8 Great Horror Movies With Only One Character
The best horror movies with only one character. Duel, Buried, The Shallows & more!
The horror genre is continuously creative, as it seeks to find fresh avenues to give its viewers a fright. Audiences just love to be scared, and there is nothing scarier than being alone.
Well, that's not entirely true, but the thought of facing down some impossibly terrifying odds on your lonesome is guaranteed to keep a lot of people up at night. This is a concept that the movie world - and particularly the horror genre - has often ventured into, and has - for the most part - inspired some fantastic cinema.
Seeing a lone character take on these horrifying scenarios is enthralling, and makes the following horror movies completely worth watching. Although many of them may feature some brief side roles, they centre almost entirely on one figure, and even those smaller parts simply act as a method of making the hero's story more intense.
Each of these titles uniquely uses the one-character set-up, allowing for maximum scares and fear, from a wide variety of scenarios. Every single one of them will stick with you, especially if you're watching them alone.
8. Duel
This cult classic movie started as part of the ABC Movie of the Week series but gained a theatrical release after the episode garnered critical acclaim. It was the feature-length directorial debut of Steven Spielberg and thus has an essential place in cinema history. However, it's far more than just credentials, as Duel is a compelling and frightening movie that will make you question your safety on the roads.
The very minimal story follows David Mann - played by Dennis Weaver - as he encounters a homicidal and clearly disturbed driver on the Mojave Desert roads. After he overtakes the grungy and unclean truck, the driver takes offence and proceeds to actively hunt Mann as he fights to survive the vicious onslaught of this unidentified assailant.
Although Mann does encounter one or two people on the way, they simply feel like set-dressing, as everything revolves around the protagonist and his battle against this malicious truck driver.
Duel's simple premise never grows dull, as Weaver accurately portrays the downright horror of the scenario, and the relentless pursuits of the unseen villain will leave you constantly gasping. It's no wonder that Spielberg would become a Hollywood icon after such a spectacular debut.