Best Movies For Reaction Videos
by aimless-46 | created - 4 weeks ago | updated - 1 day ago | PublicA "first time watching" movie reaction video is a video in which a person or multiple people react to their first time seeing a movie or a television series episode. Videos showing emotional reactions or criticism and commentary are numerous on video hosting services such as YouTube and live-streaming services such as Twitch. Typically the depicted persons are aware that they are being recorded and the camera and microphone are acknowledged by the subjects.
Typically a condensed version of the movie itself is shown as a picture-in-picture or in a split screen, allowing the reaction video's viewers to see what is being reacted to. It generally works better when several subjects are involved and when they avoid irritating gimmicks like going in and out of focus in an effort to dodge copyright issues.
Not unexpectedly the degree to which this sort of stuff is an entertaining watch is very dependent on the film that is being viewed. And although it would seem fairly easy to predict what will work and what will bomb, the makers of these are often completely clueless. And most try to up viewership by selecting mega-popular high dollar garbage like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Titanic". So in the interest of "saving" people from being bored to death this list includes the movies most suitable for this treatment, with the caveat that the people producing these are an uneven mix of talent so just choosing the right movie does not guarantee that a specific reaction video will be worth watching.
Most of those making these videos represent that they are watching the film for the first time. While they could be faking that claim, generally speaking they are convincing in their reactions.
Finally I don't recommend watching a reaction video without first seeing the film on your own.
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1. The Sixth Sense (1999)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Votes: 1,052,194 | Gross: $293.51M
This is hands down the best film for this activity, for obvious reasons if you know this film. I won't spoil things by providing any details.
2. The Life Before Her Eyes (2007)
R | 90 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A woman's survivor's guilt from a Columbine-like event 15 years ago causes her present-day idyllic life to fall apart.
Director: Vadim Perelman | Stars: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri, Gabrielle Brennan
Votes: 14,899 | Gross: $0.30M
As yet undiscovered by reaction people this film a prime candidate. So if you enjoyed reactions to "Sixth Sense" keeping looking for someone to react to this one ....
3. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,997 | Gross: $46.36M
Stanley Kubrick films are generally good subjects for the reaction video treatment although this one is by far the best.
4. Back to the Future (1985)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Votes: 1,307,975 | Gross: $210.61M
This film utilizes the theatrical device of drawing viewers into the story by giving them information of which many important characters are unaware. This is a good predictor of what will work as a reaction video.
5. The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 76 min | Comedy, Music
Charts the adventures of the prefab four, possibly the most famous band of all time.
Directors: Eric Idle, Gary Weis | Stars: Eric Idle, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, Neil Innes
Votes: 6,950
I would love to see one.
6. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Not Rated | 118 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson
Votes: 75,001
Lots of subtle humor in a story that was originally a play. With the feel of the stage nicely captured by the film.
7. Kelly's Heroes (1970)
GP | 144 min | Adventure, Comedy, War
A group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.
Director: Brian G. Hutton | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 53,748 | Gross: $1.38M
Full of lively action and comedy with a counterculture flavor transported to the WWII era.
8. Despicable Me (2010)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Gru, a criminal mastermind, adopts three orphans as pawns to carry out the biggest heist in history. His life takes an unexpected turn when the little girls see the evildoer as their potential father.
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud | Stars: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews
Votes: 584,757 | Gross: $251.51M
Has all the right elements.
9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,175,044 | Gross: $204.84M
Works far better than the first film.
10. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,235 | Gross: $64.43M
11. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Passed | 102 min | Comedy
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett
Votes: 66,134
A classic film that most post baby boomer have never seen.
12. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 710,859 | Gross: $83.47M
The Robert Duvall sequences work well enough for the film to make this list but the majority of the film is not such a great fit.
13. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,222,411 | Gross: $107.93M
Breaking movie conventions amps up the entertainment value of viewer reactions.
14. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor | Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr
Votes: 428,930 | Gross: $2.08M
The biggest problem is finding viewers who qualify for "first time watching" status.
15. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,875 | Gross: $32.00M
16. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 660,031 | Gross: $260.00M
Obvious candidate for the treatment.
17. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,549,597 | Gross: $130.74M
People will say we're in love.
18. The Big Lebowski (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 860,968 | Gross: $17.50M
19. Westworld (1973)
PG | 88 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park.
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Norman Bartold
Votes: 63,009 | Gross: $16.06M
20. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Passed | 100 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre
Votes: 166,669 | Gross: $2.11M
Much of the high quality film noir stuff lends itself to this treatment and is a genre where it is easy to believe the makers are viewing it for the first time.
21. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 763,738 | Gross: $85.16M
Much better for reactions than the first movie.
22. Deliverance (1972)
R | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
Votes: 119,361 | Gross: $7.06M
I don't think many reaction people have discovered this film.
23. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 703,380 | Gross: $37.63M
I don't think many reaction people have discovered this film either.
24. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 234,449 | Gross: $100.32M
25. What a Girl Wants (2003)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An American teenager learns that her father is a wealthy British politician running for office. Although she is eager to find him, she realizes it could cause a scandal and cost him the election.
Director: Dennie Gordon | Stars: Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Soleil McGhee
Votes: 66,540 | Gross: $35.99M
If you are seeking a movie from which to produce a reaction video, look for one for which no "quality" reactions have been uploaded. One like this one which currently has an incredibly moronic collection of reactions. Talk about setting the bar low.
26. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
An awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
Director: Todd Solondz | Stars: Heather Matarazzo, Christina Brucato, Victoria Davis, Christina Vidal
Votes: 37,208 | Gross: $4.77M
27. Triangle (2009)
R | 99 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Five friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.
Director: Christopher Smith | Stars: Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor, Michael Dorman
Votes: 129,965
28. Wicked (1998)
R | 88 min | Thriller
Ellie is an average girl with typical teen problems: a bratty little sister, a nagging mom and a father that denies her the attention she desperately craves. But Ellie's not the kind of girl that gets mad. She gets evil.
Director: Michael Steinberg | Stars: Louise Myrback, Julia Stiles, Chelsea Field, William R. Moses
Votes: 3,431
29. Galaxy Quest (1999)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
The alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.
Director: Dean Parisot | Stars: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 178,371 | Gross: $71.58M
The attraction of this film is that viewers identify with the characters and essentially participate with them in the action. Such films are great candidates for the reaction treatment.
30. School of Rock (2003)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Music
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Adam Pascal
Votes: 331,077 | Gross: $81.26M
31. Zulu (1964)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, History, War
Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth
Votes: 42,773
32. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country's dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi
Votes: 441,871 | Gross: $33.37M
33. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 25,056 | Gross: $42.35M
34. Overboard (1987)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
A cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her that they're husband and wife.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 67,955 | Gross: $26.71M
This film is great for the reaction treatment because the underlying premise is deception and that always creates viewer involvement in the action because they know the truth and get off on watching the deception play out.
35. WarGames (1983)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 110,858 | Gross: $79.57M
36. American Graffiti (1973)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 98,232 | Gross: $115.00M
I'm kind of surprised at this one but it is probably because looking back at 1962 becomes popular with every successive generation.
37. Slap Shot (1977)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin, Jennifer Warren
Votes: 41,269 | Gross: $28.00M
38. An Angel for May (2002 TV Movie)
TV-G | 95 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Tom travels fifty years to the past after discovering a time machine. He meets May, a little orphan who needs help. Now that he knows his friends' fate and his own, he will try to reorder the events and change their history.
Director: Harley Cokeliss | Stars: Tom Wilkinson, Charlotte Wakefield, Matthew Beard, Hugo Speer
Votes: 988
39. The Upside of Anger (2005)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama
When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and her daughters juggle their mom's romantic dilemmas and family dynamics.
Director: Mike Binder | Stars: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood
Votes: 22,967 | Gross: $18.76M
40. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Approved | 78 min | Horror, Mystery
After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
Director: Herk Harvey | Stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison
Votes: 27,845
41. Almost Famous (2000)
R | 122 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
Votes: 293,630 | Gross: $32.53M
42. The Wages of Fear (1953)
Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli
Votes: 66,639
43. Dick (1999)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy
After wandering off during a White House tour, two high school girls inadvertently become Richard Nixon's top secret advisers at the height of the Watergate scandal.
Director: Andrew Fleming | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Will Ferrell
Votes: 21,376 | Gross: $6.24M
44. Coraline (2009)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
Votes: 264,062 | Gross: $75.29M
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