FromThe Deer HuntertoMisery,Nocturnal AnimalstoMad Max: Fury Road, intense films have always played an integral part in our culture and movie discourse at large. Intensity can come in many different forms, whether it be high-octane car chases or slow, burning glimpses into a single character’s internal world. Either way, these films are bound to keep us engaged with their characters in ways we had never considered imaginable before.
Updated August 18, 2025: This article has been updated to include more intense films that will stress the viewer out.
Intense films often push the audience to the limits of viewership for the sake of revealing something that may not be accessible in every type of genre. They may be hard to watch, but usually, their payoff is what makes these films well worth the view - whether that be for the better or worse. These aren’t the type of films one would want to watch if they are trying to have a nice relaxing evening at home. Here are the most intense films of all time ranked.
11The Devil All The Time (2020)
Especially upon the first viewing,The Devil All The Timehas one of the most intense finales of any movie. Set in the backwoods of the American South after the end of the Second World War, the film follows several colorful characters as they are overtaken by the corruption that uncertainty breeds.
The filmmakers cleverly distract the audience with one main story, only to find that all the events happening throughout the film are connected to the protagonist, and he’ll have to fight to survive every single person that the movie has shown. Even after the initial shock that comes from watchingThe Devil All The Time, each viewing lets the audience dig deeper into why the characters act the way they do, keeping the intensity up even after the twist of the end is revealed.
10Nightcrawler (2014)
In a performance thattotally revitalized the actor’s career, Jake Gyllenhaal is deeply unnerving as a wide-eyed con man/crime journalist Lou Bloom. Dan Gilroy’s 2014 film sees Gyllenhaal spiral out of control as he cruises the grimy streets of L.A. at night on the prowl for “the perfect crime.” Taking inspiration from films likeBringing Out the Dead, as well asBroadcast NewsandNetwork,Nightcrawlerboldly challenges where we draw the line between participant and observer when it comes to the horrible things we see. It is a slow-burn journey where audiences can do nothing but sit back and wait to see how Bloom will push the envelope next - what happens when no one is there to stop him?
9Children of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’s 2006 masterpieceChildren of Menis perhaps one of thebleakest dystopian films ever made. The film sees a near future in which infertility threatens mankind with extinction; after the last-born child dies, civil servant, Theo Faron joins the fight for hope amid Earth’s unlikely survival. It’s not justthe subject matter ofChildren of Menwhich makes it such an intense ride (although this is certainly part of it - the film didn’t exactly succeed in attracting audiences on its Christmas Day release).
Emmanuel Lubezki’s brilliant cinematography utilizes techniques like single shots to make the film’s depravity feel devastatingly intimate.Children of Menalso came out only a few years after the 9/11 attacks, capturing the lingering national sentiment of uncertainty over our future.
8The Thing (1982)
Considered a horror classic in modern times,The Thingis a movie that preys on the fear and insanity that can come with isolation. When an alien invades an Artic Base, the men stationed there are faced with paranoia and a moral dilemma. The alien could be disguised as any one of them, so if they stay, the creature can pick them off one by one.
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However, if they attempt to flee to the rest of society, they have no way of knowing they left the alien at the base. This psychological thriller makes the audience question everything, offering no relief from the fear of the unknown. The constant sense of suspense is likely why this film has cemented its place in pop culture forever.
7Uncut Gems (2019)
Uncut Gemsis one of the best movies Adam Sandler has ever starred in and also one of the most intense viewing experiences for any audience member. The movie has the pacing and rhythm of a high-end basketball game, where control of a situation is constantly switching between various characters at such an intense speed. The viewer is forced to watch characters make horrible decisions, and then when they appear to be safe, double down and make everything worse. It is one high-octane gamble of a movie that makes the viewer feel like they are sitting through a two-hour argument.
6Prisoners (2013)
Denis Villeneuve’sPrisonersputs any parent’s worst nightmare to the screen and refuses to spare its audience the horror. The film follows two men driven to the limits of obsession as they hunt down a nameless kidnapper who’s imprisoned one of their daughters. What’s so maddening about this audacious crime-thriller, for both its characters and audience alike, is how quickly the hunt for the kidnapper appears to turn futile.
The protagonists are driven towards the most brutal extremities of violence as the kidnapper’s identity only continues to grow more and more elusive.Prisonersnever gives its viewers any place to hide - from the opening scene, it is transparent about how dark a universe we are getting into, where both the bad guys and the good ones are capable of evil.
5Oldboy (2003)
Park Chan-wook’sOldboyis an excruciatingly stylish nightmare of ultra-violence and revenge. The film’s infamous story follows a man who is held prisoner in a basement cell for fifteen years for reasons he is completely unaware of. When Dae-su is released, he is invited to play a twisted cat-and-mouse game with his captor that only grows more sinister and shocking by the moment.
Related:10 Psychological Thrillers from the 1970s That Will Break Your Mind
Despite its extremely modern stylization, which keeps viewers in the palm of its hand at all times,Oldboyhas a noir-like pacing that makes it’s twisted reveals all the more viscerally captivating.
4Whiplash (2014)
Damien Chazelle’s dazzling debut doesn’t require violence to be one of the tensest movies ever made - even if we do see a fair amount of blood.Whiplashfollows an ambitious young jazz drummer whose ruthless, abusive instructor pushes him toward peak obsession. The blood, sweat, and tears oozing from every surface of Chazelle’s film has ledWhiplashto, in more than one instance, be compared toonly the most brutal of sports films. Whether it comes to Fletcher’s extremely inventive catalog of insults or Neyman’s tireless ferocity and blisters, there is no moment inWhiplashthat allows us to relax - or even breathe comfortably.
3Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The first twenty minutes alone ofSaving Private Ryanare enough to render it one of the most gruesome, intense films in modern history, let alone war films. Spielberg’s legendary WWII epic finds a simple story that couldn’t be any more mired in moral complexity; a group of soldiers is tasked with finding Private Ryan, whose three brothers have all already been killed. On a mission that’s supposed to boost morale, how will the soldiers reckon with the constant threat of death?Saving Private Ryan, while being visually hard to watch at times, puts a human face to a war story, which makes it full of immense dread and hope alike.
2Green Room (2016)
Audiences will likely never be able to see Patrick Stewart in the same way after this A24 pulse-pounder.Green Roomsees a group of young punk rockers held prisoner by skinheads after accidentally witnessing a crime. Once the violence starts, it never quite stops. The group finds itself desperately trying to fight their way out of the club’s green room to little avail.
Of course, it’s the beatings, meltdowns, and horrifying political landscape ofGreen Roomthat make it so scary. But it’s also the unwavering tension between its characters; while the late, great Anton Yelchin gives paranoia a new name, Patrick Stewart (the neo-Nazi leader) manages to perpetually keep his cool.Green Roomis as bone-chilling as it is puke-inducing.
