8 Amazing Movies That Only Feature One Actor

Where does the will to survive in the face of seemingly impossible odds come from? That's the question Danny Boyle and James Franco set out to answer in retelling the true story of a mountain climber who finds himself trapped in a Utah canyon that's off the beaten path.

Their answer may rely on a few little cheats here and there which keeps it from being entirely centered around Franco's performance - primarily flashback sequences that looks like it could serve as the final thoughts of a dying man - but make no mistake, it's Franco's desperation and fear that propels this human drama.

Unlike most films on this list, however, directory Danny Boyle shows viewers an expansive visual palette, capturing the grandiosity of the canyons. But this isn't simply so we can marvel at the vastness of Mother Nature's beauty. Those shots are used to contrast just how isolated and alone our protagonist is about to become.

And that, more than any panicked dialogue or terrified facial expression, is what makes this movie so damn chilling.

Well, that and the fact that you have to watch a grown man try to cut off his own arm with a dull knife.