Movies Charades, Hard

35 words to act out

Hard movie charades is for the group that has already burned through the blockbusters and wants a real challenge. Half these titles have no single obvious image at all, which is exactly the point: Inception, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Requiem for a Dream and 2001: A Space Odyssey force the actor to invent a shorthand and sell it. The rest are famous but hard to stage, from The Silence of the Lambs and Reservoir Dogs to Whiplash, Birdman and Parasite. Only bring this tier out when your guessers have genuinely seen the films, because a perfect performance of There Will Be Blood is wasted on a room that has not.

1. Inception
2. Pulp Fiction
3. The Silence of the Lambs
4. Schindler's List
5. Gone with the Wind
6. Citizen Kane
7. The Godfather
8. No Country for Old Men
9. Interstellar
10. The Shawshank Redemption
11. Fight Club
12. The Sixth Sense

13. Requiem for a Dream
14. The Grand Budapest Hotel
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
16. There Will Be Blood
17. A Clockwork Orange
18. Apocalypse Now
19. The Deer Hunter
20. Blade Runner
21. 2001: A Space Odyssey
22. Reservoir Dogs
23. Memento
24. The Prestige
25. Trainspotting
26. Whiplash
27. Birdman
28. Parasite
29. The Departed
30. Slumdog Millionaire
31. The Big Lebowski
32. Full Metal Jacket
33. Donnie Darko
34. American Beauty
35. The Usual Suspects

Acting a film that has no obvious image

Abstract titles need a different method. Instead of the plot, mime the shape of the words. For Inception, act falling asleep, then falling asleep again inside the dream. For Memento, mime writing on your own arm and then forgetting. For Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, drop the mouthful and sell the one word your team can catch, sunshine, then mime erasing. It also helps to establish a house signal for the abstract tier, for example tapping your temple to mean the title is a concept rather than a scene. Agree partial credit before you start too: on this list, getting the team to The Prestige when the answer was The Illusionist deserves something, or your timer wins every round.

Charades tips & FAQ

How many movies charades words are on this hard list, and can I print them?

Thirty-five difficult titles, mostly award winners and cult films with no easy visual shorthand. They are all printed on the page in plain text, which makes it simple to strike out any film your group has not seen before you start.

What makes these movies clues "hard" rather than another tier?

Hard films are either abstract in concept or famous without being visual. There is no single frame that says Memento or Inception, so the actor has to invent a shorthand and the guessers have to actually know the film.

How do we run a round of movies charades?

Split into two teams and give each actor sixty to ninety seconds. Open every clue by cranking an old-fashioned film camera by your ear so the room knows it is a movie, then hold up fingers for the word count. No talking, no mouthing words and no pointing at objects in the room. A point per correct guess before the timer runs out, then swap actors and pass to the other team. On the hard tier, agree partial credit before the first clue, or the timer will win every round against titles with no obvious single image.

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Want the background rather than another list? Read the charades rules and word-list guide (official gestures, timing, team setup and house rules worth stealing) and the party games night checklist (a running order that keeps a whole evening from stalling).

All tools: Never Have I Ever · D&D Name Generator · Would You Rather · Team Name Generator · Rapper Name Generator