Blog Mood Picks

10 Dark and Heavy Movies for When You Want to Feel Something

February 07, 2026 5 min read

Not every movie night needs to be light. Sometimes you want something that hits hard, makes you think, and stays with you. These 10 dark, heavy films are rated among the best ever made.

How GoodScore works: We combine ratings from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and TMDB into a single 0-100 score. Higher = better. No single platform bias.

1
The Godfather

The Godfather

1972 · 2h 55m · Dir. Francis Ford Coppola

Drama, Crime

94
GoodScore

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the...

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2
12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men

1957 · 1h 37m · Dir. Sidney Lumet

Drama

94
GoodScore

The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes...

Amazon Prime Video
3
Schindler's List

Schindler's List

1993 · 3h 15m · Dir. Steven Spielberg

Drama, History, War

93
GoodScore

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

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4
Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies

1988 · 1h 29m · Dir. Isao Takahata

Animation, Drama, War

91
GoodScore

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned...

Netflix
5
The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

2008 · 2h 32m · Dir. Christopher Nolan

Action, Crime, Thriller

90
GoodScore

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective,...

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6
Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

1994 · 2h 34m · Dir. Quentin Tarantino

Thriller, Crime, Comedy

90
GoodScore

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

Amazon Prime Video
7
Jai Bhim

Jai Bhim

2021 · 2h 44m · Dir. T.J. Gnanavel

Crime, Drama, Mystery

89
GoodScore

A pregnant woman from a primitive tribal community, searches desperately for her husband, who is missing from police custody. So as to find her husband and seek justice for them, as their voice, a High Court advocate rises in support....

Amazon Prime Video
8
Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan

1998 · 2h 49m · Dir. Steven Spielberg

War, Drama, History

89
GoodScore

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

Netflix
9
Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

1962 · 3h 48m · Dir. David Lean

Adventure, History, War

89
GoodScore

During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.

Netflix
10
The Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter

1955 · 1h 33m · Dir. Charles Laughton

Crime, Drama, Thriller

87
GoodScore

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

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