Millions of people around the world have experienced cabin fever this past year. It is that restless feeling you get when you feel trapped and isolated by your current environment. You do not have to be enclosed in a “cabin” or another small space to feel confined. Even in vast open spaces, you can feel more alone than ever.

With stay-at-home orders and social distancing for COVID-19, you may have felt some cabin fever yourself. So many movies capture the essence of that listless claustrophobia. Do you identify with any of these? Which movies would you add to the list?

Isolation in Tight Spaces

Classic cabin fever takes place in an enclosed space, but these films take that to an extreme!

• 127 Hours (2010): Based on the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston, 127 Hours looks at those tenuous hours after a boulder crushes his right hand and traps him in a canyon. Amputation may be his only hope.
• Buried (2010): An American trucker working in Iraq finds himself buried alive in a coffin. Yikes! His captors put a ransom on him. Armed only with a lighter and a cellphone, will he get out before time (and air) runs out?

Isolation with Family

Many people had the opportunity to stay at home with their families. Sure, they may get on your nerves every now and again, but you have most likely had it better than these folks!

• Room (2015): A mother and son are held captive in a 10 ft x 10 ft space for seven years. To think you thought a few weeks was bad! Although she tries to give her son some semblance of a normal life, the time ultimately comes to make an escape.
• The Shining (1980): Going on a family vacation in the mountains doesn’t sound half bad, especially if you get the run of a luxury hotel all to yourself. You might change your tune if said hotel happens to be chockful of ghosts that trigger dad’s violent tendencies. Here’s Johnny!

Isolation as a Kid

Too many children want to grow up faster than they should (and too many are forced to). Not until they realize that being a grown-up is not all it’s cracked up to be do they learn how great it is being a kid.

• Home Alone (1990): Sick and tired of his noisy family, Kevin is happy when they hop on a plane to France and accidentally leave him home alone for the holidays. After doing all the things he always wished he could do (eating whatever he wants, jumping on their bed, even bungling some burglars), he realizes he misses them. He would do anything to have them back.
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009): A rebellious young Max has a temper tantrum and runs away both literally and figuratively. In his imaginary world of wild things, he declares himself a king but soon comes to learn that his behavior has unwanted consequences. It’s not pretty to see that you are a monster yourself. He leaves behind his old ways and returns to his mother who accepts him with open arms.

Isolation in Space

Even with all the space in the world, you can find yourself feeling more than a bit trapped.

• Gravity (2013): Biomedical engineer Ryan Stone goes on her first NASA space shuttle mission. Unfortunately, disaster strikes during a spacewalk, her crew is lost, and she is stranded in outer space without a soul to help. Does she have the ingenuity to get back to Earth?
• The Martian (2015): Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a manned mission to Mars goes bust, only he survives! Left behind by his crew, he must find a way to survive until they can plan another mission to bring him back home. It helps that he also happens to be a botanist! How are those potatoes fertilized again?

Isolation in Other Unfamiliar Places

Sometimes we find ourselves in unexpected places and not always pleasant ones at that.

• Cast Away (2000): FedEx executive Chuck Noland’s plane crashes and he finds himself alone on a remote tropical island. Using his wits and wreckage from the crash to survive, his life will never be the same. If only we all had a trusty friend like Wilson!
• Misery (1990): When writer Paul Sheldon is injured in a car accident, superfan Annie Wilkes takes him into her home to recover. The problem? She won’t let him go until he re-writes his latest book and resurrects her favorite character. She won’t take no for an answer, even it means hobbling her favorite author in the process. It’s nice to have fans but yikes! She takes cabin fever to an extreme.