Generally speaking, friends make life better. With them around, you laugh harder, smile wider, and can finally see the bright side of that one really embarrassing moment that had you subconsciously cringing for weeks on end. They even elevate the film-watching experience to greater heights, transforming chuckle-worthy comedies into all-out giggle riots; dramas that would normally leave you only misty-eyed now have you in a puddle of tears. But sometimes, a friend, a partner, or even a parent is absolutely vital to make it through a movie. Whether it's to commiserate with you over a super-sad pick or to remind you that spooky forest witches don't really exist when you're watching a horror film, there are certain movies that you should never watch alone.
Don't Ever Watch These Movies By Yourself. You Have Been Warned!
1408
We'll start off with something fairly simple, even a bit cliched, to ease you in. Based on a short story written by the patron saint of scare himself, Stephen King, this Mikael Håfström-directed flick has all the bones of a basic psychological horror flick: a protagonist grappling with grief, a dead child, a preoccupation with the supernatural, a creepy hotel, and the ubiquitous "I ain't afraid of no ghosts" mentality that lands the main man into a mess of trouble.
But what's different about 2007's 1408 is its wicked, winding plot that wraps itself tighter and tighter around the core narrative—a method of movie-making madness that will have you reaching for someone's hand to hold as you watch it all unfold. John Cusack as the jaded ultra-skeptic Mike is chilling, and the apparitions that haunt him aren't Insidious-style creeps. No, they're even darker.
If you're feeling really brave, check out the film's three alternate endings, all of which differ from King's original closing. Just be sure to turn your movie night into a slumber party; you definitely won't want to sleep alone.
The Chaser
Thrillers meant to shake you to your very soul are often framed as a "true story" or inspired by events that "totally happened, guys." And even more frequently, audiences brush it off as a little white lie, a part of the total package of selling a scare. This one is different. The Chaser (2008) is a South-Korean crime-thriller genuinely based on the real-life mass murderer Yoo Young-chul, a backstory that makes for an all-killer, no-filler fight to the finish.
Strapped for cash, Joong-ho, a morally corrupt former police detective turned pimp, puts his prostituting ways on pause for a brief moment as he goes back to his old ways to track down his missing pack of girls—all of whom vanished before resolving their debts to him. As the sprinkling of clues begins to form one giant web around him, Joong-ho connects his lack of funds to one particularly sadistic client with a taste for blood. The Chaser blends serial-killer suspense, the gritty neo-noir landscape of Seoul, and breakneck pacing that begs you to read between the lines. It's creepy, criminal, and oh-so cool.
As the film fights against the ticking clock and nears its end, you'll need one friend to yell profanities over the plot with and another to keep your heart rate at a normal level.
Ex Machina
Robots and red lights and rebellion, oh my! You've likely heard of this Alex Garland-helmed film, or at least seen Oscar Isaac donning a full beard and tearing up the dance floor to Oliver Cheatham's "Get Down Saturday Night." (We know you better than that!) Though that clip is, admittedly, quite hilarious on its own, Ex Machina isn't a film you should see sans company. Weaving the elements of sleek sci-fi with scathing psychological horror, the machine-oriented movie warns of the possible dangers of sentient artificial intelligence and what can happen when you give humans more power than they deserve.
Garland makes his directorial debut with this film—which also stars Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor Domhnall Gleeson and the newest Lara Croft, Alicia Vikander—but you wouldn't know it. Thought up in an all-too-relevant way, Ex Machina is sinister and spooky speculative fiction that feels uncomfortably close to reality, truly a pulp thriller at its best. You'll likely never look at a piece of technology the same way again after giving it a watch, so it's best to have someone by your side to remind you that yes, humans do still exist.
It Follows
2014's horror darling It Follows sparked a new wave of smartly scary flicks—and understandably so, as it's a film unlike any other in its genre. Directed by David Robert Mitchell, this movie simmers with traditional elements of the supernatural and the psychological that have been skewed in a suburban setting. It replaces blood-filled slashings with an overwhelming, constant sense of dread and impending doom, and breaks free from the usually restricting themes of teenage horror films. Maika Monroe as Jay, Keir Gilchrist as Paul, and Olivia Luccardi as Yara are a fantastic trio that play the somewhat naive teenagers with laser precision, and the mysterious entity, "it," that tracks them down will have you triple-checking over your shoulder the next time you hear even the faintest of footsteps behind you. (You might even be slightly wary of sex … you'll see why.)
It Follows strings you along, leaving you sweaty and skeptical but wholly satisfied, and will follow you long after its final scene.
The Babadook
Silly name, spooky story. The Babadook, written and directed by Aussie triple-threat Jennifer Kent in her directorial debut, centers around a mother and her son stalked by the titular character, a pop-up book monster named Mister Babadook who threatens multiple murders if anyone denies his existence. Following a series of febrile seizures, violent hallucinations, insomnia-induced blackouts, and acts of physical aggression, all caused by the Babadook, Amelia and Sam try valiantly to vanquish the beast once and for all. Though initial attempts prove fruitless, the journey toward possible success is an nailbiter through and through. It also isn't without its underlying non-horror themes, the most prominent of which are the taboos of parenting and mother-child resentment.
Quite possibly the scariest film released in recent years, The Babadook isn't one to catch alone—and the critics agree. Julia Alexander at Polygon says you'll absolutely need an extra body to hold on to during the film's run: "A brilliant take on the sometimes stale haunted house subgenre, it's genuinely difficult to get through this movie without covering your eyes or grasping onto the arm of the person next to you." Told you so.
The Descent
Down we go further into the rabbit hole of blood-chilling terror, with the aptly-titled adventure-horror The Descent. Released in 2005 during the height of the grisly Saw franchise's reign, this British-American film tells the tale of a few adventurous young women gearing up for a spelunking trip in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. All goes well, and even seems slightly cutesy, as the girls pack their bags and settle into a quaint cabin in the woods–never a good accommodation in a horror flick. All goes sour when they drop into the cave with no way out. Bathed in pitch-black darkness and surrounded by warped humanoid creatures known as "crawlers" that are hungry for flesh and blood, the women are forced to find a way to climb out of the hole into which they descended.
Dark and deeply unsettling, The Descent is a "chick flick" gone terribly wrong, and its twist ending will pull the breath from your lungs. Just like a cave expedition, watching the The Descent is something you should never do alone.
Green Room
If you thought those movies were intense, you haven't seen anything like Green Room. An all-out raucous horror picture framed around a dimly lit hardcore punk show, this Jeremy Saulnier film edges on torture porn but spins toward absurdity with elements reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and zooms in on a keen portrayal of what the punk subculture is all about.
The band at the center of the story is The Ain't Rights, featuring the late Anton Yelchin as the bassist Pat and Alia Shawkat on guitar as Sam. They open their set list with a cover of the Dead Kennedy's "Nazi Punks F–k Off" and later find the body of a girl backstage. Realizing she'd been murdered by a gang of neo-Nazi skinheads (led by a chilling Patrick Stewart as Darcy Banker), the members of The Ain't Rights attempt to notify authorities but are themselves attacked by the killers and are forced to fight their way out of the room that once marked a milestone in their career.
While many critics and fans have praised this film for its uniqueness, it's definitely not one to see solo. Even Entertainment Weekly's creative director Tim Leong agrees: "Pro tip: Don't watch Green Room when you're home alone on a Saturday night."
Mama
What can compare to a mother's love? Well, that's exactly what the 2013 Guillermo del Toro-produced movie Mama aims to answer. Starring Interstellar's Jessica Chastain as the hesitant but well-meaning Annabel and Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in a double role as the financially devastated, homicidal Jeffrey Desange and his grief-stricken twin brother Lucas, this supernatural flick delivers both a myth buried in maternity and a whole truckload of scares. From the shadowy figure that lingers over Lucas' two young nieces (who are also feral due to living in the forest with no human interaction for over five years) to the final reveal that's equally as haunting, this film is definitely one worth watching, just not on a one-man mission. (Seriously, having someone, even your own mother, beside you for this one is a must.)
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Now that we've hit you with the harshness of horror and the gut-wrenching discomfort of gore, let's guide you down a calmer, gentler path.
Rather than an eerie thriller that will have you sleeping with one eye open, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl begs to be seen in pairs for its heartbreaking premise and its astutely crafted plotlines. Warm, winsome, and even a little bit cheekily self-aware, the film follows Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, and Olivia Cooke (whom you may recognize from Bates Motel) as the three titular characters brought together by a devastating illness. But Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is more than a film about the big thing it's about; it extends into humor, the quirks of being a teenager, the weight of coming of age without ever realizing it, and how one act of kindness can change someone forever. It's far less about fatality than it is about friendship, a core theme that will have you craving a hug from someone you love.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
This pick is a classic: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Spanning a staggering 558 minutes (a runtime that bumps up to nearly 11.5 hours in the extended edition and just over 12 on Blu-ray) in total, the heartfelt Hobbit tales are somehow so much better when strung together for a single, epic binge-watch. Not only will you need a couch companion to help you prep the movie snacks or to adjust the volume when some super important scenes pop up, but you'll also want them there to marvel at the story arc in The Fellowship of the Ring, applaud the triumphs made in The Two Towers, and help dry your tears in The Return of the King. (You know the line we're talking about.)
A staple in the nerd world, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is infinitely better when experienced together, not because you'll be terrified or traumatized to tears, but because you'll be reminded of the good in the world—something always worth sharing.