This Collider listicle rounds up ten films the author argues can genuinely alter how a viewer sees the world, spanning both uplifting and deeply unsettling emotional territory. Rather than offering feel-good picks alone, the list embraces cinema's capacity to unsettle, arguing that discomforting or bleak films can be just as transformative as hopeful ones.

Titles discussed include the nuclear-war drama Threads, praised for its unflinching, slow-burn depiction of societal collapse; the sprawling ensemble drama Magnolia, valued for its empathetic look at interconnected personal struggles; Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, framed as a meditation on the whole span of human evolution; and Requiem for a Dream, noted for its stark, unsubtle approach to addiction. The piece frames each choice around the specific emotional or philosophical impact it can leave on viewers, though the full list of ten films extends beyond the portion covered here.