The 10 Darkest Movies Ever Made in Hollywood, Ranked (2024)

The Hollywood studio system — as it existed back in the industry's Golden Age and as it exists, very differently, today — is generally known for putting out both escapist entertainment and profound, thoughtful arthouse fare. What's a lot rarer, however, is a Hollywood picture that is truly, hopelessly grim. Mainstream Hollywood productions usually aren't uncomfortably darker, but when they are, it's a remarkable occasion that audiences are likely to remember vividly for decades onward.

From terrifying horror movies to groundbreakingly amoral dramas, from nihilistic character studies to films focused on horrible people, the darkest Hollywood movies prove that, when done right, a disheartening film can be just as exceptional as an uplifting one. Whether it's because of their characters, their tone, their themes, or all of that and more at once, these movies are the most disturbing to have ever come out of Hollywood studios.

10 'Psycho' (1960)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The master of suspense and one of the best filmmakers to have ever come out of the U.K., Alfred Hitchcock's move to Hollywood was one of the best things that ever happened to the town. At the end of Hollywood's Golden Age, he put out what many consider his best work: Psycho. In it, a secretary on the run for embezzlement takes refuge at a secluded California motel, which is managed by a strange man with an overbearing mother.

One of the most influential horror movies ever and one of the defining installments of the slasher genre, Psycho was far ahead of its time not just because of its unusual narrative structure (which hinges on one of the most shocking plot twists in film history), but also because of how surprisingly dark it is. With its disturbing depiction of violence, terrifying destruction of narrative tropes that typically give viewers comfort, and perturbing finale, it's a horror thriller that's aged like fine wine.

Psycho

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Release Date

June 22, 1960

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Cast

Anthony Perkins , Vera Miles , John Gavin , Martin Balsam , John McIntire , Simon Oakland

Runtime

109 minutes

Writers

Joseph Stefano , Robert Bloch

Studio

Paramount Pictures

9 'There Will Be Blood' (2007)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs working in Hollywood today, and the question of what his best movie is is guaranteed to elicit a wide array of responses, but there's one masterpiece that's bound to come up more often than most: There Will Be Blood, a character drama about a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business, in a story of family, religion, hatred, and madness.

There Will Be Blood isn't dark or disturbing in any traditional sense. It's not preoccupied with sensationalist moments of violence or cheap thrills. Instead, its slow pace and Daniel Day Lewis's legendary performance allow the film's nihilistic atmosphere to slowly start boiling. Come a certain point, every character and plot point in the movie feels like something straight out of a very bad dream. Whatever the opposite of a feel-good movie is, this is it.

There Will Be Blood

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Release Date

December 28, 2007

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Director

Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast

daniel day-lewis , Martin Stringer , Matthew Braden Stringer , Jacob Stringer , Joseph Mussey , Barry Del Sherman

Runtime

158 minutes

Writers

Paul Thomas Anderson , Upton Sinclair

8 'American Psycho' (2000)

Directed by Mary Harron

American Psycho is about a wealthy NYC investment banking executive, who hides his alternate murderous ego from his co-workers and friends as he dives deeper into his twisted, hedonistic fantasies. Aside from being one of the funniest dark comedies ever, it's also one of the most disturbing, thanks to Mary Harron's vibrant direction and Christian Bale's unsettling lead performance.

In exploring its themes of materialism, consumerism, corporate greed, and how these three factors affect masculinity, American Psycho admirably finds a perfect balance between humor, violence, and a grim tone. Its violent scenes and intentionally ambiguous story make it deeply disturbing, but what makes it really powerfully dark is primarily the depth to which it dives into its protagonist's discomforting psyche.

American Psycho

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Release Date

April 14, 2000

Director

Mary Harron

Cast

Jared Leto , Reese Witherspoon , Chloe Sevigny , Willem Dafoe , Justin Theroux , Christian Bale

Runtime

101 minutes

Writers

Bret Easton Ellis , Mary Harron , Guinevere Turner

Budget

$7 million

7 'Natural Born Killers' (1994)

Directed by Oliver Stone

Banned in multiple countries due to its alleged provocation of copycat crimes, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers is one of the director's best films. It's a dark romance drama where two victims of trauma-filled childhoods become lovers and partner serial killers, irresponsibly modified by the mass media. Exquisitely stylish and with a phenomenal story by Quentin Tarantino, it's among the '90s' biggest cult classics.

The movie serves as both a powerful cautionary tale about how the media portrays violence and a riveting, bizarre, highly controversial story that's not afraid to show its deplorable characters' actions in the most over-the-top ways. It's an incredibly gritty, often hard-to-watch film, but that's pretty much the whole point. In showing how American media culture glamorizes all the wrong people and actions, it becomes the kind of movie that requires a pretty strong stomach.

Natural Born Killers

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Release Date

August 26, 1994

Director

Oliver Stone

Cast

Woody Harrelson , Juliette Lewis , Tom Sizemore , Rodney Dangerfield , Everett Quinton , Jared Harris

Runtime

119 minutes

Writers

Quentin Tarantino , David Veloz , Richard Rutowski , Oliver Stone

Studio

Warner Bros. Pictures

6 'Deliverance' (1972)

Directed by John Boorman

As thought-provoking as it is entertaining, with a star-making performance by Burt Reynolds and some really vigorous direction by John Boorman, Deliverance is a terrific psychological thriller. In it, intent on seeing a river before it's dammed and turned into a lake, an outdoor fanatic takes his friends on an unforgettable canoeing trip into the dangerous American back-country.

Underappreciated though it may sometimes be, Deliverance is one of the best movies of the 1970s, and that's saying something. It's definitely not a film for everyone; it has some of the most disturbing scenes that this decade of New Hollywood ever saw, but it's the general feeling of uneasiness and creepiness that permeates the whole narrative that makes this movie so overwhelmingly dark.

Deliverance

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Release Date

July 30, 1972

Director

John Boorman

Cast

Jon Voight , Burt Reynolds , Ned Beatty

Runtime

1hr 49m

5 'The Exorcist' (1973)

Directed by William Friedkin

The late William Friedkin was behind some of the greatest Hollywood films of the '70s and '80s, including what many consider the scariest horror movie ever made: The Exorcist. Written by William Peter Blatty, on whose novel the film is based on, it's about a young girl who's possessed by a msyterious entity, leading her mother to seek help from two Catholic priests to save her life.

One of New Hollywood's best horror movies, as well as one of the genre's most influential outings, The Exorcist is so horrifying, so graphic, so traumatizingly dark that it's genuinely astonishing that it came out of a big Hollywood studio. Its characters are compelling and its performances are out of this world, but it's a bit hard to focus on them when one is getting one's pants scared off by Linda Blair's head turning 180 degrees.

The Exorcist

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Release Date

December 26, 1973

Director

William Friedkin

Cast

Ellen Burstyn , Max Von Sydow , Linda Blair , Lee J. Cobb

Runtime

122 minutes

Writers

William Peter Blatty

4 'A Clockwork Orange' (1972)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Lauded by many as the single greatest American filmmaker of all time, Stanley Kubrick was a true master of his craft. He made multiple exceptional pictures throughout his career, and — at least at the time — one of the most polarizing and misunderstood was A Clockwork Orange. It's about an ultraviolent group of youngsters in futuristic Britain. Eventually, one of them is convicted and put in prison, where he becomes the focus of an experimental program where inmates are programmed to detest violence.

A Clockwork Orange is not quite horror, but is so disturbing and grim that it comes remarkably close. Its incredibly graphic and suggestive depictions of strong sexual content, deviant behavior, and senseless violence were both the things that made it controversial at the time of its release and the basis of the film's dystopian world. To this day, it's still a pretty tough character study to stomach — but it's oh so worth the effort.

A Clockwork Orange

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Release Date

February 2, 1972

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Cast

Malcolm McDowell , Patrick Magee , Michael Bates , Warren Clarke , John Clive , Adrienne Corri

Runtime

136 minutes

Writers

Stanley Kubrick , Anthony Burgess

Budget

$2.2 million

3 'Chinatown' (1974)

Directed by Roman Polanski

With one of the most perfect screenplays ever written (certainly the most flawless neo-noir script of all time), Chinatown is one of the most hopelessly bleak stories ever told on the big screen. It's about a private detective who's hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles, but instead finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.

Chinatown is one of the greatest films ever made, but those interested in watching it for the first time should make no mistake: They will feel absolutely horrendous after the credits roll. While the many mysteries at the core of the narrative are thoroughly gripping and the constant twists and turns are nothing if not entertaining, the movie's gritty tone, defeatist attitude toward its themes, and absolutely depressing ending make it as dark as it is exceptional.

Chinatown

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Release Date

June 20, 1974

Director

Roman Polanski

Cast

Jack Nicholson , Faye Dunaway , John Huston , Perry Lopez , John Hillerman , Darrell Zwerling

Runtime

130 minutes

Writers

Robert Towne , Roman Polanski

Budget

$6 million

2 'Se7en' (1995)

Directed by David Fincher

The modern master of thrillers, David Fincher has made many excellent ones, but none as flawless as Se7en. It's the story of two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, who hunt a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his motives. What promises to perhaps play out like a great, but ultimately very traditional serial killer thriller at some point transforms into something far more complex and far more disturbing.

Se7en is a masterclass in creating tension and suspense, writing game-changing plot twists, and creating an atmosphere so creepy that this is one of the '90s' scariest films, despite not belonging to the horror genre. It's brutal, it's grimy, it's endlessly cruel in its portrayal of real-world evil, and absolutely nothing could prepare anyone for its finale. This is one dark thriller if there ever has been one.

Se7en

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Release Date

September 22, 1995

Director

David Fincher

Cast

Brad Pitt , gwyneth paltrow , John C. McGinley , Morgan Freeman , Kevin Spacey

Runtime

127 minutes

Writers

andrew kevin walker

Studio

Budget

$33 million

1 'Requiem for a Dream' (2000)

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Known for his love for disturbing, thoughtful narratives, Darren Aronofsky has made some pretty dark movies throughout his long career, but none have ever even come close to what Requiem for a Dream (distributed by Artisan Entertainment, a former mini-major studio) is still able to achieve almost a quarter of a century after its release. It's about the drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents, which are shattered when their addictions reach a breaking point.

One of the bleakest dramas of all time, Requiem is dark enough to give plenty of experimental arthouse horror a run for its money. Aronofsky's direction is hopelessly grim; Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and especially Ellen Burstyn are kphenomenally heartbreaking in their roles; the haunting score elevates the story's dark atmosphere remarkably well; and the movie's overall approach to its subject makes this the most effective cautionary tale against drugs possible. Mainstream Hollywood has never gone darker than this.

Requiem for a Dream

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Release Date

October 6, 2000

Director

Darren Aronofsky

Cast

Ellen Burstyn , Jared Leto , Jennifer Connelly , Marlon Wayans , Christopher McDonald , Louise Lasser

Runtime

102 minutes

Writers

Hubert Selby Jr. , Darren Aronofsky

Studio

Artisan Entertainment

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