Top 10 Hanging on for Life Movie Scenes

As if facing off against a T-rex wasn’t bad enough. After having their caravan pushed off the edge of a cliff, Sarah finds herself separated from her rocky demise by a cracking window in this sci-fi adventure. As each one of her movements brings her closer to death, and with her friends running out of time to save her, this tense scene from “The Lost World” gets extra points for what’s looming above as much as what’s down below.

The rapture cometh. When Jay finally manages to redeem himself and gets beamed into paradise, he can’t leave his best bud Seth behind. With Satan approaching and Seth only slowing his friend’s ascent, he must make the fateful decision to sacrifice himself. This act unknowingly secures his own salvation in the process. Not only epic, this scene from the disaster comedy wraps up the storyline surrounding the pair’s struggling friendship and simultaneously hits Satan where it hurts.

Get into gear. With the past finally corrected, Marty speeds to 88-miles-per-hour to get back to the ‘80s while Doc Brown only has seconds to power up the DeLorean’s time travel mechanism with the help of an imminent lightning strike. With the story all but wrapped up, this final tense moment from “Back to the Future” pays homage to another classic hanging on for dear life movie scene from the 1923 flick “Safety Last!” But in the case of the ‘80s film, the sequence in question leaves Marty and the audience entirely dependent on the kooky Doc as he hangs on to the clock, before zipping down to save the day at the last second.

In space, no one can hear you scream. And with everything going wrong, Dr. Stone barely has a chance to enjoy the view when she’s caught on busted space equipment. As she spins into deep space, she must unbuckle herself from the debris or risk falling further into the unknown. Both tense and frightening, this scene from the science fiction thriller sees letting go as an unfortunate necessity for our heroine.

We told you: in space no one can hear you scream. And that applies here as well, to the ultimate catfight. After the first movie established just how dangerous these aliens are, the sequel to the sci-fi horror brought in the Xenomorph queen for an action-packed showdown. Ripley finally has a chance to end it all by sucking the Alien queen out into space, but risks doing the same to herself. Her resourcefulness is in full force as she manages to hold on to defeat the creature and save the day.

Is Tom Cruise afraid of anything? When Ethan Hunt has to climb the tallest building in the world using powered suction gloves, the answer seems to be a resounding “no.” The sheer sense of scale on display in this moment from “Ghost Protocol” is impressive. Add an oncoming sandstorm and a low battery and you have one hell of an impossible mission. Some people have rock and rope to hang onto, but a clean sheet of glass takes it to another level entirely. Even when the IMF Agent makes it back to the team, he ends up in a similar, albeit upside down and unconscious situation.

The one ring rules them all. After winning over his precious, Gollum falls to his death with the ring as Frodo hangs off a cliff. The ring’s power to entice its user has grown immensely throughout the franchise, making the lava that awaits the Hobbit seem much less dangerous than the pull of this fine piece of jewellery. When Sam arrives to save the day, nobody knows if Frodo will make one final attempt to secure the ring or save himself so he can fly off into the distance.

You can’t die harder than landing on concrete. When Hans Gruber falls out the side of a skyscraper and tries to take McClane’s wife with him, his fate is all but sealed. Not one to ask for help, Hans makes a final attempt to take out his enemy before McClane frees his wife from the terrorist’s clutches. The slow motion fall is wholly satisfying as Hans finally realizes that this is truly the end for him. His time is up.

The master of suspense tackles the fear of heights in this psychological thriller. Using this early scene, Alfred Hitchcock establishes his main character Scottie’s fear, and heightens it when a fellow policeman dies trying to save him. The story that follows requires him to overcome his fear of heights to save the girl of his dreams. He manages to do one of the two, making repeat viewings of this classic especially harrowing when audiences must relive this moment knowing Scottie’s final fate.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Hanging onto the Space Drill
“Star Trek” (2009)
- Rock Climbing
“Vertical Limit” (2000)
- Jet
“True Lies” (1994)
- Antenna
“Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
- Bucky
“Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)

When a routine rescue mission goes horribly wrong, it’s up to Sylvester Stallone’s Gabe to save the day. Sarah’s clip breaking midway down the line forces her to hold on for life. We feel for Sarah’s hopelessness as she screams for help, but its Gabe’s failure to save her that no one saw coming. As Sarah slips away, the reality of what happens next haunts us for the rest of this action adventure film.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite hanging on for life movie scene? For more nail biting Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.