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For Sale Mar 31, 2026 at 1:23 PM

Are there more movies that break the 4th wall in a non-comedic sense?

Posted by Hi_Im_zack

The 4th wall can be used in a lot of different ways but somehow it's mostly relagated to "haha I'm in a movie" jokes. A movie being self-aware isn't necessarily a comedic thing, it's just another storytelling device that you can get creative with. There are other elements like horror or surrealism in the idea that people are trapped in a movie for our pleasure The only movie that really used the 4th wall in a really unique and interesting way was The Last Action Hero, and after it bombed I feel like Hollywood has been too afraid to peel back the curtain
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DukeRaoul123 Mar 31, 2026 +131
Scorsese's done it with Goodfellas and I think Wolf of Wall Street. A few characters do it in The Big Short. Clive Owen does it in Inside Man.
131
mikeyfreshh Mar 31, 2026 +28
Speaking of Scorsese, the end of Killers of the Flower Moon is a really good example of what OP is looking for
28
DukeRaoul123 Mar 31, 2026 +13
That's an interesting case because they weren't necesssarily characters doing it but a epilogue to the end of the movie? It might be similar to something like Little Shop of Horrors where the singers were breaking in and singing to the audience without the rest of the characters noticing?
13
EatYourCheckers Mar 31, 2026 +1
I haven't seen KotFM, but your comment made me think of When Harry Met Sally
1
FX114 Mar 31, 2026 +7
That's more a meta moment that addresses the audience without directly breaking the fourth wall.
7
mikeyfreshh Mar 31, 2026
Marty walks out and explains to the audience why he made the movie. That is breaking the fourth wall
0
FX114 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Scorcese, playing a character, addresses the radio audience with a statement that ties into why he made the movie. He doesn't directly address or acknowledge the movie audience. Obviously, the statement is for the movie audience, but that's true of the whole film. That's why it's a meta moment, but not a fourth wall break. https://youtu.be/jLP5oGdBhas?si=l0PPajjEYHlObCw5
6
eurogama Mar 31, 2026 +1
this is exactly right, but i am afraid to spoil it for anybody, one of the most overwhelming things i've ever felt in a theater.
1
championkid Mar 31, 2026 +11
Does it happen in Goodfellas when it isn’t narration? Because Liotta’s Hill character is narrating the story. Oh Hahhaa I typed this and then just remembered the trial scene at the end. That’s the only time the 4th wall is actually broken, isn’t it?
11
Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn Mar 31, 2026 +11
There's also the scene when he's in witness protection talking about how boring his life is and how he ordered spaghetti and meatballs but got ketchup and noodles. He's on his front steps and picks up the morning paper while looking right into the camera as he narrates via voiceover.
11
DukeRaoul123 Mar 31, 2026 +7
He gets to live the rest of his life like a shnook.
7
Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn Mar 31, 2026 -1
Which is a damn great word to use on someone, btw!
-1
DukeRaoul123 Mar 31, 2026 +7
Yea I was talking about the end of the movie when he talks directly to the audience during the trial.
7
Odd-Necessary3807 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Inside Man. Yes, that's the good one.
6
NakedMuffinTime Mar 31, 2026 +2
C*****, when Pesci is interrupted mid-narration when the bat hits him in the scene.
2
nowhereman136 Mar 31, 2026 +2
I'd considered Wolf and Big Short to both be comedies. Not fart joke comedies, and there there's a lot of drama in them, but still ultimately comedies.
2
SfcHayes1973 Mar 31, 2026 +1
>Goodfellas Presumably you're referring to Henry Hill 's exposition to the audience
1
SonicTV Mar 31, 2026 +88
funny games by michael haneke
88
Dudercaster Mar 31, 2026 +26
This was the example I thought of immediately. It was kind of jarring at first, but my interpretation was that it further illustrated the concept of these >!psychopathic kids just toying with their prey, as if it all wasn’t real to them, just like it wasn’t real to the viewer — that type of detachment being a common trait of psychopaths!<, but I’m interested if anyone saw it differently.
26
sloppy_rodney Apr 1, 2026 +5
By drawing attention to the fact that it is a film, he is implicating the audience in the violence. You aren’t just a passive viewer. You are taking part in it. It’s why the film breaks a lot of the “rules” of the genre, the dog being another example. That’s my take. Not even arguing against yours. Art can mean more than one thing at a time.
5
Kindly-Tax-4998 Mar 31, 2026 +13
I have a friend who lives in Austria, she went to see a screening of Funny Games where Michael Haneke attended. He basically showed up and said everyone was weird for loving the movie so much.  Also check out Benny’s Video if you haven’t yet.
13
sentence-interruptio Mar 31, 2026 +4
That's like Todd Phillips saying fans of Joker 2 are weird.
4
andthenisaidd Apr 1, 2026 +3
Came here to say this .
3
SteveAkaGod Mar 31, 2026 +4
Came here to mention Funny Games! Another horror example would be Cabin In The Woods. But the Funny Fames 4th wall break is way more impactful!
4
seanmg Mar 31, 2026 +9
When are the 4th wall breaks in Cabin in the woods?
9
SciFiXhi Mar 31, 2026 +9
I don't think there are any. There's plenty of lampshading the classic horror tropes, but nothing ever really breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges that this, too, is a movie being played out for an audience.
9
Donner_Party_Animal Mar 31, 2026 +4
I wouldn't call them breaks, since there's an in-universe explanation for them. But the two guys in the control booth have a couple lines to the effect of "Gotta keep the customer happy" and "Remember, we're not the only ones watching". Now in the movie they're referring to the old gods, but in reality they're f referring to the viewer. More like gesturing threateningly at the 4th wall
4
seanmg Mar 31, 2026 +6
Yeah I get what you’re saying, but I wouldn’t consider them 4th wall breaks, especially because we literally see the characters they’re referring to.  Also OP asked for not comedic ones which Cabin In The Woods is playing for laughs.
6
Donner_Party_Animal Mar 31, 2026 +2
You're agreeing with me. I was just offering an explanation of what they were probably referring to. Also I disagree that they were playing those lines for laughs. Honestly I'd consider them anti-punchlines.
2
seanmg Apr 1, 2026 +1
Ya ya. We’re on the same page.
1
JeffRyan1 Mar 31, 2026 +38
The Great Dictator is a comedy the breaks the fourth wall non-comedically.
38
Jonneiljon Mar 31, 2026 +35
JCVD (yes, it stands for and stars Jean Claude Van Damme)
35
rotates-potatoes Mar 31, 2026 +14
This is the answer. Such a great moment.
14
original_goat_man Mar 31, 2026 +6
This is the most effective use of it I have seen.
6
ThinkThankThonk Mar 31, 2026 +6
My first thought, tbh an all time great moment in film
6
deadspacekillers Mar 31, 2026 +2
Oh yeah, that was the best part
2
thebigeverybody Mar 31, 2026 +53
There are a bunch of serious movies where the narrator and/or main character is talking directly to the audience. Does that count? Fight Club is the first one that comes to mind.
53
maclood Mar 31, 2026 +16
Fight Club was the first one that came to mind for me as well.
16
Gacharic78 Mar 31, 2026 +25
I Saw the TV Glow
25
Doctor--Spaceman Mar 31, 2026 +6
First one I thought of that wasn't just narration. Pretty disturbing one too.
6
Ehrre Apr 1, 2026 +3
This movie just made me feel so sad by the end
3
yrinhrwvme Mar 31, 2026 +19
Big Short uses it often to explain financial jargon. You could perhaps argue that trial statements in Rashomon are aimed directly at the audience even though they look past the camera
19
jeffh4 Mar 31, 2026 +18
*Schindler’s List* does this >!right after Schindler sees the little girl in a red coat getting carted off with the latest batch of dead. Schindler covers his mouth in horror and briefly looks directly into the camera and at the audience. It was very memorable and effective.!<
18
MoobyTheGoldenSock Mar 31, 2026 +11
Coloring the coat itself is a 4th wall break.
11
CrackerJackKittyCat Mar 31, 2026 +33
The series Fleabag did it for both comic and later plot device effects.
33
Hi_Im_zack Mar 31, 2026 +8
Yeah Fleabag uses it super effectively, only caught the first season
8
CrackerJackKittyCat Mar 31, 2026 +13
Second season is when becomes actual plot device to clever effect. Escher and Gödel would be proud.
13
Janky_Pants Apr 1, 2026 +1
What?! S2 is better and in my opinion top 5 seasons of any tv ever. Watch it!
1
_Trael_ Mar 31, 2026 +3
Talking about series mr ro>!bot!< is worth mentioning. There is some scenes related to >!mental issues and so, where it is done!< and not as humor. Trying to not spoil even some scenes or side plots or who or so.
3
flyboy_za Mar 31, 2026 +2
Just finally watching this now, and wow is it darker than I imagined.
2
Scaryclouds Mar 31, 2026 +12
I don’t know if Last Action Hero actually breaks the viewers 4th wall, they break an. Internal 4th wall
12
_Trael_ Mar 31, 2026 +1
Guess internal wall, not outer wall.
1
Scaryclouds Mar 31, 2026 +3
I forgot, but Charles Dance’s character does directly address the audience in one monologue when he realizes he’s in a movie.
3
sudomatrix Mar 31, 2026 +10
Fight Club and Mr. Robot break the fourth wall in a really interesting way; both imply that the protagonist is aware of the viewer and affected by the viewer.
10
Hi_Im_zack Mar 31, 2026 +10
Mr Robot is a great example. There's a moment where he even grabs the camera
10
Omnipresent_Walrus Apr 1, 2026 +1
Mr Robot is probably the prime example of this: MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS >! The viewer is actually the real Elliot. We've been following Mr Robot in his attempts to protect us from the world and ourself this entire time. A helpless passenger trapped in a DID induced prison that can only silently watch along. !<
1
Skullchewer Mar 31, 2026 +16
Fight Club springs to mind.
16
celestialmechanic Mar 31, 2026 +1
You forgot the first rule…
1
ProjAtlMusic Mar 31, 2026 +7
The Holy Mountain has a huge 4th wall break during the final scene
7
Mutilid Apr 1, 2026
"Zoom back caméra!"
0
kneeco28 Mar 31, 2026 +30
> The only movie that really used the 4th wall in a really unique and interesting way was The Last Action Hero Well, that's nonsense.
30
iSnortCorn Mar 31, 2026 +1
Which you can easily disprove by pointing out the example of...
1
steak4take Mar 31, 2026 +9
The Purple Rose of Cairo for a start - its whole premise is about a black and white movie character falling in love with a real woman in the audience and leaving the movie for the real world. Later, other characters also leave the movie and it gets existential.
9
sandm000 Mar 31, 2026 -4
2 things about that: 1. It came out 10 years _before_ the Last Action Hero. Meaning that it can’t be used as a counter-example of films that have used fourth wall breaks since The Last Action Hero. 2. It doesn’t actually contain a fourth wall break. It is _about_ a fourth wall break within the scene and setting of the movie, but the characters in that movie or movie within a movie don’t stop to address the audience of the outer movie.
-4
DefenderCone97 Mar 31, 2026 +4
Take your pick of Martin Scorsese movies. Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street, Killers of the Flower Moon (the most meaningful IMO)
4
Scaryclouds Mar 31, 2026 -4
I wouldn’t consider those similar.  In Last Action Hero, you have someone from the “real world” being transported into the “movie world” fully aware they are in a movie, trying to convince the other characters they are movie characters. 
-4
GregBahm Mar 31, 2026 +10
I think you're misunderstanding "breaking the fourth wall" with making a movie that is "meta." Adaptation is a meta movie about the storyteller in the story they are telling. Stranger than Fiction, or The Feldmans, have a similar premise (though one is more "magical" and the other is more subdued.) But none of these movies "break the forth wall" in the traditional sense.
10
Scaryclouds Mar 31, 2026 +1
Hmmm… I was about to say Last Action Hero doesn’t break the fourth wall, but Charles Dances’ character does directly address the audience during a monologue. 
1
dennythedinosaur Mar 31, 2026 +1
Final Girls (2015) is another movie where the main character get transported into the movie within the movie
1
brownlawn Mar 31, 2026 +7
Zombieland.
7
hungry4pie Mar 31, 2026 +5
Layer Cake
5
2347564 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Do The Right Thing has a famously sudden scene of 4th wall breaking
6
Superb_Plum_627 Apr 1, 2026 +1
There's a great similar sequence in "25th Hour," another Spike Lee joint.
1
randanowitz Mar 31, 2026 +5
Will Ferrel plays a character in a book that an author in HIS world is currently writing and he can hear her narrating his life. Firstly, it IS a comedy but he never references you the audience and still it feels very 4th wall breaking. Second, I cannot remember the name of the film but if this is what you’re looking for then cool!
5
Hi_Im_zack Mar 31, 2026 +5
I've seen that. It's called Stranger than Fiction
5
broden89 Apr 1, 2026 +2
Stranger Than Fiction, one of my comfort movies!
2
MoobyTheGoldenSock Mar 31, 2026 +5
Adaptation, basically the whole film including the plot itself. Even though it has some funny moments, they’re almost never actually the fourth wall break. In fact, some of the jokes are set up by the fourth wall while the punchline is fully within the movie world. Example: (To audience) “She looked at my hairline. She thinks I'm old. She thinks I'm fat. She --“ (Movie world) “We think you're great”
5
SrslyBadDad Mar 31, 2026 +12
Ferris Bueller
12
Cicer Mar 31, 2026 +9
I feel like that’s a comedic sense though. 
9
Used_Raccoon6789 Mar 31, 2026 +14
Not a movie but house of cards
14
AudibleNod Mar 31, 2026 +3
Frank Underwood is just Ernest P. Worrell corrupted by power. Change my mind, Vern.
3
Hank_Scorpio_ObGyn Mar 31, 2026 +1
My wife hates that I now do the ring tap thing with my wedding ring. Funny enough, my dad did it long before House of Cards but I never noticed until Frank Underwood.
1
farnsmootys Apr 1, 2026 +2
Spoiler: >!The first time Claire speaks to the audience gave me chills!<
2
Physical-Compote4594 Mar 31, 2026 +5
24 Hour Party People
5
i_am_tct Mar 31, 2026 +4
JCVD
4
Captain_Aware4503 Mar 31, 2026 +7
The Big Short. Ryan Gosling's (what ever happened to him?) character and others did this a lot. Someone named Margo Robbie talked to the audience while in a bubble bath. I think she was talking. I wasn't paying attention to that.
7
Dookie_boy Mar 31, 2026 +3
At the Mouth of Madness is a good horror example.
3
dennythedinosaur Mar 31, 2026 +3
Cruella - Emma Stone delivers a monologue to the camera right before the final act, IIRC
3
Frankie6Strings Mar 31, 2026 +3
The end of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers has a panicked character telling the audience that they're next.
3
Odd-Necessary3807 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Tarantino-verse has done it a few times. True Romance springs to mind.
2
sakko303 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Also Death Proof
2
BootleggedBart Mar 31, 2026 +2
Goddard used it frequently, other French New Wave films did occasionally, Cinema Novo films used it like in Glauber Rocha's work, a few Iranian New Wave films like The Mirror, Peter Watkins' La Commune, some New German Cinema films
2
dakotanorth8 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Funny Games
2
EatYourCheckers Mar 31, 2026 +2
Your question makes me think less of breaking the 4th wall, and more celebrities playing themselves in the real world. For that, I nominate Zoolander.
2
sudomatrix Mar 31, 2026 +2
The OA does this in the most creative mind-blowing way I've ever seen. I don't want to spoil anything so you'll have to watch it to see how.
2
shadowshot522 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Bong Joon-ho, director of Parasite, does this in Memory of Murder, a movie that was based on a real life serial killer. The final scene has the detective stare directly at the camera with the idea that the serial killer would lock eyes with the detective and feel the weight of what they had done.
2
SethBrower Mar 31, 2026 +2
following in the noir narration playbook, you also have Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2
sudo_rm-rf_ Mar 31, 2026 +2
Funny games
2
grumblyoldman Mar 31, 2026 +3
It's not a movie, but Handmaid's Tale *constantly* had Elizabeth Moss's character making eye contact with the camera as a way of underscoring how deeply personal the violations against her character were. Like, making the viewer aware of the idea that they're just watching it happen. It was effective the first couple times, but it got really old, really fast. And they just kept doing it.
3
CoolHandRK1 Mar 31, 2026 +8
"It was effective the first couple times, but it got really old, really fast. And they just kept doing it." That sums up the entire show honeestly.
8
ecrane2018 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Watching her character repeatedly make the worst decision possible was super annoying and repetitive
2
CoolHandRK1 Mar 31, 2026 +3
Every season finale is the same: I have a way out.......but im not gonna take it.
3
Coverdale_Murmur Mar 31, 2026 +4
Alfie (with Michael Caine, and the Jude Law remake) has the protagonist turn to the camera and talk to the audience. Not a movie, but a game - Metal Gear Solid 2 had a very memorable 4th wall break
4
Da_Goobb Mar 31, 2026 +4
The Hateful Eight comes to mind. There's a scene where Tarantino narrates to the audience that a pot of coffee was poisoned.
4
negcap Mar 31, 2026 +3
My favorite though it might be comedy is Deadpool saying, “A fourth wall break inside a fourth wall break. That’s like… 16 walls.”
3
zytukin Mar 31, 2026 +5
Spaceballs as well, although comedic. Where'd they go? Let's put in the Spaceballs movie and see!
5
Curleysound Mar 31, 2026 +2
It’s subtle, but Jack Torrance looks directly at the audience several times throughout The Shining. Some may be the actor spiking the lens, but there are behind the scenes clips where you see Kubrick tell him to do so.
2
norfolkjim Mar 31, 2026 +3
Matrix Resurrections basically told WB here's a not terrible, but not spectacular addition addition to the franchise. We had fun, you made money, so please f*** right off now.
3
EatYourCheckers Mar 31, 2026 +2
Well now I want to watch it
2
norfolkjim Mar 31, 2026 +3
I mean...I liked it. Don't see it as the steaming pile of c*** that some people do.
3
Nanto_de_fourrure Apr 1, 2026 +1
If you look at it as big f*** you from the director to the studio, its actually decent. Like a more expensive Freddy got fingered.
1
Mutilid Apr 1, 2026 +1
Don't, the concept is great but the execution is really really bad
1
MelbaToast604 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Goodfellas (at the end)
2
jupiterkansas Mar 31, 2026 +2
I'd have to argue that in most of the movies mentioned here, the 4th wall breaking is still comedic, even if the movie isn't a comedy. The nature of it makes it satirical. My classic example is **Richard III**, but even there it imbues the tragedy with humor. Olivier's version is almost entirely 4th wall breaking.
2
MikeGalactic Mar 31, 2026 +1
Cache - Michael Haneke
1
Fickle-Lavishness858 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Cuffs, Emperors New Groove, Van Wilder
1
JustAboutAlright Mar 31, 2026 +1
There is a 90s indie movie I don’t know if anyone remembers called Entropy with Stephen Dorff that’s a drama about making a movie, but he talks to the camera like Ferris Bueller. I think time stops when he does this too. Haven’t seen it in 25 years or so.
1
Turbomattk Mar 31, 2026 +1
Burt Reynolds does it in Smokey and the Bandit after he fools the police chasing him.
1
inthebenefitofmrkite Mar 31, 2026 +1
Dont know if it’s what you’re looking for, but in the Stirling Bridge(-less) battle in Braveheart, blood spills on the camera lens. Brilliant.
1
Vanquisher1000 Mar 31, 2026 +1
*X-men Origins: Wolverine* has a fourth wall break in the post-credits scene, where >!Deadpool is shown to be alive despite being decapitated, and his mouth is open. He opens his eyes, looking at the camera, and shushes the audience by saying "shhh."!<
1
subcide Mar 31, 2026 +1
While Fight Club was the obvious one, I'm not sure if you'd count Fallen? I can see the arguments for and against, but IMO it would count. (though it's a spoiler to say why/how)
1
EatYourCheckers Mar 31, 2026 +2
Seems like that's more just narration.
2
Carrot_King_54 Mar 31, 2026 +1
JCVD has an emotional scene that breaks away from the plot, where Vandamme speaks to the character about his passed addiction, hitting the bottom etc
1
Magical_critic Mar 31, 2026 +1
Dr. Strange 2 has Scarlett Witch stare into the camera for a brief moment which was unsettling.
1
RoughRiders9 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Star Trek Deep Space Nine In the Pale Moonlight
1
Jibajabb Mar 31, 2026 +1
[The Baby of Macon](https://www.listnook.com/r/TubiTreasures/comments/1qt7x8a/the_cinema_of_peter_greenaway_part_3_the_baby_of/)
1
zowietremendously Mar 31, 2026 +1
Any documentary.
1
QtheLibrarian Mar 31, 2026 +1
The “Let Me Tell You About My Boat” scene in the _The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou_ springs to mind.
1
Connect-Narwhal69 Mar 31, 2026 +1
American animals
1
Pithecanthropus88 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Every one of the "Road" pictures that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope did. Also, all of the Marx Brothers movies.
1
gfyans Mar 31, 2026 +1
Hard to Be a God does it in an interesting way. It's like the characters just suddenly realise they're on camera, and they react the way people used to react when they first saw video cameras 100 years ago, by staring, confused, right into the lens. 
1
FrogFlavor Mar 31, 2026 +1
Rubber
1
Past-Obligation1930 Mar 31, 2026 +1
House of Cards (UK version) does it.
1
ecrane2018 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Fantastic Mr. Fox uses it often for just delivering exposition and comedy since Fox is narrating his own story while it’s happening. Wes Anderson also uses the concept of the fourth wall in a very unique way in Asteroid city.
1
res30stupid Mar 31, 2026 +1
See How They Run does this in the epilogue. >!Like in the stage play *The Mousetrap*, the production of which the film is based upon, Stoppard turns to the audience and tells them not to spoil the film's ending as they are now co-conspirators in murder.!<
1
getsangryatsnails Mar 31, 2026 +1
Does Jack Nicholson's character in the Shining count? He looks directly at the camera a few times throughout the film in passing but there's the one where he's walking angrily and glares at the camera like he knows the audience is there and its pissing him off.
1
AndNowAStoryAboutMe Mar 31, 2026 +2
Pumpkin. It's a dark comedy that is weird, subtle, and offbeat. But the ending is a stone cold dramatic look straight to camera as the main character realizes she has just trapped herself in a relationship she will never actually enjoy. It's startling and not funny and painful.
2
CopRock Mar 31, 2026 +1
The movie Black Bear contains two different stories with the same actors and location, and it's deliberately ambiguous whether either of them is "real," or if one or both story is a fiction created by the characters. In the very last shot of the movie, Aubrey Plaza breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the audience for just a moment. It's not comedic, more reality-bending.
1
snoweel Mar 31, 2026 +1
Was it Gremlins 2 where they made it look like the gremlins had invaded the projection booth? I think they did something else for the VHS release. Partly comic, I guess but putting them in the "real world".
1
Temp9001 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Lord of War, at the very end.
1
DNABeast Mar 31, 2026 +1
The John Scalzi book 'Red Shirts' might have what you're after. It entails unimportant starship crew members coming to the realisation that they are cannon fodder for the leads.
1
Certain-Singer-9625 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Top Secret. The two main characters talk about the bizarre situation they’re in and comment that it’s like some kind of a bad movie. They then simultaneously do a side-eye at the audience.
2
pacoja89 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Not movie but a series, House of Cards.
1
robertdeupree Mar 31, 2026 +1
Superman (1978) Last scene. Christopher Reeve's smirk to the camera.
1
DBFREINJDSIVBIWU Mar 31, 2026 +1
memories of murder, the shining,
1
Dunnersstunner Mar 31, 2026 +1
The prologue of Branagh's Henry V opens talking on a soundstage with film lights and other equipment all around him.
1
UncleUrdnot Mar 31, 2026 +1
Some Shakespeare movies do it very well; the 90s Othello with Iago looking straight at us enjoying his scheming, drawing the audience in to what no one else knows, making us part of his plots.
1
Trauma_Hawks Mar 31, 2026 +1
The Dead Don't Die had a couple of really good ones. You could laugh at them, but they're not jokes.
1
Admiral_Nerd Apr 1, 2026 +1
high fidelity with john cusack
1
IVme83 Apr 1, 2026 +1
Run Sweetheart Run (2020) has multiple instances of the antagonist breaking the fourth wall
1
two69fist Apr 1, 2026 +1
The “story within a story” narrations like Princess Bride can be a mostly non-comedic variety of this, though it doesn’t usually fully break the 4th wall to the audience. A recent variation that I’ve seen is Wolf at the start and end of The Bad Guys, which is more exposition/meta-commentary than true comedy.
1
crazyrich Apr 1, 2026 +1
I can’t think of any exact examples but I think at least a few mystery movies have the protagonist break the 4th wall to act as a quasi-narrator, or explaining their deductions. Maybe someone with a better memory can help!
1
AHealthyKawhi Apr 1, 2026 +1
Asteroid City
1
Queencobrra1 Apr 1, 2026 +1
In the Shining, Jack Nicholson looks at the camera several times in passing while looking from one place to another. This is supposed to make the viewer feel like even they aren’t safe from him.
1
JoBear2484 Apr 1, 2026 +1
The Sum of US (1994) includes multiple scenes of the father talking directly to the audience.
1
Void_of_Interest Apr 1, 2026 +1
Alfie
1
AlistNOTbot Apr 1, 2026 +1
Arrival?
1
TisBeTheFuk Apr 1, 2026 +1
Persuasion(2007)
1
SpunkyBlah Apr 1, 2026 +1
The most common way this happens is via an on-screen narrator. A good example of this is the narrator from Deranged (1974). Sometimes he is in the same shot as characters and other times he is there solo. It ends up making the movie feel like a documentary without it actually being one. A completely different example of a character breaking the 4th wall that popped in my mind is Pearl smiling at the audience at the end of Pearl.
1
legalizethesenuts Apr 1, 2026 +1
I know this is the opposite of what you asked for, but I love how Malcolm in Malcolm in the Middle is the only one to break the fourth wall. Hal does something crazy with Louis, Malcolm will stare into the camera and try to rationalize it. Francis and Reese cook up a scheme? Malcom will stare dead at the camera and predict exactly how they’ll fail. Malcolm in the Middle is a comedy for a LOT of people, but it was real life for a lot of us too.
1
sweetwheels Apr 1, 2026 +1
Being John Malcovich?
1
Additional-Till-6326 Apr 1, 2026 +1
Blade
1
zalurker Apr 1, 2026 +1
Fallen has a good 4th wall break in the final scene. You think Denzel Washington has won, and then the villain explains why he didn't in a voiceover. And then shows why.
1
KnifeFightAcademy Apr 1, 2026 +1
Oh man, I haven't seen it scrolling the comments yet, but "Wes Cravens: New Nightmare" is fantastic. It's a Freddy film set in our reality with the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" cast and crew playing themselves. Ahead of its time.
1
ImAFnordMan Apr 1, 2026 +1
The never ending story
1
kajagoober23 Apr 1, 2026 +2
![gif](giphy|2RPeq2yzTaV7G)
2
darkholemind Apr 1, 2026 +1
Fight Club
1
MichaelErb Apr 1, 2026 +1
In the movie  IT, Part I, one of the clown’s eyes is looking directly at the camera in some scenes, as if to acknowledge the viewer. I thought it was creepy.
1
camo885 Apr 1, 2026 +1
There's one scene at the very beginning of "The Wonder" where a narrator breaks the fourth wall but I have yet to really figure out why. The narrator isn't heard from again until the very last scene.
1
Didymograptus2 Apr 1, 2026 +1
The ending of Blazing Saddles didn’t break the 4th wall, it smashed it into smithereens.
1
theoriemeister Apr 1, 2026 +1
The new version of Jane Austen's *Persuasion* (2022). I didn't really care for that aspect of it.
1
CreamyBagelTime Apr 1, 2026 +1
Fight Club
1
MurkDiesel Mar 31, 2026 +2
>I feel like Hollywood has been too afraid to peel back the curtain this whole thread is full of Hollywood movies that have done it since Last Action Hero you should learn the difference between *"i feel"* based on inexperience and *"i feel"* based on actual experience and reality
2
BlueRemake Mar 31, 2026 +1
The Shining, Jack is constantly taking little looks at the audience.
1
EatYourCheckers Mar 31, 2026 +1
Is he? I have seen that movie dozens of times and never felt that way
1
captainalphabet Mar 31, 2026 +1
The Holy Mountain IYKYK
1
Majestic_Jackass Mar 31, 2026
I felt like all of Don’t Look Up was a 4th wall break.
0
InanimateEffinObject Mar 31, 2026
Alien.
0
Kobold_Trapmaster Mar 31, 2026 +3
How?
3
tke494 Mar 31, 2026 -2
Stories that have stories in them are 4th wall breaking. Shakespeare did it a lot. I recall Hamlet staging a play that matched his life-and the contents of Shakespeare's play. Cabin in the Woods did it very well. Cabin in the Woods's wasn't just comedic.
-2
FX114 Mar 31, 2026 +4
Those are both just metatextual plot lines.
4
Lloytron Mar 31, 2026 +1
Cabin in the woods fourth wall break was exceptional, to the point where a lot of people don't get it. It's like the only film I've ever watched where, holy shit, I'm the bad guy??
1
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