‣ Play a game to survive
‣ Fight against time
‣ Puzzles/Escape room-esque
(Haven't seen them all and a bunch of them are bad lol)
Ontology is the philosophical study of being, existance, becoming and reality. In simple terms it seeks to classify and explain entities.
In movies and tv show ontology usually comes in the flavor of an ontological mystery at the center of the plot with several of the following elements: the characters do not know who they are, where they are, how they got to the place there are in, and the central conflict is to get out of there and find answers to the above questions.
In the most common version of the trope, the characters are locked into a strange room or find themselves at a strange place with no contact to the outside. They have no idea how they got there, why they are there or how to get out, nor do they know who is behind their predicament, if anyone at all.
The main idea behind such stories is the investigation of a restricted environment in which the characters find themselves with the goal of mastering the environment, revealing secrets, and ultimately escape.
This list focuses on such stories. I added a few edge cases for good measure, like pure escape room, death game or timeloop movies that have a strong ontological undertone, even though they are not ontological mysteries per se.
If you think something shouldn't be on this list, or if I missed something that should be on here please leave a comment.
Last Updated: 2023/02/03
Thriller horror. Updated regularly.
Last update: 3/19/2014
Horror with confined characters. Updated weekly.
Sci-fi horror. Updated regularly.
Last update: 3/17/24
HollyWood Movies based on Popularity
Ultimate Spooktober List
This list is no longer updated as changes made to the way lists are editable on the site makes it impossible to place titles where they belong on the list. The complete/ongoing list lives on over at Letterboxed and lists over 1500 titles.
https://boxd.it/he4Mg
Last Update made May 17th 2022. Added: Kuntilanak 3 (2008), Kuntilanak 1-3 (remake trilogy), Haunted 1-5, The Damned and the Dead 1-3.
May 6th 2022: Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight 1&2, Mutilator 1&2, Dark Night of the Scarecrow 1&2, Matabatin/The 3rd Eye 1&2, Fear Pharm 1&2, The Doll 1-3, Invoking 3-5, Araf 3&4 and Paranoia Tapes 1-9.
Films yet to be added (missing in database): The House on the Edge of the Park 2, Cannibals (sequel to Cannibal Holocaust), Shrooms 2, Araf 5.
Hannibal Lector films sorted under "Hannibal", Interview With a Vampire & Queen of the Damned sorted under "Vampire Chronicles", House of 1,000 Corpses, Devil's Rejects, 3 From Hell and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto sorted under "Firefly".
UPDATE (24/1/2024):13/123
-1902
-1981
-1984
-1987
-1988
-1993
-2000
-2017
-2021
-2022
-2023
-2024
JANUARY
-USA
-France
-Japan
-Spain
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What I want to remember to watch
Death Games / Isolation Horror / Puzzle / Escape Room / Survival Games
by lieen