7+ Movies About Existential Dread
A list of movies to watch instead of staring into the void.

“Existentialism” is the embodiment of unanswerable questions that started a philosophical movement. The movement explores the nature of human existence. In this search for meaning, artists have discovered that we must create our own. That is why cinema is one of the best vehicles used to explore Existentialism. Rich with symbolism and the ability to form new realities that parallel ours, artists have twisted their feelings of existential dread into film since the 1920s (20 years before the term even existed). The 1928 silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc” is one of the earliest examples of existentialism explored through art, and one of the strongest.
Without dialogue, the film explores faith and fate through chains, tears, and flames. The films on this list use similar symbolism to convey what is so hard to put into words. Playing chess with the Grim Reaper, a train rushing into the sunset, a blue planet ominously approaching Earth, and so much more. These films may be your cure. They may be your cause. Either way, this list is comprised of work that will force you to sit with your deepest thoughts and dare you to laugh along the way.
The Best Movies About Existential Dread
The Seventh Seal (1957)

A knight returns home expecting to find glory. Instead, he finds silence left from a land ravaged by the Bubonic Plague. He is forced to ask himself: what is all this suffering for, if it only leads to more suffering? Along his journey, he meets death itself. This Nordic film symbolizes existential dread perfectly when the lead character plays a game of chess with the Grim Reaper. “I want knowledge! Not faith, not assumptions, but knowledge,” The Knight pleads. “I want God to stretch out His hand, uncover His face and speak to me.” The Grim Reaper answers with the chilling heart of existentialism, “But He remains silent.”
Fight Club (1999)

A secret world of underground nihilism is exposed as an unnamed character literally blows up his banal life. “Fight Club” is a soap-making anarchy collective that terrorizes the city. The restlessness that comes with modern life is universal, though it doesn’t always show itself as stealing bags of lard to make into soap and blowing up debt collectors. To tackle this universal struggle, this film highlights the dissatisfaction that comes from the broken promises given by consumer culture. A promise that all problems can be solved through consumption.“Advertising culture has told us since we were kids that our spiritual peace will be acquired through the acquisition of these material goods,” Edward Norton says on consumerism being an existential band-aid in Fight Club, “and then you grow up and realize that the promise cannot be fulfilled.”
The Sunset Limited (2011)

The Sunset Limited sets the stage for a debate between “Black” and “White,” both with contrasting opinions on the truths of the universe. In one small New York City apartment, two men discuss philosophy and spirituality as if their lives depend on it. And they do. White is on a schedule to catch the last train of the evening, one he plans to jump in front of. Black, who believes he was destined to intervene with White’s suicide, uses his inner guidance to try and convince White to live. But what happens when the voice that guides him is suddenly silent? While the film explores the most important existential themes of the universe, the whole film is shot in a tiny NYC apartment.
Melancholia (2011)

Planet “Melancholia” threatens to collide with Earth as two sisters (Justine and Claire) face their impact on each other. Justine struggles with depression, which the film explores depression in every sense. In the way delicious food tastes like ash, the way the happiest day still feels unbearably heavy, and the bare self is cast in a melancholy shade of blue. Stopping Justine’s depression from destroying her feels as helpless as stopping a planet hurdling towards Earth. Claire discovers that while she cannot stop the inevitable, she can sit beside her sister through it.
I Origins (2014)

The study of human eyes sends a scientist into a spiral of spirituality and science. While he finds some answers on evolution, he is confronted with the possibility of reincarnation. Instead of answers, his research brings questions regarding all of creation. This film dives into the deepest pits of existentialism—the origin of self. “This is a story that looks at one of our biggest existential fears, which is the fear of death,” says director Mike Cahill. “The heart of the film is the question of whether or not there is a soul.”
The Invitation (2015)

When Will accepts his ex-wife’s dinner party invitation, he dreads being reminded of the son they lost. A dinner party with an ex always makes for an awkward situation. Strange transitions into sinister when the ex tries to recruit you into a cult. Existential themes of death and mortality fill the screen as dinner guests take sips of wine that might be their last. “There is a much more damaging consequence to denying that or burying that or rejecting the notion of pain, sorrow, discomfort, sadness,” says director Karyn Kusama on the importance of confronting grief.
Annihilation (2018)

An expedition through a sci-fi wilderness mirrors the journey of self-discovery. Biologist Lena joins an expedition alongside other specialists in a government facility struggling to contain a destructive alien presence. The rapidly expanding alien presence known as “The Shimmer” threatens to destroy everything in its path. “I have five people enter an existential space that’s getting bigger and closer. All of them have self-destructive tendencies,” says director Alex Garland. “Almost nobody commits suicide, but everybody is self-destructive . . . It has something to do with the relationship between construction and destruction.” In The Shimmer and on the mortal plane, the real journey is an inward one.
More Movies About Existential Dread
- Coherence (2013) – A group of friends gather as a comet passes in the cosmos. Stranger things are happening on Earth, where reality begins to split.
- The Empty Man (2020) – While looking for a missing girl, a cop finds a cult trying to unleash a powerful supernatural entity.
- After Yang (2021) – Existential questions plague a family when their beloved AI assistant malfunctions.
- Don’t Look Up (2021) – Two astronomers try to warn the population of a rapidly approaching comet that civilians have been told to ignore.