“The Whole Theater Emptied Without A Word”: 50 Powerful Films That Left Viewers In Shock
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools films rely on for their success. It can be challenging to win audiences over with a trailer, but once 15 of your friends mention how great a movie was, your interest might finally be piqued. Some great films, however, don’t get audiences talking immediately. Some particularly powerful movies leave audiences stewing in silence, contemplating what they just experienced, for minutes, or even hours, after viewing.
If you’re looking for a shocking or heart wrenching film that might leave you speechless, Reddit users have recently compiled a comprehensive list of the ones that left them “sitting in silence for 10 minutes after watching.” Feel free to take note of the films you haven’t yet experienced, and be sure to upvote the ones that left you at a loss for words as well.
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The Green Mile.
Some friends and I went to see this in the theater. We walked out in silence, sat in the car for a good 30 minutes in silence (long drive to the theater), and one of us finally said, 'Wow.'
I read the book in year 9 at school. It was pretty sobering and morbid to read. I loved it though regardless.
Saving Private Ryan. As people got up and left it stayed quiet, nobody said a word.
The opening scene, my god. Heard the veterans could smell diesel when they saw that.
The scene was authentic because they hired veterans as advisors for the movie
Schindlers List.
Se7en...
My mouth was open after watching this the first time and I felt a heaviness that I haven't felt in a movie before this.
The fox and the hound.
I’m 36 and have refused to watch it again since I was a kid.
One of the few Disney movies with an ending like that they are very rare.
The Pianist, a movie from 2002 about a Jewish pianist during WWII.
Loved this movie with a masochistic passion, because it hurt just as much every time I watched it. But Adrien Brody's acting in it was phenomenal.
Coco broke my heart, when Miguel sings Recuérdame to Coco that set me off, and when her picture was on the Ofrenda the next year and Hector could finally be with his family I just lost it. Such a beautiful film, I watched it for the first time not long after I lost my grandmother :(
Talk about UGLY-CRYING. Can't make it through that scene without sobbing.
OMG my dad did not want to watch it. We were both sick at my sister's destination wedding, so we were taking turns choosing the movie, and I wanted to watch it. Made it all the way to the part at the end where the cat and dog change, started frantically wiping my eyes because I didn't want dad making fun of me. Then I heard... a sniffle. Did a corner-eye glance so he wouldn't see me looking. Coco made my DAD ugly cry!
Dead Poets Society.
I was just shocked how much it touched me.
Robin Williams was a genius. Follow it up with the Fisher King as a double feature and you have an unforgettable night.
Marly and me. Didn't say anything for a good while after that.
I wish I could say I was silent. But I was like 7 when I went to see it, and my mom tells me I left the movie theater fucking sobbing uncontrollably, to the point where strangers stopped us to ask if I was okay. LMAO.
Grave of the fireflies.
This! I got a Studio Ghibli set for my birthday from my husband. We started a movie marathon, watching all the movies from the set. We stopped after this one because both of us were bawling. We both just kinda sat there trying to pull ourselves back together.
Brilliant movie, but definitely "one and done." I usually don't cry watching movies, but this one broke me.
Jojo Rabbit
Holy cow, did that one deliver a gut punch. Such a good film. The silence in the theater, when that one was over, was nothing I'd experienced before.
Love this movie. The movie plays one way, then does a sudden 180°. There was a collective "gasp" in the theater. And Sam Rockwell was brilliant.
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind.
Oh man. I watched this in the theater with my partner at the time. Looking back, our relationship was in its death throes, and that was a reaaal uncomfortable watch. We had a 30-minute drive home from the theater, and I’m not sure we said a word the entire drive.
Clockwork Orange, watched it at 15 years old. Word of advice: don't do that. I was shook.
I've heard all memories are stored, it's the accessing part that is the problem. In 2002 I saw Clockwork Orange for the first time (I knew the plot). Afterword, a *Crystal Clear* forgotten memory from 40 years earlier burst into my mind. ... My parents had just seen 'Clockwork' and as we were driving somewhere, I asked them if the movie was good. My mom, who was usually very easy going, blurted out, "NO. It was horrible". My father, then tried to explain it was really about the Nature vs Nurture debate and whether or not somebody's experiences made them who they are (and whether somebody could be rehabilitated by controlling their experiences if they were criminal), but my mom kept making little interjections while he talked. I now realize she wanted to tell me that any movie showing people reveling in rape and murder was vile and never should have been made -- but since I was a kid, she couldn't give examples. When my dad finished answering a follow up question I had, my mom defiantly said, "The movie was BAD!" I can still see her sitting in the passenger seat, looking towards my father as he was driving, and almost daring him to say something more. My father and I made eye contact in the rearview mirror and I could tell he had more to say, but his steady gaze said now wasn't the time. ... That kind of sums up my mom who was a very caring "sensor" and my father who was a "thinker". ... If you are a thinker, this movie is worth seeing.
Parasite.
Parasite made me silent after the movie ended, silent with no radio playing on the drive home, silent when I went to bed, and silent when I woke up. That’s not hyperbole.
It's not a movie, but the last episode of The Good Place.
The Mist. The whole theatre slumped out in silence. What a gut punch
That was a fun movie to watch untill the end. The end was so shocking, that when I saw the movie the second time I stopped the dvd just before the end. I couldn't watch that scene again. Too upsetting.
Children of men.
I had no idea what to expect from the movie and was only looking for something to fill the time while out of town on a business trip. I saw a movie theater within walking distance from my hotel and went there. I was stunned. I recommended the movie to anyone who was willing to hear me talk about it.
City of God.
This also broke my heart and just did a number on me well after the film ended. It was one of those movies I was glad to have seen but wished I hadn’t. My son was very little at the time, and I just cried and held him for a very long time after I turned the TV off.
Full Metal Jacket when I saw it in the theater in 1987
Apocalypse Now. I was a kid. Loved the movie, loved the soundtrack.
The Prestige.
I thought it was pretty amazing that the movie blatantly reveals what’s happening but it’s not till the very last *second* you understand the scope of what Robert was doing.
That alone left me saying “…holy s**t”
Then I learned that the entire movie was intentionally setup with the three step structure of a magic trick and I said “Hooooooly s**t!”
It's so good, and didn't get the attention it deserved because a similar movie came out at the same time with Edward Norton
*No Country for Old Men* (2007)
The only thing scarier than Javier Bardem in that film, was his haircut. 😬
Everything Everywhere, All At Once.
This movie had me crying and laughing at the same time (not even crying from laughing too hard, but actually crying) — so good.
Not a movie but The Haunting of Hill House. After every episode I sat in silence for a bit to take it all in.
The novel is worth a read, and I relatively enjoyed both movies, too.
Inception. I’m still impressed how good and tricky it was.
Midsommar. Saw it in theaters and I had to take a shower when I got home. Now it’s one of my favorite films though!
Oldboy (the original from Park Chan Wook, not the remake).
This was the first movie I've watched where the twist came out of nowhere. I was enjoying the fight scenes and I'm thinking, Yeaaah, kick some ass and get your revenge.
Then the plot twist happened and my jaw dropped.
Promising Young Woman. I was so filled with rage and despair and realized I really needed to talk to someone about the film but at the same time couldn’t recommend it to just anyone to watch it.
I watched the entire movie while on an airplane and I didn’t have headphones, so I could only read the subtitles. Even with subtitles, I was absolutely drawn in.
I had to rewatch it (with sound!) when I got back home.
Infinity War. I'd avoided all spoilers and the snap had everyone just silent.
Yeah, the audience was in shock. It reminded me of watching The Empire Strikes Back as a kid. Someone said as the credits rolled something like, 'Did…did the good guys just..LOSE?' It was unexpected, since Star Wars was such a triumphant ending. I remember we all liked Empire but were shocked at what happened.
Disney's Soul. Put me through a good ol existential crisis.
Criminally underrated movie.
Not a movie, but Game of thrones season 3 episode 9. The Red Wedding...
The lack of music during the credits was just right
Once Were Warriors.
I sat staring at the screen for ages. WTF? I had to watch it again immediately because I was very confused as to whether I enjoyed it or not. It was just as moving the second time.
That movie is just so raw. So very different from the mainstream Hollywood flicks.
The Menu.
That movie was wild.
wasnt at the end but that scene in hereditary... i had to pause it on my tv and stare at the wall for a bit
I lost it when Toni Colette's character wept from the deepest depths of her soul. Took me back to my brother's funeral and the sounds my mother made. Couldn't watch the rest of the movie.
The original *Saw*.
Those last few minutes were wild.
I watched it by myself when it came out; I was 14. Few endings have made me feel as upset and fucking EMPTY as that one.
Interstellar in IMAX, opening day. Drove all the way home in broad daylight in complete silence
Mulholland Drive. I was like “what the hell did I just watch?… total mindfuck of a movie.
It's been about 20 years since I watched it and I still don't know what the hell I watched. But I did suddenly realize that Donnie Darko actually does make sense, if only by comparison.
Blair Witch Project. I was young at the time and believed all the marketing hype that it was “found footage”. My friend and I just sat there in silence afterwards…
Later I learned it wasn’t a documentary…
I heard that the three main characters were required to stay out of the public eye to sell the ending better. Whether that's true or not, I don't know.
Dancer in the Dark. It was Bjork’s only movie and the end scenes are haunting. The whole theater sat in stunned silence. It took over an hour for me to fully snap out of it.
Der Untergang (Downfall)
We watched that in school... And discussed it, was very powerful conversation that I hope made all of us in class better humans
Note: this post originally had 69 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
That movie traumatised me as a kid, still can't watch it.
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"I am Legend" would be mine because Sam dies. Millions of people bit the dust - no problem, but killing the dog was too much for the audience
with you on this. i don't care who dies in the film as long as the dog lives.
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The Deer Hunter. Saw it when it first came out. We all got in the car and just sat there. And then I cried all the way home.
I was too young to understand it when I saw it as a young child, but it floored me as a teen.
Load More Replies... That movie traumatised me as a kid, still can't watch it.
Load More Replies... "I am Legend" would be mine because Sam dies. Millions of people bit the dust - no problem, but killing the dog was too much for the audience
with you on this. i don't care who dies in the film as long as the dog lives.
Load More Replies... The Deer Hunter. Saw it when it first came out. We all got in the car and just sat there. And then I cried all the way home.
I was too young to understand it when I saw it as a young child, but it floored me as a teen.
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