Imagine it; you’re in a tiny room. It’s dark. It’s dirty. You’re running out of oxygen fast and the walls are steadily advancing towards you, squashing and suffocating you. There’s no escape and there’s no help. You’re trapped. Death is imminent.
For many this is the worst nightmare and unsurprisingly claustrophobia is one of the most common fears. Whether it’s stuck down a mine, in a lift full of sweaty people or crammed up close in a tube, it’s scary stuff! The new horror film The Squad plays on these fears, making it an incredibly intense and terrifying experience. With it’s emphasis on close-ups and one dirty, bloody and very creepy location, there’s no room to breathe. You feel apart of the Squad as your heart beats faster and faster.
So, here’s a quick run down of the 5 most claustrophobic horror films in a relevantly tight list. If either of these films have taken your fancy, I’d strongly recommend The Squad!
1) Buried – Starring Ryan Reynolds, this 2012 thriller has got to be one of the most claustrophobic films of all time. We’re trapped in the coffin with ol’ Reynolds with no escape and only a couple of hours until death. Scary stuff!
2) Cube - Often described as a blue print for the Saw franchise, Cube blends science fiction with horror to create a truly unnerving and disorientating thriller. Several characters wake up in a small cube. Who put them there? Why are they there? And will they survive the countless bobby traps?
3) The Descent - What’s worse than being trapped underground in a cave? Being trapped underground in a cave full of man-eating (or woman-eating in this case), blind, mutant creatures of course! This British horror ticks all the boxes when it comes to claustrophobia. With only a torch to brighten up the gloom, you better keep quiet or you’ll end up squashed in a crawler’s lunchbox.
4) The Divide – Similar to The Squad, this film flips safety on its head! You’d be forgiven for thinking that the best place to be during the apocalypse would be locked safety away in a nuclear bunker. You’d be dead wrong. Things quickly turn nasty when there’s no escape resulting in lots of murder, gore and rape. It’s brutal stuff!
5) Alien – Amid it’s phallic imagery, the classic Alien has got to be one of the most claustrophobic horrors of all time. A network of countless maze-like tunnels and cinema’s most frightening monster still sends shivers down the spines of audiences today, especially with the recent release of Prometheus.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You could even suggest that cinema itself is claustrophobic; the pitch black room, lots of people, etc. From the brilliant 12 Angry Men to the constant close-ups that define much of Italian exploitation, to the literal walls closing in in Star Wars. What are your most claustrophobic cinema moments? Let us know below!
