Making viewers feel claustrophobic is a powerful technique used in movies to heighten tension and immerse viewers in the characters’ experience of confinement, fear, and desperation. Through the use of dim lighting, close-up shots, and oppressive settings, filmmakers are able to keep viewers on edge, creating an impending sense of dread.

It makes sense, then, that the sci-fi genre is the perfect candidate for such techniques. From oppressive dystopian settings to the tight confinement of a space vessel, the technique perfectly highlights the vulnerability and isolation of its characters, which, in some cases, can be exacerbated further when juxtaposed with the vastness of space.

Here we’re looking at 10 sci-fi movies that are guaranteed to make viewers feel claustrophobic, as if they themselves are trapped right there with the characters onscreen.

Directed by Ridley Scott, Alien is a sci-fi masterpiece that blends elements of horror and action. It follows the story of a space crew who, after stopping to investigate a derelict space vessel, find themselves hunted by a deadly alien creature. The movie was a huge hit with critics and fans alike and is considered among the most important and groundbreaking sci-fi movies ever made.

The narrow, dimly lit corridors and oppressive, labyrinth-like design of the spacecraft immerse audiences in this nightmarish scenario, trapping them alongside the dwindling crew members as the Xenomorph stalks and hunts its prey from the shadows. Even the iconic tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream,” is a chilling reminder of the isolation and vulnerability felt throughout.

Directed by Vincenzo Natali, Cube follows a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in a series of high-tech, interconnected, deadly rooms, each with its own set of lethal traps. Made on a shoestring budget of under $300,000, the movie was considered a huge hit as it raked in $9 million at the box office and was praised for its tense atmosphere and creative premise.

Cube’s premise of trapping a group of strangers in a deadly life-or-death, game-type situation, combined with its intricate puzzles, moral dilemmas, and confined setting, bears a striking resemblance to a plethora of movies and shows that have followed, including Squid Game, Escape Room, and, most notably, the Saw franchise. Despite exceeding Cube in terms of mainstream success, none of the aforementioned were able to match it in terms of the sheer intensity of its claustrophobic setting.

The sequel to Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane is more of a claustrophobic psychological horror than an outright sci-fi, but still retains a few science fiction elements from the original. It tells the story of a young woman who, after a car crash, wakes up in an underground bunker with two men who insist that an event has left the surface of Earth uninhabitable. As the story progresses, the woman begins to feel more uneasy and captive as she questions the legitimacy of the men's claims. Has she been saved, or has she been kidnapped?

With the entirety of the film unfolding in the small underground bunker, it's near impossible not to feel claustrophobic when viewing 10 Cloverfield Lane. Focusing on just three characters—played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr.—it's a blessing that each of these actors played their roles with tremendous conviction. John Goodman, in particular, delivers a possible career-best as Howard, a man whose flashes of jealousy and rage slowly begin to come to the forefront of his personality as he does everything in his power to prevent the woman from leaving and exposing them to the dangers he's told her are outside.

A man named Frank finds himself trapped in an automated prison cell under the supervision of an AI life support officer, with no recollection as to why. Upon realizing the AI officer is there to interrogate him using memory-based simulations, he works out a way to manipulate his memories to trick the AI and secure his freedom.

When not taking place in the small and oppressive prison cell, the movie repeats the same memory-based scenario over and over, with only slight differences made to the simulation each time, further adding to the sense of claustrophobia.

This American-French co-production stars Mélanie Laurent as a woman who awakens, trapped in an airtight medical cryogenic unit. With her oxygen supply rapidly depleting and suffering from memory loss, she only has an AI system to assist her as she races against time to piece together the truth behind her confinement and find a way to escape.

Trapping its viewers in a suffocating sense of claustrophobia, mirroring its protagonist’s desperate struggle for air, Oxygen has been positively compared to the Ryan Reynolds movie Buried (in which he is trapped in a coffin), but with a sci-fi twist. Critics also praised Mélanie Laurent’s compelling performance and the film’s tense atmosphere and overall sense of dread.

Love tells the poignant tale of a man in space who loses contact with Earth. As time passes, isolation takes a toll on his mind, leading to hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, and existential dread.

As audiences bear witness to the man’s slowly deteriorating mental state, confined spaces and haunting hallucinations are used to create an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and isolation. The movie is a tough watch at times, taking viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, and highlighting the importance of human connection and interaction.

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Laurence Fishburne, Event Horizon is a sci-fi horror that follows a group of astronauts as they investigate a spaceship that has mysteriously reappeared several years after it was reported missing. It turns out the ship had been transported to another dimension and returned, bringing with it a malevolent entity intent on destroying all those in its path.

Blending sci-fi with supernatural horror and using many similar techniques to Alien before it, the film was praised for its intense and claustrophobic atmosphere and visual effects. It failed to impress some critics, though, who accused the movie of relying on style over substance, pointing out the basic and cliché-ridden plotline. Nevertheless, the movie has since garnered a strong cult following who appreciate its splatterings of intense violence and grotesque body horror elements that take place in the confinement of the oppressive, abandoned spaceship.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, Interstellar is one of the biggest and most successful sci-fi movies of recent memory. It follows the story of a space crew, led by Matthew McConaughey, who embark on a mind-bending journey through a wormhole as they search for a new home for humanity. The movie was a hit at the box office and was praised for its exploration of complex themes, including love, sacrifice, and isolation.

Interstellar features numerous scenes designed to evoke a sense of claustrophobia, heightening the tension of space travel. The crew spends much of their journey confined within the small, metallic interiors of the Endurance spacecraft, surrounded by the vast emptiness of space. Scenes inside the tiny landers and cramped, airlocked environments emphasize the isolation and fragility of their mission. These moments intensify during certain high-stakes sequences, further increasing the tension.

After discovering the first evidence of life on Mars, a small crew of scientists begins to study their findings. Chaos soon ensues as the life-form proves to be far more intelligent and dangerous than expected. Before long, they find themselves being hunted in their own small space station.

Tight framing and dim lighting are combined with fluid zero-gravity camera work and a cramped set design to create the ultimate feeling of claustrophobia. Keeping viewers constantly on edge, the life-form is able to squeeze through tight spaces and expand at will, ambushing crew members and adapting to their attempts to thwart it—making for one heck of a tense viewing experience.

John Carpenter’s The Thing tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the "Thing," a vicious, bloodthirsty alien creature that can imitate other organisms. While still rooted firmly in the sci-fi genre, Carpenter’s remake of the original 1951 version contains far more elements of horror and is a masterclass in both suspense and tension—as well as outright blood and gore.

Taking place entirely within the confines of a dimly lit, sparsely populated, remote research facility, the movie was a minor hit at the time but has since been acknowledged as one of the most important and influential films in the sci-fi and horror genres. It received particular praise for its use of practical effects (which reportedly took up $1.5 million of the movie’s budget) and its combination of breathtaking cinematography and intense feelings of claustrophobia.