claustrophobic backdrop

Movies with claustrophobic vibe

Survivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.

Themes

Deception and disguise, Survival under pressure, Authority versus rebellion, Resource competition, Confined group dynamics, Fear-driven violence

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Contraband

1752. Contraband

Thriller Action Drama Crime Vehicle-Driven Action
6.4

20121h 49min

Iceland, United Kingdom

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong, and Farraday finds himself wanted by cops, crooks and killers alike.

Themes

Family loyalty under pressure, Risk and improvisation, Debt-driven crime, Deception within partnerships, Betrayal among allies, Threats and intimidation

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Goon

1753. Goon

Comedy Drama Buddy Comedy Underdog Sports
6.8

20121h 32min

Canada, United States

Director: Michael Dowse

Doug Glatt, a slacker who discovers he has a talent for brawling, is approached by a minor league hockey coach and invited to join the team as the "muscle." Despite the fact that Glatt can't skate, his best friend, Pat, convinces him to give it a shot, and Glatt becomes a hero to the team and their fans, until the league's reigning goon becomes threatened by Glatt's success and decides to even the score.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Duty to protect, Mentor protege dynamics, Public scrutiny and validation, Rising reputation and consequences, Violence in sport

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

On a frozen private island still owned by a Nazi-stained dynasty, disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist digs into a girl’s 40-year-old disappearance while a brutal guardian cages hacker Lisbeth Salander. Together they pry at the family’s locked secrets, knowing that whoever sealed this past once will do anything to keep it buried again.

Themes

Abuse of power, Investigative journalism, Systemic corruption, Family secrecy, Nazism era past, Financial crime as leverage

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Livid

1755. Livid

Horror Supernatural Horror
5.7

20111h 32min

France

Director: Alexandre Bustillo

Lucie, Ben and William search an old woman's home for a hidden treasure and they encounter a series of supernatural events that change them forever.

Themes

Hidden treasure temptation, Survival amid supernatural threat, Old woman's home lure, Vampire control through fear, Body autonomy under coercion, Identity through bodily change

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Cyberbully

1756. Cyberbully

Drama TV Movie Psychological Drama Family TV Movie
5.4

20111h 30min

Canada

Director: Charles Binamé

A woman tries to help her teenage daughter when she becomes the victim of online bullying.

Themes

Reputation under scrutiny, Online harassment dynamics, Institutional response to cyberbullying, Trauma and coping in youth, Peer influence and conformity, Privacy versus visibility online

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

In Time

1757. In Time

Action Thriller Science Fiction Dystopian Sci-Fi Epic Action
6.7

20111h 49min

United States

Director: Andrew Niccol

In the not-too-distant future, the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest struggle to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man who suddenly comes into a fortune of time finds himself on the run from a corrupt police force known as the "time keepers".

Themes

Class inequality, Time as currency, Wealth and immortality, Scarcity and desperation, Redistribution of time, Corrupt policing

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sleep Tight

1758. Sleep Tight

Thriller Horror Psychological Horror Domestic Thriller
7.2

20111h 41min

Spain

Director: Jaume Balagueró

César, an unhappy concierge, maintains a peculiar relationship with the very diverse inhabitants of the upper-class apartment building where he works in Barcelona.

Themes

Class inequality, Manipulation and control, Loneliness and alienation, Abuse of trust, Surveillance and intrusion, Privacy violations

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Trespass

1759. Trespass

Thriller Domestic Thriller
5.3

20111h 31min

United States

Director: Joel Schumacher

Kyle and Sarah Miller have it all: a huge gated house on the water, fancy cars, and the potential for romance in their relationship. He's just back from a business trip and their teen daughter Avery is sneaking out to a party, when four thugs in security uniforms and ski masks stage a home invasion. They want what's in the safe: cash and diamonds. As Kyle stalls them, trying to negotiate for Sarah's freedom, the fault lines in Kyle and Sarah's marriage and the pasts of the four robbers come into play. Is there room here for heroism?

Themes

Trust and betrayal, Deception under duress, Survival under threat, Crime and coercion, Financial precarity, Family fault lines

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Thing

1760. The Thing

Horror Science Fiction Mystery Alien Horror Alien Contact Sci-Fi
6.2

20111h 43min

United States

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

When paleontologist Kate Lloyd travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

Themes

Paranoia under isolation, Survival versus trust, Contamination anxiety, Quarantine dynamics within a group, Fear of the unfamiliar, Deception and uncertainty

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.