The snow is a winter setting that could conjure a myriad of moods. Whether it be to create a sense of elegant wonder, a Winterland setting for fantasy, the cold, barren, desolate nature of nothingness, or to remind an audience of its climate, the snow is a great prop. The snow creates a sense of versatility with filmmakers not only for the holiday spirit but to project mood onto the story, a subtext, much like the rain.
It could be a great way to juxtapose violence as blood paints the white floor or that feeling of everything being new again. There’s even a Western genre dedicated to the snow, thanks to a recent collection byCriterion. Winter season is still going strong, and before spring breaks, one might want to watch a movie that captures the snowy weather that is going on outside. These are the best films set up or against the snow.
Update June 20, 2025: This article has been updated with even more great films set in the snow by Soniya Hinduja to enjoy this winter season.
15I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Im Thinking of Ending Things
Featuring outstanding performances from Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons,I’m Thinking of Ending Thingsis a riddle of a film that demands all your attention. Buckley plays Lucy, a young woman who goes on a trip with his boyfriend Jake, played by Plemons, to meet his parents. But strange occurrences send her deep into thought and reconsideration. The film also has a parallel narrative with footage of a school janitor. Its dream-like treatment makes you squirm until the very end.
Kaufman’s Little Puzzle Box
“Time passes through us,” utters Jessie Buckley. The inscrutable, skin-scrawling existential angst and romance tied to the ideas of loving and being loved is at the center of Charlie Kaufman’s film. He’s a writer-director terrified of losing his ideas and obsessed with who will remember them once completed.I’m Thinking of Ending Thingswants an entire life to be lived and breathed in, much like Synecdoche, New York. Through the head-scratching time shifts and breaks, in reality, the uncomfortable malaise of growing old, “did it happen or was it a dream?” platitudes, Kaufman has faithfully adapted a novel, but this is undoubtedly his work — one of his best.Stream on Netflix
14The Edge (1997)
A common rift between the working class and the wealthy elite they work for, matched with jealous rage and fits of domestic disturbances,The Edgetakes men not built for the wilderness and whittles them down to their bare essence. Starring Alec Baldwin as a family man taking his wife to Alaska for a photo shoot and Anthony Hopkins as a man with a seemingly boundless knowledge of all things and a celebrated photographer by profession, the film takes them to the deep end to see two men reach past their shortcomings.
Man Vs Nature, Or Man Vs Man?
With a sublime direction by Lee Tamahori, a harrowing score by Jerry Goldsmith, and the most stunning shots of mountains,The Edgesubverts expectations of survival thrillers. It also gives us two vulnerable and complicated protagonists in Baldwin and Hopkins as they are pulled into the taut narrative filled with near-death-defying battle of wits and bound to each other in the most unexpected ways. Shot amidst breathtaking Alaskan scenery that consumes characters as much as the storyline, the film is a work of art and an instant classic.Rent on Apple TV
Related:Best Westerns Set in the Snow, Ranked
13Misery (1990)
Adapted from a 1987 novel by Stephen King,Miseryis an excellent psychological thriller. It follows acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon, who crashes his car in a snowstorm and is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes. Paul isn’t even surprised to hear that she’s a huge fan of his work. But as Annie nurses Paul back to health in her secluded home, he discovers that she’s severely unstable and is holding him captive.
Chilling And Manipulative Game Of Wits
DirectorRob Reiner has a resume dotted withcritical and fan-wide success, and his behind-the-scenes works often include coming-of-age dramas. WithMisery, Reiner ratchets up the kind of nail-biting suspense and manipulative horror that was synonymous only with the ‘90s. James Caan is great as Paul, but it is Kathy Bates who astonishes in the role of Annie and leads King to pen a series of novels with her character. The movie plays out beautifully against the unforgiving snowy landscape and stays with us long after.Rent on Apple TV
12Cliffhanger (1993)
Bracing for extremity with battles, explosions, and collisions atop the snowy mountains as Sylvester Stallone looks to redeem his begotten past,Cliffhangersees him as Gabe Walker, a ranger trying to help plane crash survivors. But among them is a devious John Lithgow planning the heist of the US Treasury Plane. The heist takes a dangerous turn into the snow-filled Rocky Mountains. With a crew rounded out by the vastly underused Leon as the lead henchman, the climber, played by Stallone, is tasked with reducing the hostages.
Action Thriller Packed With Adrenaline
EssentiallyDie Hardon a mountain,Cliffhangeris said to beone of the most dangerous films ever made. Stallone is perfectly cast in this breathtaking ode to 1990s action cinema, where the good guy often gets embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game. With this one featuring heart-in-your-mouth stunts, real shots of wintery cliffs and authentic climactic scenes, the audience is sure to have a good time. No stranger to the snow — after makingDie Hard 2— director Renny Harlin made a hit, as the film went on to gross $255 million.Rent on Apple TV
11Snowpiercer (2013)
Snowpiercer
With a stacked cast of Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Song Kang-ho, John Hurt, and Ed Harris, director Bong Joon-ho plunges us into a snow-capped hellscape in a post-apocalyptic world where the population is forced to live on a never-ending train ride. With the social hierarchy baked into the train and story set-up, the poorest are forced to live in the back. Led by Evans, the back of the train takes arms and starts a revolution to get to the front.
Dystopian Satire For The Ages
Bong Joon-ho has a penchant for weaving incritiques of social classesand hierarchies in many of his action-thriller movies. WithSnowpiercer, he found the perfect source material to make his first American film. Inside the claustrophobic setting, he constructs a microcosm of a society forgotten and a society that envelops us all to seamlessly blend action, satire, and tense scenes that all build towards a brilliant climax. Snowpiercer is not just a landmark science fiction epic, but Bong’s sublime work of art.Currently unavailable to stream.
10Wind River (2017)
Wind River (2017)
Wind Riveris directed by Taylor Sheridan, and is a recipient of the Top Ten Independent Films award under National Board of Review’s 2017 turnout. It follows Cory Lambert, an experienced wildlife officer and tracker who joins forces with FBI agent Jane Banner following the death of a young woman. Because her body was found on a snowy Indian Reservation in Wyoming, it was impossible for the people to have the means to investigate the matter. So Jane and Cory rely on each other’s skills to unravel the truth.
Neo-Noir Thriller With Steely Winds
Sheridan draws inspiration from the true cases of missing native American girls and infuses the tightly-wound script with as much realism, empathy, and nuance as possible.Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are perfectly castas the two intense and determined individuals navigating their chilly environment and gaining trust from the people. While the movie centers on themes of loss and grief, it is Sheridan’s use of shadowy backdrops that swallows the audience into a desperate search for truth.Stream on Freevee
9Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone
As the 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (the revelatory Macaulay Culkin) gets stranded at his house after an emotional spinout with his family, he relishes his time alone as the man of the house, having the freedom to do whatever he wishes, whenever he wishes. But, forced by two bumbling crooks who attempt to infiltrate his home, he goes to battle with a hilariously volatile Joe Pesci. Playing the PG version of the persona he made famous under the guise of Martin Scorsese, Pesci gets outwitted by the kid.
An Unparalleled Holiday Classic
The Christmas movie classic doesn’t just get its lovely, warm feeling of family from the wonderful cast of actors and the sleek, Spielbergian direction from Chris Columbus, but the lovely snow setting the McAllisters live in at the quiet Illinois suburb. While Kevin’s hijinks satisfy the soul, it is the holiday cheer, the fanciful neighborhood, and the snow-laced slapstick justice that warms our hearts even today.Home Aloneis a classic for a reason and one that fits perfectly for the snowy, cold weather.Stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
8The Revenant (2015)
The Revenant
The movie that finally presented a much-deserved Oscar to Leonardo DiCaprio,The Revenant,is inspired by a shocking true story ofone man’s survival against all odds. Hugh Glass is a frontiersman under orders from Captain Andrew Henry, guiding other men in an uncharted American wilderness. But one day, the deadly landscape of Dakota is cruel to Glass and he is mauled by a savage bear. When his fellow companion leaves him for dead, Glass begins his quest to survive and exact revenge.
An Awe-Inspiring Survival Epic
The Revenantreveals a treacherous snowbound terrain, which acts as a secondary character and amplifies the film’s nightmarish scenario. Had Glass been in the same situation against a different backdrop, maybe the film wouldn’t have had such a jarring impact. That said, every stunning frame ofThe Revenantis worthy of hanging in a museum. DiCaprio’s physical performance, which was committed, fierce, and beautiful, cements the actor’s legendary status in the industry.Rent on Apple TV
Related:Must Watch Winter Movies
7The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Grand Budapest Hotelis about a Zero, played by Tony Revelori for the majority of the film and F. Murray Abraham for the present-day sequence, who reflects on his life to a young writer (Jude Law) about the eccentric concierge Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and how love is the only answer to war. It is set in the 1930s, the time when Zero became friends with Mr. Gustave. Zero tells of his past, and how the world drastically changed, of how love had been lost, and how innocence died.
Wes Anderson’s Most Whimsical Work
The underlying humanity of Wes Anderson never came through quite as it did withThe Grand Budapest Hotel. A film about the crushing blow of fascism and what it can do to a country. But also, a film about memory and storytelling neatly packages itself into the Anderson mold. It also helps that the meticulous details, lush set pieces, and deadpan humor make Gustave’s adventures less absurd and more heartfelt. It is Anderson’s most celebrated Oscar film to date, and one is decorated neatly by an elegant snow blanket.Rent on Apple TV
6Werewolves Within (2021)
Werewolves Within
Feature adaptation of the video game where werewolves attack a small town.
Based on the video game of the same name,Werewolves Withinis a horror-comedy that features some of the funniest comedic actors working, including Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub, as a group of people are trapped in a small Vermont town during a snowstorm to discover a werewolf is hunting them. Everyone is a suspect, and nothing is as it seems.
Cold Terrors and Laughs
Werewolves Withinis not only the best video game moviebut an incredibly funny horror comedy that stands alongside greats likeShaun of the DeadandEvil Dead 2. The film’s snowy environment helps sell the terror of the situation while also allowing for some incredibly comedic moments of allowing for people to be trapped together that otherwise would not have. The film’s cold setting made it a nice break from the hot summer in which it was released. Certainly, an underrated film, not many audiences have seen that is worth checking out.Stream on Hulu.
