13 Most F*cked Up Movies I’ve Ever Seen
“Squeal like a pig!” — Deliverance (1972)
Back in 2007, Premiere magazine had released their list of the “25 Most Dangerous Films”. I don’t recall why they were dangerous, as they weren’t apparently politically overt or a social threat to society (so goes the ongoing debate of “what is art?”). The list intrigued me to seek out the films, and binge watched them all within a couple of weeks by borrowing them through my Netflix DVD subscription at the time. (This was before the word “binge” became popular lexicon in current pop media consumption.) Sadly, Premiere magazine eventually went under, both print and online, later that year. So, an attempt to find the list online may yield third party results of the list, but I assure you, the list had existed. (Three on the list, “Bad Lieutenant,” “Taxi Driver,” and “Reservoir Dogs”, are some of my most favorite films of all time. “Happiness” is included on my list below. “Dancer in the Dark” is still my favorite Lars von Trier film.)
Ever since, I’ve been wanting to create and share my own listicle of movies that have disturbed me — in order to help, sort of, exorcise my demons of disturbing imagery stuck within my brain, scarred by overexposure to a diverse number of “hard to categorize, hard to watch” films. I’ve grown up during the 70s, 80s, and 90s consuming a lot of late night, obscure cult films on local, uncensored TV, and a whole lotta VHS rentals of “banned” movies. I’m a lover of cinema in general, so I can watch any genre, but it’s always the films labeled “unrated for content” (usually means the MPAA hasn’t sanitized it) that nagged my curiosity to watch them. Needless to say, there were more than a few unrated films where the curiosity that killed the cat was let out of the bag, and I was ingrained with cinematic experiences that have caused me unnecessary anxiety and nausea.
On my list, I have excluded “Hostel” and the “Saw” series because they were inspired by a few that are on my 13 disturbing films, and popularized what is known as the subgenre of “torture porn”. Classics like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Hills Have Eyes,” “The Evil Dead,” and “Hellraiser” are not present too, even though those are infamous in their level of disturbance. I find them watchable over again as classics and nostalgic films, if I desire to enjoy a good scare. I have left out the 1978 Italian “I Spit on Your Grave,” Wes Craven’s 1972 “Last House on the Left,” “Pieces,” and “The Toxic Avenger,” as these films missed their mark of grossing me out enough to make my list.
Some may ask why “The Human Centipede” is not mentioned. I found the film too well-made and cinematically literate. As disturbing as the plot of the film is, the camera work and lighting were so well done, that it seemed to have lost the hard rawness that the other films in this article have. I may eventually need to write another article to explain what I mean by that.
Others will wonder why I don’t have the French films “High Tension” or “Martyrs” on the list, but I found those movies having had disappointing endings to not be worthy enough of a mention. And “Requiem for a Dream” didn’t leave me a sense of revulsion as most people I’ve known claimed to have experienced after having seen it.
The pseudo-documentary “Faces of Death” don’t count, as well as the same reason why I probably left out “2 Girls, 1 Cup”. They’re not fictional narratives, in the cinematic grammar sense, and marketed as being “true and real”.
I still have not seen “A Serbian Film,” “Funny Games,” “Nekromantic”, or any of the Japanese Guinea Pigs films. They are in my queue to watch soon. I would have to find the right mood to want to see these films. And, finding that mood, I would need a good excuse to do so. I haven’t been bored enough yet.
Only a few of these films on my list are considered of the horror genre, but the few that are, don’t involve indestructible serial killers or supernatural elements, which makes them more disturbing. Instead, the films involve real-life destructive elements that can cause physical and mental harm to us fragile, little humans — all of our body parts and all of our evolutionary existence.
A lot of these films aren’t American; most are French and Japanese. A few of them aren’t even “unrated”. I believe one is rated PG. (When did you last watch a PG rated movie these days that isn’t animated for kids? Times have changed.) Because we’re talking about films, it’s the magic of visual imagery that’s at work here on my list of disturbing films, in case some may disagree with some of my choices. Maybe some of the scenes from these films trigger some form of childhood trauma in me, but I found none in my past to dig up, other than the fact that I was sitting in a dark room facing a screen for about two hours, and some movie artist decided to show me something I never thought I’d ever see at 24 frames per second.
Why do I do this to myself? In most cases, it is nothing but morbid curiosity for me to watch these films, and it’s hard for me to narrow down to one reason why I watch “disturbing films”. These films listed don’t even have a common theme, genre, or plot, other than that I didn’t feel too good after watching them. In most instances, these films have been recommended or critically acclaimed, or just marketed to me as “must watch”. In many ways, I’m paying it forward the same favor to the reader. Let’s make these films viral!
And, I watch these movies all the way to the end credits (more than just to see who was the sickfawk that decided to make these films). Out of habit, I live by the adage that I don’t have a right to form a full opinion about a piece of work until I finish to the end, whether it’s a film, book, or music. But, to that truth, with some artwork, I do end up paying a heavy price of dealing with the psychological dysfunction of inheriting anxieties of being vulnerable to future traumatic experiences. I’m in debt.
I must apologize that I do use the word “disturbing” liberally throughout the list, but after having edited this article various times, the grammar still works, and accurate. And warning, the descriptions I provide of the films can be disturbing (although, one should already have known based on the title of this written piece). Of course, there will be some spoilers. I can’t talk about why these films are disturbing without revealing plot points that illustrate more than just a synopsis.
And, you’re probably wondering why 13? Because of the phobia “Triskaidekaphobia” — helps my list be more disturbing.
Let’s count to thirteen:
1. Sssssss (1973): The plot is hokey. A scientist conducts bizarre experiments by injecting snake venom in humans to protect the species from ecological disaster. This inadvertently results in a cross bred human/snake man. I’m not afraid of snakes or reptiles in general, but the scene where the film reveals the male, adult-sized human snake in a dark carnival room as he/it squeals, wailing what’s left of his scaly partial limbs, uttering human baby speak sent chills up my spine, and whatever else is connected to my spine. In fact, thoughts of that helpless snake man made me grateful that I have a spine. The disturbing scene is reminiscent of the tiny, mutated fly man from “The Fly” (1958) caught in a spider web yelping “Help me! Help me!” I have a sudden sense of self-awareness, as I’m writing, that I may possess a fear of becoming part animal (esp. a vulnerable one). Remember the snarling dog with the human head in the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978) remake? Shivers. This is the only PG-rated movie on my list. And, you’re probably giggling. I promise the rest of the movies listed get more disturbing. watch trailer
2. The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974): According to this (fictional) film, Nostradamus predicted the end of the world, and most of humanity’s doom takes place in Japan. The Earth becomes over run with strange things like giant squirming slugs, radioactive mutants with deformed heads, and giant 7 feet wide bats, but, apparently, no half-man/half-animal breeds, though. The scene that got me disturbed involved the breakout of a riot in Tokyo within a supermarket area, as people are bludgeoning each other to a bloody pulp over food and toiletries, including bottles of soy sauce. The anguish of the humans in this scene made me fear of a lawless world (oddly, I’m part libertarian) living with limited resources. You noticed the year of this film, so bad practical effects of climate changed affected animals and mammals intertwined with scenes of anarchy can leave the worst impressions on this pre-teen kid at the time when I had first watched it on a B&W TV, I somewhat believed I was watching a documentary. You’re not convinced… I promise, you’ll stop giggling with the next entries, which don’t involve ecological disaster or human mutant animals. In the meantime, don’t say I didn’t warn you about stocking up on soy sauce and body armor. watch trailer
3. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975): An Italian/French art house movie about a group of teenagers kidnapped by a bunch of wealthy libertine who perform torture, deviant sadism, perverse humiliation, and murder, with these teenagers, including… get ready… shit eating! I mean forced to eat shit! Poop being smeared into the mouth, down the throat, and swallow that shit. Not yummy! I need to burp myself to feel better from the nausea thoughts, after writing that. Based on Marquis de Sade’s book of similar name, and told in four chapters inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedies, the film has overt political/social overtones about the fascist state of Italy during the 40s. But, damn, shit eating? Bleh… watch trailer
4. We’re Going To Eat You (1980): I saw this film as a young, young (prob when I was around 10), young kid at a Chinese theater in San Francisco Chinatown. Ever since, I had recurring memories on loop of humans, confined on unsanitary, wooden tables, sliced in half with giant cleavers and hacksaws, as slabs of body parts are removed from other parts of the same body. This type of imagery didn’t bode well with my stomach throughout my stunted grown-up years, although, I surprisingly remained a carnivore to this day. Chinese films I grew up on tend to be shown as double-features Grindhouse-style — one action/comedy, and one horror film with no ratings to indicate the mature theme of the films. About a couple of decades later, I had a sudden desire to seek out this film to confirm the gruesomeness I had watched, and that it wasn’t because of an overactive imagination of a grossed out kid. Sure enough, I had found that it was available on Netflix DVD. Weird, though, it amused me that the film was categorized as a comedy/horror by Tsui Hark. Eh? The moment the DVD arrived at my home, I immediately watched it. And, I wasn’t going crazy, all the cannibalistic scenes were vomit inducingly there. But, what surprised me was the level of slapstick that was in the film that had me cracking up as if I was watching a “Three Stooges” or a “Benny Hill” skit. Laughter doesn’t mix well with queasiness, as my stomach felt bloated from a dire need to burp, or else I’ll end up barfing, with each dismembered body part on screen. I suffered with that uneasiness for two days. watch trailer
5. Cannibal Holocaust (1980): The 80s was a big time for cannibal films for whatever reason, but none other is as famous as “Cannibal Holocaust” (and the following year’s “Cannibal Ferox”). Considered one of the original pioneers of “found footage” style filmmaking (way, way before “Blair Witch” and “Paranormal Activity,” folks, know your history), this film was controversial not so much of its cannibal themes, but that there are various real onscreen animal killings, and even rumors that actors were killed for the film too (but, eventually, debunked). There is one iconic scene that disturbed me the most, where the body of a woman is impaled on a large wooden pole from, apparently, her anus, up out through her mouth. (It’s an SFX trick using a bicycle seat and a stick placed in the actress’s mouth. Still disturbing, nonetheless.) Can’t get that image out of your head too, eh? On a positive note, I gotta say, I enjoy the Riz Ortolani theme song from the film enough to still bump it in my car. How does one jam to cannibal music, I won’t be able to describe as well as I did about the impaled woman. Sorry. watch trailer
6. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986): Told completely from the POV of the serial killer played by Michael Rooker of “The Walking Dead” fame. But I know him as the guy who flew the helicopter in “Cliffhanger”. NVM, going off topic, let’s get to why this film disturbed me. First off, there are no cops, or any other type of law enforcer, to stop Henry (based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas) throughout the entire film. So, depending how you see it, Henry could be perceived as the protagonist of the film. But, assuming you experience moral repugnance towards serial killers, there’s one disturbing scene involving a home invasion by Henry and his partner in crime, while a VHS camcorder is placed strategically recording the whole situation — robbing, violating, and murdering the parents and their children. Then Henry is seen, in the next scene, watching this recording on his VCR with a face of indifference, over and over and (rewind) over and (rewind) over... watch trailer
7. Happiness (1998): Well, I can talk about cannibals and sodomy with a bit of juvenile smirk, and a certain level of “ha, I shocked you” intent. But with this film, from Todd Solondz (he’s actually done a lot of good stuff, including this disturbing film), it’s gonna be hard for me to write why… okay, here we go… the film tells some dark tales of suburbia life. One of those scenes involve a pedophile father who tells his 10-year-old son that he enjoyed having raped a couple of his male school friends. The scene is played out straight forward, well acted, and with dialogue so honest, that I could never watch this film again. “Happiness” is categorized as a comedy/drama, and has a certified fresh rating of 85%, as of the time I wrote this. According to wiki,”The Sundance Film Festival refused to accept the film, alleging it to be too disagreeable.” I don’t blame Sundance, as much as I am anti-censorship, ’cause I can’t seem to reconcile the conflicted thoughts of a well-made film that leaves me not feeling good at all. watch trailer
8. Ichi the Killer (2001): Takashi Miike is one of my all-time favorite filmmakers but he produces a lot of disturbing films. He’s completed around 100 movies to date (A lot of them are children films). Ichi is a superhero, I think, as he slaughters pimps and gangsters with a blade attached to his boot, slicing open throats and ankle tendons. You probably just touched your ankles to make sure they’re intact, didn’t you? One well-known image involve a character slicing his tongue in two with a sword (that’s right, make sure your tongue is still intact), but what gave me the heebie jeebies was a scene where Ichi peeps in on a pimp beating on a prostitute. This gets him off, and he jizzes onto a flower in a nearby garden area. Miike directing, shows a close-up of the flower petals covered in fresh, white cum. I need to shower now. watch trailer
9. Trouble Every Day (2001): This is a French erotica film about vampires, far from the kind you’re familiar with — neither Bram Stoker, Bela Lugosi, or those “Twilight” films. The blood suckers in this French film starring Vincent Gallo are humans that simply bite their victims, literally. No fangs, just human teeth. Anyways, so, there’s a scene where a woman gets her “choo-choo” literally eaten out. As in being chomped on, ripped from the body. No fangs, just human teeth. Until bled to death. I may not be a woman, but the nether regions, I’m sure, are the most vulnerable and sensitive spots to pain. My legs are wobbly as I walk away from this list to take a quick break to regain my sense of feeling of any redemption for humanity. watch trailer
10. Suicide Club (2001): Unfortunately, Japan has a high suicide rate. I’m unsure if this film was much of a commentary on the issue, but I had no idea whatdafuck was going on this film. And not in a David Lynch whatdafuck-is-happening-in-this-film-kind-of-way because you can’t claim this movie takes place in a dream, and still make sense of what the suicide club is. I’m sure you’ve already surmised, this film contains a lot of suicide scenes. The first 5-min of the film begins in a train station. A group of high school Japanese girls hold hands on the edge of the station platform. Then they start chanting, counting… 1… 2… 3… as a train comes barrelling down the tunnel. Then they jump onto the tracks, and school girl body parts are splattered all over the train station. Only about 95 min of suicides to go after that. watch trailer
11. Irreversible (2002): This film became infamous with a 9-min rape scene involving Monica Belluci’s character. The man that assaults her is played by Belluci’s real-life husband. This doesn’t make the scene any more bearable. I’ve watched the film around 5 or 6 times now, only ’cause it’s a well-structured film, told backwards in time. Almost to perfection than most science fiction meta films I’ve seen. But, every time, I FFWD pass the rape scene. Having watched that scene once, doesn’t make the film less effectively revolting every time I rewatched it, which is arguably, probably a case for good art of being disturbed. watch trailer
12. Old Boy (2003): Probably one of the most popular cult classic Korean film in recent years. I can’t really say why this film is disturbing without spoiling the ending, so I won’t. But, the film begins with a man who comes out of a 15 year mysterious imprisonment, only to be revealed by the end of the film as an act of revenge. That sounds like an action movie, huh? Go watch it. When you get to the part where the character of Oh Dae-su methodically cuts off his own entire tongue off with a scissor, remember that the big reveal at the end makes that shockingly tame. watch trailer
13. Inside (2007): A pregnant woman loses her baby in a car accident. So, she goes on a vengeful pursuit of the other woman who had cause the accident, who we find out later in the film, is also pregnant. This revenge plot becomes a chase scene, unlike Mad Max: Fury Road, but confined in the un-safety of the pregnant woman’s home. The chase involves knives, scissors, and other types of hard edged tools used by the pursuer to, well, attempts to carve out the baby from the victim’s womb. As I’ve mentioned, I may not be a woman but… disturbing. watch trailer
Since you’ve gotten this far, without puking (or maybe you’re done mopping up your vomit), watch the 5-min “Tokyo Gore Police” trailer.
