bleak backdrop

Movies with bleak vibe

Colonia

971. Colonia

Drama History Historical Drama Biographical History
7.0

20151h 46min

Germany, Luxembourg

Director: Florian Gallenberger

A young woman's desperate search for her abducted boyfriend draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.

Themes

State violence, Authoritarian repression, Dissident persecution, Cult indoctrination, Secret collusion, Gender resilience

Available on

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

We Are Still Here

972. We Are Still Here

Horror Supernatural Horror
5.7

20151h 23min

United States

Director: Ted Geoghegan

After the death of their college age son, Anne and Paul Sacchetti relocate to the snowswept New England hamlet of Aylesbury, a sleepy village where all is most certainly not as it seems. When strange sounds and eerie feelings convince Anne that her son's spirit is still with them, they invite an eccentric, New Age couple to help them get to the bottom of the mystery.

Themes

Grief and coping, Supernatural retaliation, Haunted rural secrecy, Place-based sacrifice, Communal fear and violence, Spiritualism vs exploitation

Available on

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

The Second Mother

973. The Second Mother

Drama Family Drama
7.8

20151h 52min

Brazil

Director: Anna Muylaert

After leaving her daughter Jessica in a small town in Pernambuco to be raised by relatives, Val spends the next 13 years working as a nanny to Fabinho in São Paulo. She has financial stability but has to live with the guilt of having not raised Jessica herself. As Fabinho’s university entrance exams approach, Jessica reappears in her life and seems to want to give her mother a second chance. However, Jessica has not been raised to be a servant and her very existence will turn Val’s routine on its head. With precision and humour, the subtle and powerful forces that keep rigid class structures in place and how the youth may just be the ones to shake it all up.

Themes

Class inequality, Power dynamics, Generational conflict, Economic dependency, Household boundaries, Social norm pressure

Available on

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

Grandma

974. Grandma

Comedy Drama Family Drama Dark Comedy
6.7

20151h 18min

United States

Director: Paul Weitz

Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.

Themes

Grandparent grandchild relationship strain, Road trip pressure, Abortion access conflict, Day-long journey cohesion, Economic bargaining within family

Available on

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

Pressure

975. Pressure

Drama Thriller Survival Thriller
5.6

20151h 31min

United Kingdom

Director: Ron Scalpello

Four divers are stuck deep underwater in a vessel after a freak storm destroys their ship. Will they survive?

Themes

Survival under pressure, Leadership under crisis, Isolation and dependence, Resource scarcity under duress, Ethical decision making, Human vulnerability under extremes

Available on

Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Hoopla
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Love & Mercy

976. Love & Mercy

Drama Music History Psychological Drama Music Biopic
7.4

20152h

United States

Director: Bill Pohlad

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

Themes

Romance under scrutiny, Creative autonomy under pressure, Guardianship and control, Ownership rights conflict, Mental health under fame, Therapeutic manipulation

Available on

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

45 Years

977. 45 Years

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Bittersweet Romance
7.1

20151h 35min

United Kingdom

Director: Andrew Haigh

There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

Themes

Family secrets, Past relationship resurfacing, Marital strain under memory, Infidelity shadows, Promises vs reality, Aging marriage expectations

Available on

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

The Club

978. The Club

Drama Mystery Thriller Psychological Drama Whodunit
7.2

20151h 37min

Chile

Director: Pablo Larraín

In a secluded house in a small seaside town live four unrelated men and the woman who tends to the house and their needs. All former priests, they have been sent to this quiet exile to purge the sins of their pasts, the separation from their communities the worst form of punishment by the Church. They keep to a strict daily schedule devoid of all temptation and spontaneity, each moment a deliberate effort to atone for their wrongdoings.

Themes

Moral ambiguity, Isolation and control, Institutional secrecy, Ritual restraint, Trauma and complicity, Surveillance and discipline

Available on

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

Insidious: Chapter 3

979. Insidious: Chapter 3

Horror Thriller Supernatural Horror Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
6.1

20151h 37min

Canada, United States

Director: Leigh Whannell

A twisted new tale of terror begins for a teenage girl and her family, and revealing more mysteries of the otherworldly realm, 'The Further'.

Themes

Grief and memory, Family resilience under threat, Deception by online investigators, Contact with the dead, Life-force exploitation, Boundaries between worlds

Available on

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

Circle

980. Circle

Horror Science Fiction Mystery Thriller Psychological Horror
6.0

20151h 26min

United States

Director: Mario Miscione

In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.

Themes

Survival under duress, Bias and prejudice under pressure, Collective morality under threat, Utilitarian sacrifice debates, Power dynamics under crisis, Group accountability and blame