| Cast Away (2000) | 7.8 | |
| The Great Escape (1963) | 8.2 | |
| Hell or High Water (2016) | 7.6 | |
| Shiki (2010) | 7.6 | |
| Interstellar (2014) | 8.7 |
Desperation movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant desperation movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out suspense, psychological, thought provoking, weird, tense and dark films and TV shows about / with desperation, violence, death, blood, storytelling, tragedy, murder, brutality, fear and mentor plots mostly in Drama, Thriller and Mystery genres shot in USA, UK, France and other countries.
3022
TOP 10 movies tagged as desperation: Falling Down (1993), Hell or High Water (2016), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), It Comes at Night (2017), Shiki (2010), All Is Lost (2013), 21 Grams (2003), Cast Away (2000), 127 Hours (2010).
Best films
New films
List of desperation movies
224K
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?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
Style:
realistic, suspense, neo western, neo noir, atmospheric ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
robbery, bank robber, brother, texas ranger, bank robbery, redemption, small town, armed robbery, gunfight, bank, heist, desperation ...
Time:
year 2016, 2010s, future, y2k, 21st century
Place:
texas, nebraska, oklahoma, usa, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control. A look into addiction and how it overcomes the mind and body.
Style:
psychological, disturbing, bleak, depressing, atmospheric ...
Audience:
kids, adult
Plot:
addiction, drug abuse, heroin, drug addiction, insanity, drug, junkie, loneliness, mental illness, depression, dream, subculture ...
Time:
year 2000, future, y2k, 20th century, 90s ...
Place:
britain, america, new york, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who insinuates himself into the ...
Style:
suspense, sexy, tense, philosophical, homoerotic ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
revenge, obsession, dysfunctional family, mysterious stranger, husband wife relationship, recovering alcoholic, surgeon, psychopath, blackmail, desperation, dead father, father daughter relationship ...
Time:
year 2017, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
ancient greece, ireland, columbus ohio
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.
Style:
suspense, brutal, sexy, rough, psychological thriller ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
pandemic, infection, fear, post apocalypse, murder, interracial couple, dog, desperation, disease, paranoia, apocalypse, infected ...
Time:
year 2017, 2010s
Is relevant?
5K
Genre: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story:
Sotobamura is a small village with around 1300 residents; so small the village isn't even connected to a single highway. An isolated village in which old customs, such as the burial of the dead, are still practiced. One day, the bodies of three ...
Style:
anime, dark fantasy, suspenseful, scary, offbeat ...
Plot:
vampire, danger, mysterious death, supernatural, desperation, fear, death, murder, evil, night, mercilessness, insanity ...
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, Canada, Mexico
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and ...
Style:
harsh, reflective, touching, suspenseful, philosophical ...
Audience:
family outing, family friendly
Plot:
survival, boat, survivor, storm, loneliness, isolation, ocean, ship, desperation, human spirit, sea, forces of nature ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, 21st century
Is relevant?
253K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
This is the story of three gentle persons: Paul Rivers an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré, Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, happily married and mother of two little girls, and Jack Jordan, an ...
Style:
mind bending, clever, gloomy, psychological, bleak ...
Plot:
guilt, tragedy, drug addiction, drug addict, life is a bitch, multiple storylines, grief, redemption, drug, loneliness, drug abuse, loss ...
Time:
year 2003, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
usa, new mexico, persia
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief ...
Style:
black comedy, ambiguous ending, dark comedy, crime drama, psychological ...
Plot:
small town, revenge, rape, small town life, loss of daughter, billboard, police brutality, regret, death of daughter, anger, violence, guilty conscience ...
Time:
2010s, year 2017, 21st century
Place:
missouri, idaho, persia, america, usa
Is relevant?
684K
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
Chuck, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia ditches at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and he washes up on a tiny ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, suspense, emotional, inspirational ...
Audience:
date night, family outing, teens, kids
Plot:
survival, loneliness, isolation, island, desert island, stranded on an island, courage, determination, solitude, lost at sea, air disaster, survivor ...
Time:
year 2000, 20th century, y2k, year 1999, 2000s ...
Place:
fictional island, moscow russia, persia, america, pacific ocean ...
Is relevant?
422K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Style:
suspense, unusual plot structure, inspirational, intense, breathtaking ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
survival, isolation, trapped, mountain, wilderness, canyon, courage, alone, desert, trap, loneliness, life & death ...
Time:
year 2010, 2010s, 20th century, 2000s, year 2003 ...
Place:
utah, usa
Is relevant?
176K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain, UK, France, USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, psychological, bad ending, disturbing ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
survival, trapped, buried alive, isolation, confined, claustrophobia, terrorist, captivity, twists and turns, threat, panic, desperation ...
Time:
year 2010, 2010s, 20th century, 2000s, year 2006 ...
Place:
iraq, middle east
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
920K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 153 min.
Story:
When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Style:
twist ending, psychological, suspenseful, atmospheric, neo noir ...
Audience:
teens, family friendly, adult
Plot:
kidnapping, investigation, revenge, serial killer, torture, twists and turns, vigilantism, police investigation, plot twist, brutality, vigilante, cop ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, future, 21st century
Place:
pennsylvania, bolivia, georgia, usa, boston
Is relevant?
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Serbia
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Milos, a retired porn star, leads a normal family life trying to make ends meet. Presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to financially support his family for the rest of their lives, Milos must participate in one last mysterious film. From ...
Style:
disturbing, brutal, bloody, controversial, scary ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
rape, sexual abuse, gory, torture, violence, macabre, sadism, incest, perversion, controversy, insanity, murder ...
Time:
year 2010, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
serbia, former yugoslavia, europe
Is relevant?
870K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville ...
Style:
intense, scary, suspenseful, atmospheric, exciting ...
Audience:
manly, teens, boys' night
Plot:
zombie, survival, apocalypse, loneliness, post apocalypse, virus, infected, post apocalyptic, isolation, supernatural, plague, end of the world ...
Time:
future, year 2007, near future, year 2013, jurassic ...
Place:
new york, america, usa, vermont, manhattan new york city ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no ...
Style:
touching, depressing, anime, sad, heartbreaking ...
Audience:
kids, adult
Plot:
world war two, hunger, orphan, war, homelessness, survival, siblings relations, children, desperation, death of child, boy, anti war ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1988, year 1945, post world war two
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
60K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.
Style:
depressing, bleak, atmospheric, thought provoking, emotional ...
Plot:
lawyer, adultery, corruption, politics, courtroom, poverty, small town, corrupt mayor, alcohol abuse, drunk, alcoholism, small town life ...
Time:
2010s, year 2014, 21st century
Place:
russia, soviet union
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The crew of a Royal Naval expedition searching for the Arctic's treacherous Northwest Passage discovers instead a monstrous predator.
Style:
anthology, twist ending, spooky, psychological horror, costume drama ...
Plot:
arctic, violence, cannibalism, starvation, expedition, corpse, insanity, delusion, mysticism, desperation, north pole, british navy ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 2010s, 20th century, 1940s ...
Place:
former yugoslavia
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 139 min.
Story:
After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.
Style:
dark comedy, suspense, dark, tense, psychological ...
Plot:
unemployment, desperation, capitalism, house, dog, family home, murder, competition, moral ambiguity, ethical dilemma, obsession, revenge ...
Place:
south korea, seoul, asia
Is relevant?
163K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
A detached married couple must get their son and themselves to safety after being randomly selected to enter an underground bunker, as a massive object from space threatens to destroy the world in less than 48 hours.
Style:
suspense, exciting, scenic, unusual plot structure, psychotronic ...
Plot:
natural disaster, apocalypse, end of the world, disaster, catastrophe, humanity in peril, panic, husband wife relationship, diabetic, comet, kidnapping, post apocalypse ...
Time:
2020s, future, 21st century
Place:
greenland, atlanta georgia, canada, kentucky, moscow russia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 144 min.
Story:
On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.
Style:
captivating, psychological, period piece, dark, inspirational ...
Plot:
survival, airplane crash, mountain, disaster, desperation, crash, photograph, rugby, rescue, struggle for survival, snow, airplane accident ...
Time:
70s, year 1972, 20th century
Place:
andes mountains, uruguay, chile, south america, latin america ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, China, UK
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
20 years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Style:
disturbing, dark, suspense, suspenseful, scary ...
Plot:
found footage, ufo, alien abduction, fear, alien, dark secret, desperation, missing person, friendship, food, investigation, danger ...
Time:
90s, year 2017, year 1997
Place:
arizona, phoenix arizona
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
The 17 years old Marco Weiss has spent as usual his holiday with his parents at the Turkish Rivera.But on the last day of his stay Marco is arrested for sexual abuse against the minor British girl Carolina.He will spend 247 days in provisional ...
Style:
harsh, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense
Plot:
prison, desperation, investigation, trial, district attorney, anguish, judge, flirting, propaganda, holiday, teen romance, arrest ...
Place:
turkey, germany
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
89K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Music, Thriller
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Young dancers gather in a remote and empty school building to rehearse on a cold and wintry night. The all-night celebration soon turns into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn that their sangria is laced with LSD.
Style:
disturbing, atmospheric, sexy, spooky, erotic ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
dancing, lsd, death, paranoia, youth, brutality, sex, desperation, insanity, abuse, little boy, dancer ...
Time:
90s, year 1996, 2010s, year 2019
Place:
berlin germany, new york, usa, france
Is relevant?
206K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Style:
bloody, disturbing, cult classic, suspense, exciting ...
Audience:
teens, boys' night, teen drama, adult
Plot:
game of death, survival, death, dystopia, violence, gory, desperation, jungle, cruelty, contests and competitions, satire, social commentary ...
Time:
future, year 2000, distant future, 2000s, near future
Place:
japan, asia, east asia, india, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min.
TV show
Story:
In an alternate version of the present, Tokyo has been decimated by a shocking terrorist attack, and the only hint to the identity of the culprit is a bizarre video uploaded to the internet. The police, baffled by this cryptic clue, are powerless to ...
Style:
anime, psychological, touching, tragic ending, suspenseful ...
Plot:
terrorist bombing, conspiracy, terrorism, orphan, tragic hero, hacker, tragedy, childhood friend, death of protagonist, police, human experiment, terrorist ...
Place:
tokyo, japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. ...
Style:
feel good, inspirational, touching, sentimental, uplifting ...
Audience:
family outing, kids, date night, chick flick, adult
Plot:
christmas, holiday, small town, depression, small town life, angel, friendship, self discovery, second chance, life philosophy, life changing experience, alternate history ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1932, year 1945, 1910s ...
Place:
new york, america, new york state, usa
Is relevant?
146K
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
"The Hours" is the story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a ...
Style:
depressing, intellectual, psychological, touching, poignant ...
Audience:
girls' night, chick flick
Plot:
suicide, depression, mental illness, aids, writers, lesbian, bipolar disorder, lgbtq, writer's life, lgbt, lesbian love, introspection ...
Time:
year 1941, 1940s, year 2001, 90s, 1920s ...
Place:
new york, england, california, london, los angeles ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 172 min.
Story:
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocates them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners ...
Style:
suspenseful, suspense, exciting, realistic, historical drama ...
Audience:
boys' night, family friendly, teens, manly, kids ...
Plot:
world war two, prison, prisoner, soldier, pow, freedom, prison escape, nazi, chase, war, capture, courage ...
Time:
1940s, year 1963, 1900s, 20th century
Place:
germany, america, europe, switzerland, alps ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially ...
Style:
scary, suspense, suspenseful, atmospheric, dark ...
Plot:
haunted house, supernatural, fear, paranormal activity, panic, ghost, found footage, demon, supernatural horror, evil force, demonic possession, couples ...
Time:
year 2007, 2000s, year 2006, 21st century
Place:
america, los angeles, california, usa, san diego california
Is relevant?
