Movies are forms of art and left to the interpretation of the viewer. Some films take their art form to a whole new level. There are movies that are so disturbing to watch that they leave viewers upset, sick to their stomach and wondering how someone could even think to make such a film. Some movies are so disturbing, they will traumatize you and leave you with nightmares for decades. Here are the 20 most disturbing movies of all time.
A Serbian Film
The NC-17 rated “A Serbian Film” may be the most disturbing film ever made. It’s content will leave you sick to your stomach and disturbed for weeks. The 2010 Sroan Spasojevic directed movie which was banned in several countries including Spain, Germany, Singapore and South Korea. The movie is one of the most depraved films and will leave viewers disgusted. Milos is a retired pornography star with a wife and young son. The family is struggling financially so he agrees to star in director Vukmir’s artistic pornographic film. When Milos finds out the plot he is disgusted and leaves the film but is later drugged. He finds the film and is thoroughly disgusted by what he has done. The pornographic snuff film shows graphic depictions of rape, pedophilia and necrophilia. “A Serbian Film” depicts horrific acts that will leave you sick.
Salò or 120 Days of Sodom
“Salò or The 120 Days of Sodom” is an Italian French horror art film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and released in 1975 before being temporarily banned. The film is based on the Marquis de Sade’s book “120 Days of Sodom”. It remains highly controversial for its depiction of graphic violence, sexual deviance, sadism and murder. The film takes place during the fascist Salò Republic in 1943 through 1945. Four fascist libertines kidnap 19 teenage boys and girls for an experiment. The teenagers are subjected to depraved sadism, physically and mentally. The movie looks at themes of power, perversion and sexuality comparing them to fascist society.
Irréversible
“Irréversible” is a 2002 French art psychological horror drama film. The film is extremely violent film. The movie, directed by Gaspar Noé, was criticized for its violence and homophobic themes. The film is disturbing. The story plays out in reverse and features an eerie electronic music by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. The movie stars Monica Bellucci as Alex, a young Italian girl living in Paris with her boyfriend Marcus (played by Vincent Cassel). Alex discovers that she is pregnant and the couple is excited. They go to a party with a friend, Pierre (played by Albert Dupontel) who once dated Alex. Alex becomes angry with Marcus at the party because he is drinking a lot and using drugs. She leaves and encounters a pimp harassing a transvestite. The pimp then brutally rapes Alex in a lengthly film sequence. Marcus and Pierre come across Alex as she is taken away by ambulance. She is comatose. Marcus and Pierre seek out the rapist in a violent and deadly rage.
Mother!
“Mother!” was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. The 2017 psychological horror film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Mother, Javier Bardem as Him, Ed Harris as Man and Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman. The movie features biblical references and violence. It is disturbing. The movie begins in a burned house of poet Him. He has writer’s block but Mother helps him renovate the beautiful country home. The couple is visited by mysterious fans of Him, Man and Woman. Their two sons visit and fight over the Will. The older son kills the younger son and flees. People arrive to show respect for the son and reveal themselves as fans of Him. Mother is disturbed by the guests. She discovers that she’s pregnant and delivers the baby. The crowd wants to see the infant and mutilate and eat the newborn. Mother blows the house up.
Grotesque
“Grotesque” is a 2009 Japanese art, horror film written and directed by KÅji Shiraishi. A couple are kidnapped while on a first date. They wake up shackled in a basement. They are slowly tortured and mutilated by a crazy surgeon who is sexually aroused by the process. He later moves the couple to a clean room and nurses them back to health. He promises them they will be freed and he will give them money and turn himself into authorities. Instead he drugs them and re-shackles them in the basement where performs sickening procedures, testing the couple’s love for each other before he finally kills them.
The Human Centipede
“The Human Centipede” is certainly one of the most disgusting and disturbing movies made. Tom Six co-wrote and directed this 2009 Dutch horror film. The story was inspired by a conversation with a friend about how they thought the punishment of a child molester should be to sew his mouth to the anus of a fat truck driver. Six said he was also inspired by the medical experiments conducted on humans by Nazi doctors in concentration camps during World War II. In “The Human Centipede” Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser) is a retired surgeon who specialized in separating conjoined twins. Heiter wants to experiment in attaching separate beings starting with dogs. He later experiments with three kidnapped victims attaching them to each other, sharing a digestive system. The movie is horrific.
Cannibal Holocaust
One of the first found footage films, “Cannibal Holocaust” was ahead of its time in 1980. The Italian horror movie was directed by Ruggero Deodato and starred Italian and American actors including Carl Gabriel Yorke, Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen and Luca Barbreshi. Deodato was reportedly inspired by reporting of the Italian leftist terrorist group, Red Brigade, which he believed to be staged by the media. In the movie an American documentary film crew including the director, his girlfriend and two cameramen heads to the Amazon rainforest to film indigenous cannibal tribes. When the crew never returns, a group led by anthropologist Harold Monroe from New York University goes on a rescue mission and finds only canisters of the documentary crew’s film. An American television station wants to air the unedited film, but Monroe sees it first and orders it destroyed. “Cannibal Holocaust” is disturbing for the graphic content of the fictional documentary crew’s actions. The movie was banned in several countries for its graphic violence, sexual content and animal cruelty. The documentary footage within “Cannibal Holocaust” shows just how vicious the American documentary crew can be as they attempt to stage their film for more appeal.
Audition
Japanese horror film “Audition” is based on a novel and directed by Takashi Miike. The 1999 movie is about a widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) who is searching for a new love. He holds an “audition” and meets Asami (Eihi Shiina). Asami seems perfect but soon it is revealed she has a dark side. It’s revealed that Asami was abused and, in retaliation, has tortured and killed men who try to love her. She becomes obsessed. Aoyama suffers from Asami’s treatment as he learns more about her past until Aoyama’s son finally kills Asami.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
The most disturbing thing about 1986’s “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” is that it’s (loosely) based on an actual serial killer. Directed by John McNaughton, the American psychological crime thriller is creepy. Michael Rooker plays Henry, a sadistic serial killer who was abused by his mother. Henry meets Otis (played by Tom Towles), a drug dealer, while incarcerated in a Chicago prison. The two become roommates. They eventually go on a killing spree. Otis brings home his sister, Becky (played by Tracy Arnold), who has fled an abusive marriage. When Henry comes home to find a drunken Otis raping and murdering his own sister, Henry kills Otis. Henry’s mantra is: “it’s them or us”. Becky is drawn to Henry and the two flee together before Henry kills her and dumps her body. It’s always difficult to look into the mind of a serial killer and try to figure out what tragedy or psychology motivates them. This movie is particularly disturbing because its based, somewhat, on a true story, and we have to see the motivation behind senseless murders.
Eraserhead
David Lynch is well known for his surreal movies and television shows. His first feature film, 1977’s “Eraserhead” is one of the director’s most surreal works. The movie is a surrealist horror film that would define David Lynch as a director. The movie is filmed in black and white and set in a desolate industrial landscape. A man, Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), finds out his girlfriend has had a baby and she moves in with him. The baby is a grossly deformed alien-like creature that screams all of the time. The girlfriend leaves and Spencer must care for the baby. Spencer has visions. The movie is odd and difficult to interpret. Its content is very disturbing.
Deadgirl
“Deadgirl” takes the zombie genre to a whole new disturbing level. The 2008 dark comedy was written by Trent Haaga and directed by Marcel Sormicento and Gadi Harel. Two high school seniors, Rickie and J.T. skip school and discover an abandoned psychiatric hospital. They find a naked girl shackled to a bed. They later realize that she is a zombie. The boys debate making her a sex slave and invite others to join in. Some are attacked by the girl and become infected. Two of the boys decide they need a fresher undead girl to rape so they lure a girl from school, Joanne to the abandoned hospital. One of the boys, Rickie, seems to have a conscience and actually has had a crush on the girl since childhood. He saves her but she is stabbed by one of the other boys. The movie ends with all of the friends dead except for Rickie who keeps the undead Joanne at the hospital for his own pleasure.
Martyrs
“Martyers” is a 2015 American remake of Paschal Laugier’s French film. The movie was written by Mark L. Smith and directed by brothers Kevin and Michael Goetz. In the beginning of the film a young girl, Lucie, escapes from building where she has been held captive and tortured. She grows up in St. Mary’s Orphanage where she has continued hallucinations and is attacked by some sort of a creature. When she is grown, Lucie goes to the home of the Patterson family who she believes were responsible for her childhood torture. She executes the family. Her best friend from the orphanage, Anna, finds her and they rescue a young girl held captive in a secret room at the Patterson home. A group of people arrive and hold the women captive. It’s revealed that the group or cabal believe they can torture women to the brink of death and will find what the afterlife is. They feel Lucie has a special gift because she won’t die no matter how much she is tortured. In the end, Lucie is martyred on a cross but the mystery of the afterlife is never revealed to the group.
The Last House on the Left
Wes Craven’s directorial debut, “The House on the Left” was an instant hit when it was released in 1972. Two young girls head to the city for a concert. On the way, they run into a group of sadistic escaped criminals. The girls are tortured and eventually killed near one of their homes. The group heads to the home and, pretending to be salesmen, talk their way into spending the night. The family soon realizes that the gang has murdered their daughter and her friend. The parents exact revenge, killing each member of the gang. “The Last House on the Left” is extremely violent and graphic.
Aftermath
“Aftermath” is a disturbing short film by Spanish director Naco Cerdà . It is the second of the director’s short film series including “The Awakening” and “Genesis”. 1994’s “Aftermath” depicts a graphic necrophiliac scene that is hauntingly violent. The movie features no spoken word. A woman, Marta, dies in a car accident after accidentally killing a dog. She is brought to the morgue where an eerie mortician works. He is aroused by Marta’s dead body. He cuts out her brain and caresses it before brutally cutting her vagina and masterbating. He takes her heart home with him and feeds it to his dog on a sheet of newspaper with Marta’s obituary. Just trying to figure out the point of “Aftermath” is disturbing.
Funny Games
Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke wrote and directed 1997’s “Funny Games” and the American remake in 2007. In the original movie a wealthy family arrives at their lakeside vacation home and meet friends of the neighbor’s family, two young men named Peter and Paul. The men continually bother the family and before taking them hostage. Peter and Paul toy with the family playing sadistic games. During the course of the night, Peter and Paul bet the family that they will die before 9 am the next next morning. After killing off the family, the wife escapes and finds the neighbor family dead. She is recaptured and drowned by the men in the lake. The men go on to harass another family in the lakeside neighborhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhD5fzb8uGo&list=PLSHeBGq78uaYAy-uCMkpMxPzZCyXjchAF
Happiness
“Happiness” is a disturbing movie about the lives of three sisters. The dark comedy was written and directed by American filmmaker Todd Solondz in 1998. It is critically acclaimed for its layered stories and style. The oldest Jordan sister, Trish, is married to psychiatrist Bill and they have a young son. Trish’s life seems perfect until her husband is arrested for drugging and raping two boys, one is the 11 year old classmate of his son who slept over the house when raped by Bill. Bill admits to the rapes and says he’d do it again. When his son asks if his father would ever rape him, he says no but he’d masterbate. The second sister, Helen, is a successful writer but is not happy. She becomes obsessed with a man who mysteriously calls her until she finds out that it is her neighbor and she isn’t attracted to him. The youngest sister, Joy is aimless. She tries to find love with her sister’s mysterious caller and a student but ends up alone.
Begotten
“Begotten” is a surreal American experimental dark fantasy horror film. The art piece was written, produced and directed by E. Elias Merhige. The story is a re-working of the Biblical book of Genesis. In the beginning, “God” is seen bleeding and dis-embowling himself. A woman comes upon “God’s” remains and impregnates herself. She gives birth to the “Son of Earth” who is born a full grown man. She abandons him and wanders off into a desolate landscape. The Son meets a group of nomads who he seizes with ropes (umbilical cords). He vomits organic pieces as an offering to the nomads. The nomads burn the Son. He is resurrected and comforted by Mother Earth before she is raped and killed by the nomads. The group of men dismember the Mother and Son and bury them. Lush flowers grow above their graves.
A Clockwork Orange
“A Clockwork Orange” was directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1971 and is based on the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess. The British dystopian crime film uses disturbing, violent images as it explores social, political and economic issues as well as gangs and psychiatry. Young man, Alex (Malcolm McDowell), leads a gang of thugs. The violent anti-social group take drugs and attack a writer and his wife in their home. They brutally beat the man and rape his wife. Alex later murders another couple and is arrested and sentenced to prison. While in prison Alex is asked to participate in aversion therapy and agrees. Alex is drugged and forced to watch films with violence sex and murder scenes while listening to his favorite composer, Beethoven. He is shown to be rehabilitated and released from prison. Freed, Alex finds he has no more possessions because they were sold to make restitution to his victims. He encounters one of his victims and is beaten before two police officers save him. They are former members of his gang and beat him. Alex ends up being taken in by the writer whom he beat. Alex ends up realizing that Beethoven’s music causes him to have violent urges.
I Spit On Your Grave
1978’s “I Spit On Your Grave” was written, directed and produced by Meir Zarchi. It is controversial for its graphic violence and a gang rape that lasts for 30 minutes of the film. The American exploitation horror film shows rape and revenge. Manhattan writer, Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton), is staying at at a riverside summer cottage in Connecticut when she is attacked by four men who rape her and leave her for dead. She doesn’t die and carefully plans the deaths of each one of her attackers. She lures the first man back and hangs him from a tree. She lures the second man to the cottage and severs his genitals. When the other two men search for their missing friends, Jennifer kills one with an axe and the other by dis-embowling him with a boat motor.
The Exorcist
The special effects in 1973’s “The Exorcist” are so graphic that some theater goers threw up watching the film in theaters. The psychological supernatural horror movie is adapted from the 1971 novel written by William Peter Blatty and loosely based on a true story of an exorcism performed on a young boy in 1949. The movie was directed by William Friedkin and stars Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair and Max von Sydow. When an actress’ 12 year old daughter begins to appear possessed by demons, the Catholic Church sends a young priest to perform an exorcism. The movie deals with issues of faith and maternal love. Some critics deemed the graphics too violent. Whatever, the case, “The Exorcist” has left millions with nightmares of the stomach churning scenes depicted in the movie.
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