Nihilism movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant nihilism movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, weird, bleak, thought provoking, psychological and depressing films and TV shows about / with nihilism, death, violence, violent, storytelling, dialogue, psychology, mental disorder, existentialism and brutality plots mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres shot in USA, France, UK and other countries.
nihilism movies
612
TOP 10 movies tagged as nihilism: Naked (1993), The Man Who Sleeps (1974), Fight Club (1999), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Baise-moi (2000), Nightcrawler (2014), Taxi Driver (1976), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), American Psycho (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007).

List of nihilism movies

 7.7
 48K
Naked (1993)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 131 min.
Story: Johnny flees Manchester for London, to avoid a beating from the family of a girl he has raped. There he finds an old girlfriend, and spends some time homeless, spending much of his time ranting at strangers, and meeting characters in plights very ...
Style: disturbing, talky, philosophical, black comedy, compassionate ...
Audience: adult
Plot: existentialism, sexual abuse, nihilism, humiliation, voyeurism, alienation, drifter, character study, sex scene, rape, cruelty, rapist ...
Time: 90s, year 1993
Place: london, england, united kingdom, manchester, europe
Is relevant?
The Man Who Sleeps (1974)
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Tunisia
Duration: 77 min.
Story: In this French tour-de-force a young student decides to have no more interaction with the world than is needed to minimally sustain life. His increasingly automaton-like behavior is coupled with a strange clarity of insight about the world around ...
Style: experimental, art house, artsy, existential, contemplative ...
Plot: nihilism, existentialism, depression, loneliness, minimalism, introspection, existential loneliness, boredom, loser, time travel, lsd, trauma ...
Time: 70s, 20th century
Place: paris france, france
Is relevant?
 8.8
 2.6M
Fight Club (1999)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 139 min.
Story: A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the ...
Style: psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, cerebral, thought provoking ...
Audience: manly, boys' night, chick flick, girls' night, adult
Plot: twists and turns, self destructing, psychology, split personality, plot twist, nihilism, insanity, obsession, dissociative identity disorder, insomnia, identity crisis, mental illness ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999, year 2013
Place: delaware, seattle, iran, america, los angeles ...
Is relevant?
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Genre: Crime, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 136 min.
Story: Demonic gang-leader Alex goes on the spree of rape, mugging and murder with his pack of "droogs". But he's a boy who also likes Beethoven's Ninth and a bit of "the old in-out, in-out". He later finds himself at the ...
Style: disturbing, controversial, psychedelic, philosophical, atmospheric ...
Audience: adult
Plot: psychology, insanity, dystopia, surrealism, gang, rape, violent, controversy, violence, psychopath, sociopath, murder ...
Time: future, 20th century, 90s, 70s, 80s ...
Place: britain, london, england, united kingdom, europe
Is relevant?
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 4.5
 19K
Baise-moi (2000)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 77 min.
Story: Manu has lived a difficult life. Abused and violently raped, she sets off to find herself only to meet Nadine, a prostitute who has encountered one too many injustices in the world. Angry at the world, they embark on a twisted, rage-filled road ...
Style: sexy, sexual, erotic, perverse, bleak ...
Audience: adult
Plot: strong sexual content, rape and revenge, sex, explicit sex, femme fatale, murder, misandry, violence against women, depravity, violent sex, violence, nihilism ...
Time: 90s
Place: europe, france
Is relevant?
 7.8
 661K
Nightcrawler (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Style: neo noir, psychological, disturbing, suspense, atmospheric ...
Audience: adult
Plot: character study, sociopath, journalism, obsession, cynicism, psychopath, manipulation, morality, journalist, violence, deception, ethics ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, near future, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, usa, venice beach california, america ...
Is relevant?
 8.2
 1.0M
Taxi Driver (1976)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story: A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.
Style: psychological, neo noir, bleak, atmospheric, cult classic ...
Audience: adult
Plot: loner, vigilante, character study, alienation, vigilantism, violence, obsession, loneliness, psychology, lone wolves, taxi, social decay ...
Time: 70s, year 1976, 20th century, year 1975
Place: new york, manhattan new york city, usa, america, harlem ...
Is relevant?
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Extremely shy Lars finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother and sister-in-law worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size ...
Style: touching, humorous, depressing, sweet, melancholic ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: loneliness, mental illness, sex doll, shyness, doll, delusion, bittersweet, young man, introvert, small town, forbidden love, character study ...
Time: year 2007, 2000s, future, 21st century
Place: usa, wisconsin, new jersey
Is relevant?
 7.6
 825K
American Psycho (2000)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
Style: psychological, disturbing, psychological thriller, bloody, twist ending ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: psychopath, serial killer, insanity, sociopath, satire, violence, dark humor, psycho killer, materialism, yuppie, nihilism, millionaire ...
Time: year 2000, 80s, 2000s, year 1987, y2k ...
Place: new york, yale university, manhattan new york city, america, seattle ...
Is relevant?
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the ...
Style: neo noir, suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, serious ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: hitman, psychopath, shooting, serial killer, peril, desert, human nature, brutality, death, sheriff, cruelty, bounty hunter ...
Time: year 2007, 2000s, 20th century, year 1980, 80s
Place: texas, el paso texas, mexico, america, austin texas ...
Is relevant?
 7.1
 4K
The Stranger (1967)
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France, Algeria
Duration: 104 min.
Story: The Stranger is a literal (but still very cinematic) adaptation of the novel by Albert Camus. Marcello Mastrioanni stars as Meursault, a man who feels utterly isolated from everyone and everything around him. This alienation results in sudden, ...
Style: philosophical, neo noir, existential, neorealism, psychological ...
Plot: nihilism, murder, philosophy, prison, death of mother, funeral, mourning, society, courtroom drama, italian neorealism, sun, boyfriend girlfriend relationship ...
Time: year 1967, 1930s, 20th century
Place: algeria, middle east
Is relevant?
 6.9
 11K
Ex Drummer (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Music
Country: Belgium, France, Italy
Duration: 100 min.
Story: Three handicapped losers who form a band ask famous writer Dries to be their drummer. He joins the band and starts manipulating them.
Style: disturbing, suspenseful, erotic, dark comedy, semi serious ...
Plot: rock, punk, nihilism, strong sexual content, male rape, misogynist, homosexual, erotic scene, transgression, making love, extreme, homosexual rape ...
Time: near future, 21st century
Place: belgium
Is relevant?
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 7.2
 27K
I Stand Alone (1998)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 93 min.
Story: The Butcher (known from Noe's short film Carne) has done some time in jail after beating up the guy who tried to seduce his teenage mentally-handicapped daughter. Now he wants to start a new life. He leaves his daughter in an institution and ...
Style: depressing, disturbing, psychological, controversial, bloody ...
Audience: adult
Plot: sex, loneliness, butcher, revenge, incest, alienation, insanity, transgression, violent, existentialism, nihilism, extreme ...
Time: turn of the century, year 1998, 20th century, 80s
Place: paris france, france, europe
Is relevant?
 7.5
 224K
Falling Down (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: On the day of his daughter's birthday, William "D-Fens" Foster is trying to get to the home of his estranged ex-wife to see his daughter. His car breaks down, so he leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. ...
Style: cult classic, psychological, rough, black comedy, philosophical ...
Audience: date night, manly
Plot: rage, vigilante, anger, midlife crisis, alienation, violence, character study, social commentary, urban decay, losing-it hero, traffic jam, road rage ...
Time: 90s, 80s, 20th century
Place: los angeles, california, persia, usa
Is relevant?
 8.7
 67K
Monster (2004)
Genre: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan, Poland
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story: Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, finds his life in utter turmoil after getting involved with a psychopath that was once a former patient.
Style: psychological, anime, realistic, serious, suspenseful ...
Plot: moral dilemma, false accusation, doctor, murder, protagonist as suspect, guilt, mastermind, manipulation, choice, hospital, nihilism, investigator ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, 70s, 80s, 21st century
Place: germany, europe, czech republic
Is relevant?
Harold and Maude (1971)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is ...
Style: black comedy, dark comedy, offbeat, feel good, inspirational ...
Audience: teens, date night
Plot: coming of age, suicide, funeral, older woman younger man relationship, eccentricity, misfit, old age, alienation, age difference, couples, cemetery, dark humor ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, year 1971
Place: california, san francisco, bay area, usa
Is relevant?
 7.5
 464K
Collateral (2004)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.
Style: neo noir, clever, tense, atmospheric, suspense ...
Audience: date night, manly, boys' night
Plot: hitman, hostage, taxi, taxi driver, contract killer, sociopath, twists and turns, assassin, nihilism, merciless, professional killer, death ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, south america, southern california, persia ...
Is relevant?
Big Time Adolescence (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: A seemingly bright and mostly innocent 16-year-old named Mo attempts to navigate high school under the guidance of his best friend Zeke, an unmotivated-yet-charismatic college dropout. Although Zeke genuinely cares about Mo, things start to go awry ...
Style: semi serious, humorous, bleak, disturbing, independent film ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: coming of age, teenager, debauchery, nihilism, teenage boy, drug, friendship, drug dealing, sarcasm, friend, slacker, youth ...
Time: 21st century
Is relevant?
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 7.1
 207K
Melancholia (2011)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy
Duration: 135 min.
Story: Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Style: atmospheric, bleak, psychological, surreal, philosophical ...
Audience: adult
Plot: depression, wedding, end of the world, apocalypse, sister sister relationship, nihilism, collision, mental health, disaster, female nudity, mental disorder, human nature ...
Time: 2010s, year 2011, future, 21st century
Is relevant?
 8.2
 398K
Downfall (2004)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, Austria, Italy
Duration: 156 min.
Story: In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still ...
Style: psychological, costume drama, harsh, disturbing, epic ...
Audience: adult
Plot: world war two, hitler, nazi, war, nazism, suicide, fascism, holocaust, national socialism, dictatorship, third reich, paranoia ...
Time: 1940s, year 2004, 2000s, 20th century, year 1945 ...
Place: germany, berlin germany, prague, europe, bavaria ...
Is relevant?
 7.0
 91K
Kids (1995)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: A controversial portrayal of teens in New York City which exposes a deeply disturbing world of sex and substance abuse. The film focuses on a sexually reckless, freckle-faced boy named Telly, whose goal is to have sex with as many different girls as ...
Style: disturbing, independent film, controversial, bleak, teen ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, kids, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, aids, innocence lost, youth, drug abuse, virginity, underage sex, teenage boy, street kid, puberty, sex, teenager ...
Time: 90s
Place: new york, seattle, los angeles, usa, new jersey
Is relevant?
The Turin Horse (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Hungary, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 155 min.
Story: A monumental windstorm and an abused horse's refusal to work or eat signals the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.
Style: slow cinema, thought provoking, bleak, black and white, serious ...
Plot: horse, poverty, survival, destiny, nihilism, desperation, philosopher, everyday life, family relations, human nature, isolation, dying ...
Time: 19th century, distant future, turn of the century, year 2011, 90s ...
Place: turin italy, europe, seattle
Is relevant?
 8.3
 1.7M
Joker (2019)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, Australia
Duration: 122 min.
Story: During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Style: thought provoking, atmospheric, suspense, bleak, psychological thriller ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: mental illness, villain, loneliness, mental patient, psycho, comedian, psychological trauma, mental disorder, psychopath, social problems, insanity, social decay ...
Time: 2010s, 80s, year 2019, 20th century, year 1981
Place: new york, new jersey, los angeles, persia, bronx new york city
Is relevant?
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 6.6
 41K
Gummo (1997)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: Solomon and Tummler are two teenagers killing time in Xenia, Ohio, a small town that has never recovered from the tornado that ravaged the community in the 1970s.
Style: disturbing, cult classic, experimental, controversial, black comedy ...
Audience: teens
Plot: white trash, suburbs, sister sister relationship, youth, sexual abuse, adolescence, unsettling, teenage boy, abuse, violence, animal abuse, coming of age ...
Time: 90s, year 1997, 20th century
Place: ohio, usa, america
Is relevant?
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink white Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events ...
Style: black comedy, absurd, funny, neo noir, humorous ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: bowling, dialogue, mistaken identity, slacker, hippie, weed, marijuana, great dialogue, laziness, dream, twists and turns, heart attack ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1998, year 1991
Place: los angeles, iraq, america, arizona, usa ...
Is relevant?
 8.3
 1.3M
American Beauty (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Style: melancholic, thought provoking, sexual, dark comedy, sexy ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, kids, girls' night, teen drama ...
Plot: midlife crisis, dysfunctional family, existentialism, age difference, obsession, loneliness, coming of age, older man younger woman relationship, dysfunctional marriage, youth, adultery, suburbs ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999, year 2013
Place: usa, america, los angeles, iran
Is relevant?
 8.0
 224K
Akira (1988)
Genre: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 124 min.
Story: Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo and forced to fight for their very survival. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle crew who becomes involved in a ...
Style: anime, futuristic, surreal, adult animation, atmospheric ...
Audience: kids, boys' night, adult
Plot: cyberpunk, post apocalypse, motorcycle gang, motorcycle, teenager, protest, dystopia, body horror, psychic power, military, experiment, hallucination ...
Time: future, near future, distant future, 2010s, 80s ...
Place: japan, tokyo, east asia, asia
Is relevant?
 6.9
 43K
Bully (2001)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, France, UK
Duration: 108 min.
Story: After finding himself at the constant abuse of his best friend Bobby, Marty has become fed up with his friend's twisted ways. His girlfriend, a victim of Bobby's often cruel ways, couldn't agree more and they strategize murdering ...
Style: disturbing, sexy, bleak, erotic drama, realistic ...
Audience: teens, kids, teen drama, adult
Plot: bullying, sexual abuse, teenager, nudity, murder, violent, rivalry, bully comeuppance, revenge, sex, social decay, drug ...
Time: year 2001, 90s, 20th century, 2000s
Place: usa, bronx new york city, florida
Is relevant?
 6.4
 72K
Crash (1996)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 100 min.
Story: After getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife.
Style: disturbing, erotic, sexy, sexual, sensual ...
Audience: adult
Plot: sexuality, hospital, erotica, obsession, sex, lust, car accident, sexual perversion, sex scene, female nudity, husband wife relationship, deviant sex ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1996
Place: los angeles, canada
Is relevant?
 7.0
 320K
The Platform (2019)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 94 min.
Story: Two people per level. An unknown number of levels. A platform with food for all of them. Are you one of those who think too much when they are up? Or of those who have no guts when they are down? If you discover it too late, you will not live out of ...
Style: suspense, disturbing, suspenseful, psychological thriller, mind bending ...
Plot: survival, struggle for survival, confined, food shortage, cannibalism, social injustice, prison, social differences, isolation, rivalry, danger, survival horror ...
Time: future, 2010s
Place: iberian peninsula
Is relevant?
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