The Spotlight: Disturbing Movies That People Might Judge You For Liking

What makes a movie dark and disturbing? In my eyes, it is something that stays with you long after the movie is over. It makes you uncomfortable in a memorable way.  You wouldn’t want to watch it with your parents, over the holidays, or on a first date (unless maybe you have a weird weeding system for dates).

These films cause controversy, and occasionally are banned from theaters altogether. They span all genres, and I find that more foreign films are not afraid to push the envelope, tastefully. You might say, “Why would I ever want to watch messed up movies like this?” Perhaps this list will act as a warning sign when a friend of yours says, “You have to see Antichrist! Let’s fast forward to the best scene” (which I fell for on one occasion, thanks Corey). Or, maybe you are looking for a well-done movie with shock factor, not B movies like Thankskilling or Gingerdead Man.

This list was inspired after recently watching Deliverance (1972) for the first time and thinking about how graphic that seemed for the 70s (which pales in comparison to what I’ve been watching for the past ten years). Here’s the cream of the crop in no particular order:

  1. Oldboy(Oldueboi) 2003, 120 min, Rated R (South Korea)

After another drunken night of debauchery, a man is kidnapped and left in a room with a bed and a TV. He isn’t given any reason for his capture. After chipping away a hole in the wall every day for 15 years, he is finally freed. He seeks revenge, trying to make sense of what happened to him. This movie had one of the best single-shot fight scenes I’ve ever seen. Other disturbing scenes include the eating of an entire live octopus, and appendage severing. This movie reminds me of Grimm’s fairy tales. It has a twist that puts M. Night Shyamalan to shame. Oldboy is part of a revenge trilogy by visionary director, Chan-Wook Park. All of them are great but don’t see the Americanized Oldboy remake.  Check out another Spotlight for more film suggestions if you like this movie. 

  1. Irreversible2002, 97 min, Rated R (French)

I always seem to chose these kinds of movies when I’m home alone. This movie focuses on the choices that three people make one day that changes their lives forever. This movie is told from the end to the beginning. It has one of the most disturbing and longest rape scenes I have ever seen. I actually pulled down the curtains for this one. If you can’t handle the rape scene, just fast forward. This movie was actually banned in many movie theaters in Europe, which immediately got my attention. It is well-shot and beautifully acted.

https://youtu.be/FMIC5pc_GzM

  1. Funny Games1997, 108 min, Unrated (Austria)

Remember when neighbors used to knock on your door and ask for sugar?  A family on vacation is terrorized by two seemingly nice guys who are looking to borrow some eggs. They make them play sadistic games with each other and refuse to leave. This movie breaks the fourth wall, which might lose it for some movie goers. I enjoyed it because not only did they play with the family, but they played with the viewer as well.

  1. The Human Centipede: First Sequence, 2009, 92 min, Rated R (Netherlands)

Who thinks of this stuff? An evil German scientist decides to make a centipede out of people by connecting them ass to mouth and severing their knee joints. He finds two girls lost on a road trip through Europe for the middle and back and a Japanese man as the front.  Although the movie isn’t as gory as you might think, it leaves much to the imagination. Watching them try to walk, go down stairs, or eat makes me want to gag. Don’t see this one on a full stomach. It’s a metaphor…really. Do not go beyond the first movie or you’ll regret your life choices and this is coming from the woman who enjoys watching these “types” of movies. 

  1. Deadgirl  2008, 101 minutes, Rated R (America)

A new twist on a zombie movie. Two high school boys, Rickie and JT,  find a female zombie in an abandoned mental asylum, chained up. After many failed attempts to kill her, JT decides to keep her so they can have sex with her. I got a special nod from the Blockbuster guy (RIP, I miss you guys) for bringing this one to the counter.  This one is uncomfortable yet playful.

  1. Dogtooth 2009, 94 minutes, Unrated (Greece)

A family raises their children without outside stimuli. They teach them incorrect vocabulary and forbid them to leave the house. More on this movie with an earlier review I wrote for the TBBC.

  1. In My Skin 2002, 93 minutes, Unrated (France)

A woman accidentally cuts herself at a party and begins obsessively cutting herself to save her skin. People were throwing up during this movie’s release. It was full of extreme close ups of skin peeling. It’s a well-done metaphor… really. Sorry to my best friend who is extremely sensitive and witnessed this movie during a surprise visit to see me in college. We shouldn’t have taken you to see this movie…

https://youtu.be/-Q38GuQNNfs

  1. Antichrist2009, 108 minutes, Rated R (Denmark)

A child dies when a couple is too busy (doing the nasty) to watch their child. The wife goes nuts and the husband takes her to a cabin where they can hash it out. I haven’t even watched this entire movie, because it was too much for me. Willem Defoe, what kind of a choice was this? Unfortunately, I was tricked into watching a few terrible highlighted scenes that my eyeballs can never take back involving tools and severed sexual appendages. Funny enough, it is not the only film that includes severing of sexual appendages (Trouble Every Day).

  1. 127 Hours 2010, 94 minutes, Rated R (America)

Based on a true story, a solo hiker falls into a canyon in Utah and traps himself.  He has very little food, water, or hope of escape, unless he finds a way to release his arm. Our editor, Beth Gallaway, wrote a review on this one for the TBBC. You feel helpless right along with him as you anxiously await a rescue that never comes. Luckily, you’re probably in a house with a full food supply and bathroom facilities.

  1. Three Extremes 2004, 118 minutes, Rated R (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea)

One of my favorite directors, Chan-Wook Park, writes a segment in this horror trilogy of shorts from Asian directors. The short, Dumplings, was by far the best of the three in the gross out factor. It is hard to eat dumplings anymore without thinking about this segment. There’s also a story of an elaborate torture plan and a disturbing contortionist. Out of all the movies listed, I’d say it is the least disturbing. (this doesn’t say much, but it’s a good place to start).

11. Raw. 99 minutes. Rated R.  (France)

A vegetarian is hazed on her first week in college and forced to eat meat.  Soon she begins having carnal urges to consume flesh and cannot control them.  This movie is about so much more than cannibalism! It’s about sibling rivalry, fitting in, and finding out who you are.  By being forced to eat meat and engage in her new surroundings, Justine (Garance Marillier) finds her  “true self”.  She goes from being a shy introvert to a sexually aggressive and assertive individual.  This is the most current movie I have seen and due to watching the ten others on this list beforehand I really wasn’t phased by the scenes of cannibalism especially when she tries to chew off her own finger.   It’s French so of course, I love it.  Not to be confused with this terrible French sex-cannibal film, Trouble Every Day…WOW. Yes, I have seen two French cannibal films. Who hasn’t?

Enjoy my list, and now judge that I am, indeed, a very dark individual but with good taste.

Author: Jessica

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