A movie’s ultimate goal is to leave its viewers sitting in silent contemplation as the credits roll. Sometimes, there is a Kaiser Soze-esque plot twist. Other times, it’s an unexpected death that leaves moviegoers stunned. The director’s job is complete if the theater is filled with silent watchers.
A recent online discussion looks for such movies that fit the bill. Film fans share their favorite awe-inspiring movies that leave us gasping for breath or speechless.
1. Hereditary (2018)
The best part about seeing a movie in theaters is the experience. With Hereditary, many moviegoers share that the entire theater sat in stunned silence once the credits rolled.
2. Sound of Metal (2019)
This remarkable indie flick about a drummer’s loss of hearing and self-discovery is heartfelt and heartbreaking. “It’s just incredibly well done and emotional while not being sappy,” agrees another fan.
3. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
This bittersweet World War Two comic tragedy stays in the heart for a long time afterward. It is made more poignant by Roberto Begnini’s performance of a father distracting his son from the horrors of war. “The boy looks a lot like my son, and I sobbed,” recalls someone.
4. Irreversible (2002)
Argentinian director Gaspar Noé could appear several times here, but each movie should come with a sensory overload warning. Irreversible is shot in reverse chronological order and follows one night in Paris, where an unfortunate woman walks down the wrong alleyway. It’s common for viewers to still think about this movie today — such was its effect on many.
5. The Whale (2022)
Brendan Fraser won the Academy Award for this film after a long time in the acting doldrums and after difficult personal issues. Many fans mention how nobody in the theater moved for a few minutes after it ended.
6. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Synecdoche, New York is about a playwright, Caden Cotard, who wins a grant for some new performance art. This marvelous Philip Seymour Hoffman movie uses a simple literary device and uses it as a metaphor to represent New York City’s effect on people.
7. Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch had the silence-during-end-credits effect on people. His movies veered from abstract to outright disturbing. “The ending to that movie gets more deeply disturbing every time I see it,” gushes a Lynch lover.
8. La Haine (1995)
Named after a gritty Parisian suburb, La Haine is a volatile coming-of-age drama following teenagers over one day in their city. Following a Paris riot, the three boys come to terms with their social and economic status.
9. The Nightingale (2018)
This revenge drama features an Irish convict woman who tracks a murderous British officer through the Tasmanian wilderness. “Half the audience at my screening had left by the time the film finished,” shares a viewer who claimed they cried for hours afterward.
10. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I usually find it hard to care about superhero characters, but this one had me getting them feels at the end for obvious, iron-clad reasons. The decision to follow through with Thanos succeeding in eliminating half of living life throughout the galaxy stunned fans.
11. The Lighthouse (2019)
Winner at the Cannes Film Festival, this hallucinatory, experiential thriller moves slowly, but that is its genius. We build towards an inevitable catharsis in this astonishing horror movie. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are great contemporaries in this daring, dark British chiller.
12. Whiplash (2014)
Whiplash is a fast-paced film that doesn’t give you a second to breathe until the very end. It’s a love letter to jazz drumming in the best possible sense.
Source: Reddit.