Best Punishing Movies & TV Shows

This four-part nature series reveals the extraordinary stories of Scotland’s secret wild places and the unexpected animals that live there. Scotland hosts a spectacular array of wildlife, from highland red deer, white-tailed eagles, red squirrels and pine martens to coastal dwelling puffins, grey seals, otters, and even killer whales. Stretching from the Shetlands to the south of the country, each episode focuses on how animals strive to survive through four very different seasons in one epic year, dominated by a maritime climate that’s both punishing and unpredictable, with their lives always at the mercy of the elements.

Based on the hit British reality TV Series SAS: Who Dares Wins, the Australian production has a mix of celebreties, sportspeople and convicted criminals trying to pass selection. SAS Australia sees Aussie celebrities take on a series of physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process. This is not a game. There is no winner; there is no prize. These star recruits will eat, sleep and train together in punishing conditions, with no allowances made for their celebrity status or gender. An elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers will subject them to extreme physical endurance, sleep deprivation, interrogation and psychological testing, pushing the stars beyond their limits every step of the way. Some will break and withdraw. Who has what it takes to tough it out to the end? Completely unscripted.

Can Hollywood's hardest, Vinnie Jones, take on Russia's toughest jobs pitting himself against some of the wildest men and most extreme landscapes on earth? He's answering a personal life-long quest to find out why Russia is the toughest place on our planet to live, work and play. In this six part documentary series, Vinnie's challenge is to work, live and play alongside the men who hold down these jobs. Vinnie's punishing set of missions will span the biggest country in the world. Siberia alone is bigger than the USA, Alaska and Western Europe combined. It accounts for 1/12 of the world's entire landmass! On this vast stage, Vinnie will pit both brains and brawn against the following: Cowboys, Trawler Men, Rail Men, Bodyguards, Poacher Squad, Truckers.

Shortly after arriving in New York City, 22-year-old Tess lands a job at a celebrated downtown restaurant. Swiftly introduced to the world of drugs, alcohol, love, lust, dive bars, and fine dining, she learns to navigate the chaotically alluring, yet punishing life she has stumbled upon.

For a year, acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious and complicated season. Debuting one week after the series 8 finale, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Made with unprecedented access, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH is an up-close and personal portrait from the trenches of production, following the crew and the cast as they contend with extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers. Much more than a “making of” documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.

19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already volatile relationship with his father is pushed past breaking point — Eric is approached by a volunteer psychotherapist, who runs an anger management group for prisoners. Torn between gang politics, prison corruption, and a glimmer of something better, Eric finds himself in a fight for his own life, unsure if his own father is there to protect him or join in punishing him.

A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death.

Set in 1845, this drama follows a group of settlers as they embark on a punishing journey along the Oregon Trail. When their guide leads them astray, the expedition is forced to contend with the unforgiving conditions of the high plain desert.

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

Weird things are happening in the town of Justice, Arizona: three sheriffs have disappeared, and someone is killing the rancher's livestock in a bizarre, ritualistic fashion. Locals believe the incidents were caused by aliens... But a visiting couple, Charlie and Rhonda, knows better – because they're aliens themselves. When no one else will, Charlie and Rhonda volunteer to be the new sheriffs to get to bottom of the crimes. Hiding behind the power of the badge, the two make their own rules, punishing wrong-doers with their own form of "eye-for-an-eye" alien vengeance. Follow this twisted, outer space "Bonnie and Clyde" as they attempt to bring Justice the justice it deserves.

Alison Wynn is an amateur triathlete who convinces Dr. Laura Stevens, a controversial peak-performance trainer, to take her on as a client. Together they embark on a rigorous program combining cutting-edge physical training with experimental hypnotherapy in an effort to render Alison more competitive. Pushed to her limits and forced to explore the painful repressed memories of her mother's suicide, Dr. Stevens' punishing regimen helps Alison post impressive gains and break through her own glass ceiling; but at what cost? Alison's work and family life with her husband and daughter suffer but no sacrifice seems too great to satisfy Laura's escalating demands. In fact Laura will do whatever it takes to have Alison all to herself. As Alison runs directly into Laura's sinister psychological trap, it's up to Alison's daughter to help her mother see through the deception before they lose her forever.

Set in ancient Britain, at a time when much of Europe was ruled with harsh tyranny by Rome, a tribe of Britons led by Selina, set out to defy the invaders and discard their yoke of bondage. The Roman commander, Justinian, is sent to quell the uprising, punishing the dissenters with brute force but when he becomes emotionally attached to Selina, he is torn between his duty to Rome and his love for the Viking Queen.

After a young woman is gang raped and murdered in a California college town, her brother takes up arms by night with a gang of like-minded vigilantes from his fraternity, brutally punishing any miscreants they catch in a criminal act.

From the Arctic Islands being forged by volcanoes, and the punishing frozen landscape of the tundra, to the vast snow forests of the Taiga, this series captures the planet's toughest creatures, in it's most spectacular habitats.

A modern-day tale of gangsterism and revenge. After a notorious mobster murders a Jewish tailor and is let off for the crime, a band of outraged high-school students turns into vigilante crusaders hell-bent on punishing the wrongdoers. Memorable pre-Code moment: the students torturing a gangster by dangling him over a pit filled with rats.

Set around Alaska's punishing Iditarod race, a husky breeder and former musher is forced out of racing retirement to compete again and outrun an unknown killer.

Filmed over 2 years - from foundations to opening party - this is the amazing story of the total transformation of an abandoned, industrial island into a luxury destination. Battling against isolation, extreme weather and a punishing schedule the teams building paradise must work night and day to deliver this incredibly ambitious project on time.

A Faust-like meringue involving a wealthy Count who enters into a deal with the Devil: for every soul he delivers to Satan, the count will be granted an extra year of life. One of the count's victims, an artist named Rodolphe, dedicates his life to punishing the nobleman, a mission he accomplishes with the help of the beautiful Fairy Queen.

An Inuit youth trains to become a great archer in hopes of avenging the killing of his family – but the First Nations attackers were punishing a previous Inuit wrongdoing. Who will end the cycle of violence? THE WHITE ARCHER is an Inuit legend inspired the late James Houston’s beloved children’s book. In Canada’s High Arctic hamlet of Pond Inlet, his son John weaves outdoor adventure and local theatre into a story for all ages.

Seven challengers gather on the remote Caribbean island of Dominica to take on Mother Nature’s most brutal challenges. It’s a journey across four distinct terrains: jungle, coast, mountains and canyons. Over these challenging landscapes, the men and women must live completely off the land, while tackling punishing obstacles and facing conditions that early inhabitants faced hundreds of years ago, relying on nothing more than basic tools, mental toughness, and physical strength. Seven will attempt to conquer the island of Dominica, but only one will become American Tarzan.