italian-South African historical drama film directed by Terry George. It is based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in the Rwandan Genocide. The story begins in 1994, when Hutu extremist forces in the capital city of Kigali begin slaughtering the Tutsi people. Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu, manages the luxurious Hôtel des Mille Collines and refuses to turn away Tutsi refugees, even though it could cost him his job and even his life. With the help of the UN peacekeeping forces, Paul is able to protect over a thousand Tutsi refugees by housing them in the hotel. Paul’s efforts are met with strong resistance from the Hutu militia and the government, both of whom demand that the hotel be emptied of its refugees. In the face of constant danger, Paul and his family courageously protect their guests, while also trying to negotiate a cease-fire with the Hutu militia. In the end, Paul’s bravery and leadership inspire hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

From Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Rated R

Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 American crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet. It stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, and Charles Durning. The film tells the story of a man, Sonny (Pacino), who attempts to rob a bank to pay for his lover's sex-change operation. Along with his volatile accomplice, Sal (Cazale), Sonny and his crew take hostages and face police siege. What was intended to be a simple robbery escalates into a psychological drama as they are forced to deal with the various personalities of the hostages and police, as well as their own motivations and fears. The film explores themes such as the impact of media on public perception and the limits of loyalty in desperate circumstances. It received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Pacino, and won one for Best Original Screenplay.

From Kim Ki-duk, starring Kim Ki-duk, Oh Yeong-su, Jong-ho Kim, Kim Young-min
Rated R

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-duk. The film tells the story of a Buddhist monk and his student as they live through the four seasons of life. In the spring, the monk is a young boy living in a small floating temple in the middle of a lake. He learns the way of life and the teachings of Buddhism from his master. In the summer, he is a young monk studying the teachings of Buddhism. In the fall, he is an adult monk with a spiritual understanding of the world and is helping to take care of the temple. In the winter, he is an elderly monk imparting his wisdom to the next generation of monks. And in the final season, he is a child once again, continuing the cycle. The film illustrates the Buddhist teachings of life, death and rebirth, as the monk and his student go through their respective cycles of life.

From Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara
Rated PG-13

The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir. The story follows astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded on Mars after a mission to the red planet goes wrong. Watney is forced to use all of his ingenuity and resourcefulness to survive, while his crewmates back on Earth desperately attempt to bring him home. As Watney battles the harsh environment of Mars, those on Earth fight their own battles of politics, funding, and morale to make sure that Watney has a chance to return to his family. In the end, Watney is saved, and a new era of interplanetary exploration is born.

From Kim Ki-duk, starring Seung-Yun Lee, Hee Jae, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Jin-mo Joo
Rated R

3-Iron is a South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-duk and released in 2004. It tells the story of a young drifter named Tae-suk, who silently and without permission, enters the homes of strangers while they are away. He then lives in their homes, usually doing odd jobs and repairs to pass his time. When the homeowners return, rather than be angered by the stranger in their house, some even become friends with Tae-suk. However, as Tae-suk's activities become increasingly dangerous, he is soon forced to face the consequences of his actions. 3-Iron is an exploration of the nature of love, loneliness, and identity, and it is a visually stunning and emotionally charged film.

From John Hughes, starring Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Rated R

The Breakfast Club follows five high school students from different social cliques as they are forced to spend a Saturday detention together in the school library. As the day progresses, the students reveal their innermost secrets, fears, and dreams, and find that despite their obvious differences, they all share a common bond. At the end of the day, the students are able to look beyond their social labels, and realize that they are much more similar than they had previously thought.

From Quentin Tarantino, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins
Rated R

The Hateful Eight is a 2015 Western mystery film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Set in post-Civil War Wyoming, the film follows eight strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the Civil War. The strangers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all. The eight strangers include bounty hunter John Ruth, his fugitive Daisy Domergue, former Confederate General Sanford Smithers, former Union soldier Major Marquis Warren, and four other suspicious characters. As tensions build, the eight must confront their suspicions and prejudices as they try to survive their stay in the stopover. With a brilliant, intense, and at times, darkly funny script, The Hateful Eight is another masterful work of Quentin Tarantino.

From Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Paul Sanchez, Lari White
Rated PG-13

Cast Away is a 2000 American survival drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on a deserted island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. When his attempts to sail away and contact rescuers fail, he learns to survive on the island, where he ultimately finds solace and is able to start a new chapter in his life. The film explores themes of human isolation, resilience, and the effects of modern society on the individual.

From Duncan Jones, starring Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw
Rated R

"Moon" is a science fiction drama set on a lunar base in the near future. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an astronaut nearing the end of a three-year solitary stint as the sole occupant of the Sarang base. His mission is to oversee the harvesting and shipment of the abundant energy source Helium-3 from the moon’s surface back to Earth. With only a computerized assistant, GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), for companionship, Sam grows increasingly isolated and disconnected from reality. Just as his life on the lunar station is about to end, Sam begins to experience strange visions and starts to suspect that he is not alone. When a mysterious accident forces him to investigate the remote parts of the station, he makes a shocking discovery that changes his life forever. Sam is forced to confront difficult moral and ethical choices as he struggles to find a way back to Earth and the family he left behind.

From Terence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Rated Not Rated

Wait Until Dark is a 1967 psychological thriller directed by Terence Young starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. The film follows Susy Hendrix, a blind widow who unwittingly becomes the target of three con men searching for a heroin-filled doll they believe is in her apartment. To protect herself and her child, Susy must rely on her resourcefulness and intuition to outwit the criminals and keep her family safe. With the help of her friend Sam, Susy works to outsmart the con men, who become increasingly desperate and violent as the night wears on. The film ends in a nail-biting climax as Susy turns the tables on her assailants and outsmarts them.

From Kevin Smith, starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer
Rated R

Clerks is a 1994 American black-and-white comedy film written, directed, and co-produced by Kevin Smith. The film follows a day in the lives of two store clerks, Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson). Throughout their day, the two experience the boredom of their mundane jobs and the quirks of their customers all while dealing with their own personal issues. The film is noted for its realistic dialogue, which was almost entirely improvised. The film was shot in the convenience store where Smith worked and cost only $27,000 to make. Despite its low budget, the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $3.2 million at the box office. Clerks was the first of Smith's View Askewniverse films, and launched the career of the director.

From Oliver Hirschbiegel, starring Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski, Wotan Wilke Möhring
Rated R

The Experiment is a 2001 German psychological thriller film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The film is based on Mario Giordano's novel, Black Box, which was inspired by the 1971 Stanford prison experiment. It follows the story of 26 men who sign up to take part in a two-week-long psychological study that involves pretending to be prison inmates and guards. When the men are randomly assigned to their respective roles, the power dynamics between the guards and the inmates quickly spiral out of control, culminating in a chaotic and violent showdown. During the experiment, the participants struggle with morality, loyalty, and identity as their behavior becomes increasingly aggressive.

From Danny Boyle, starring James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Sean Bott
Rated R

127 Hours is a 2010 biographical survival drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Simon Beaufoy and starring James Franco as Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who became trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Blue John Canyon, southeastern Utah, in April 2003. After five days of struggling to free himself, Ralston amputates his own arm to escape. The film also stars Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn as Aron's friends and support system. The film dramatizes the events of Ralston's accident and his struggle for survival, along with his journey of self-discovery. The film is a reflection on the will to live and the remarkable power of the human spirit. As Aron's ordeal progresses, his determination to survive is tested, and he is forced to face his innermost thoughts and feelings, and the realization that he could die alone in the canyon. Ultimately, Aron is able to overcome his physical and emotional challenges, and his will to survive is reaffirmed.

From Gareth Evans, starring Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah
Rated R

The Raid: Redemption is a 2011 Indonesian action film directed by Gareth Evans and starring Iko Uwais. The film follows an elite Special Tactics and Rescue (SATR) team who are sent to a tenement building that has been taken over by a ruthless gang of criminals. The squad must fight their way up the building, floor by floor, in order to take down the criminals and their leader, the notorious drug lord, Tama. Along the way, the team faces off against hardened criminals, and must use their ingenuity and training to survive. The film is filled with intense action sequences, and is noted for its creative and innovative fight choreography.

From Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci
Rated PG-13

From Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza, starring Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Rated R

From Robert Eggers, starring Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Logan Hawkes
Rated R

From James Mangold, starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Rated R

From Dan Trachtenberg, starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Douglas M. Griffin
Rated PG-13

From Vincenzo Natali, starring Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller
Rated R

From James Ward Byrkit, starring Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen
Rated Not Rated

From Neil Marshall, starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Rated R

From Joel Schumacher, starring Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell
Rated R