MovieChat Forums > Julien Donkey-Boy (2000) Discussion > Top Ten Most Disturbing Films Ever

Top Ten Most Disturbing Films Ever


Hey. So, I adore films that just make me squirm or really leave me with a sense of disturbance. You know, those awesome flicks that just mess you up in the head. I'm trying not to double up, although several directors on this list have more than one messed up film. What's your top ten? If you have more than 10 favorites, put those down too, I definitely have more than ten. I felt compelled to make out a list. In no particular order:
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Taxi Driver
Happiness
The Brood
A Clockwork Orange
Nil By Mouth
Salo
Eraserhead
Ichi the Killer
Night of the Living Dead(Original 1968 version! try and tell me that scene where the little girl kills her mother with the garden spade isn't freaky!)
Pink Flamingoes
The Piano Teacher
Blue Velvet
Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer
Julien Donkey Boy
Battle Royale
The Wicker Man
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS
The War Zone
Begotten
American History X
Kids
Irreversible
Night and Fog
Sick

I could go on, but let me know. And by the way, I know NOLD is an old Romero flick, but try and tell me that scene where the little girl kills her mother with the garden spade isn't freaky! Good luck.
Hope to hear from you soon and hear about all these crazy sicko movies I've been missing!
-NK

informer

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yes, this is a great list - those i know from the list, are great

so here are my additions:

Cremaster Cycle (especially cremaster 3) (Matthew Barney)
Tetsuo, he Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto)
Gummo (Harmony Korine)
anything made by Jan Svankmajer
almost anything made by Lynch
House of 1000 Corpses (Rob Zombie)
Delicatessen (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Institute Benjamenta (Quay Brothers)
Santa sangre (Alejandro Jodorowsky)
Crash (David Cronenberg)
The Tenant (Polanski)
La Grande Bouffe (Marco Ferreri)
Guinea Pig 3 (Masayuki Hisamot)
Aftermath (Nacho Cerdŕ)

these last two are really sick

anyway, thanks for your inspiration and please, write more if you know

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Lest we forget the disturbing feminist films:

Baise-moi
L'anatomie d'enfer

I'm sure there are others.
And any early John Waters, if you please.

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The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani)
Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis)

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Tetsuo
Gummo
Salo
Cannibal Holocaust
Pink Flamingos

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Okay you freaks with great recommendations, here's my question.

What is the title of the movie where it's mostly puke? I think it's about this mother who pulls out her daughter in-law or soon to be's eyes out. Maybe an Indian movie.

Maybe in your next life, you'll believe the Zodiac when it tells you to cut the red wire.

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oh, svankmajer's work is amazing. very surreal, dreamy, dark childhood nostalgia amazing. love his work.

and the cremaster cycle is horrifying. then again all video art is disturbing to me.

and gotta love lynch...esp. blue velvet.

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To everyone who's seen Salo:..is it good? should I see it? See, I'm kind of curious about it, but I'm not sure if I should see it cos I might get everlasting scars on my soul. There are still images from Lilja 4 EVER etched in my mind after seeing that one.

I won't see Salo and have nightmares for years to come if it's not any good. So please tell me, is it worth watching?

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Salo is full of itself, it's not disturbing in the least and it's incredibly dull. I guess it's worth a view though :/

"When you do things right people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

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[deleted]

The Piano Teacher.

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I don't get how people can compare early john waters to something like american history x. Pink flamingos is just funny! albiet in a twisted way...

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i just haveto second happiness! i saw that when i was 16 and was like WTF!
save the world recycle urself

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Can't argue with anyone's choices...I've seen roughly 3/4 of the titles mentioned in this thread. I saw "A Clockwork Orange" when I was 9 years old and it messed me up pretty good. I just had no point of reference. I have seen it since then (in my 40's now), and have come to appreciate it as an adult, but there is still a small portion of the terrified 9 year old who watches with me. Must agree with those who listed "Gummo", also. Perhaps I haven't the right to make this claim as it was the only (really) film I've ever walked out of because I found it too disturbing.

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Excellent list. I have seen every film mentioned in this thread. You must be around 33 (same as me) as the list reeks of VHS / magazine reviews.

All i know, is when i was young in smalltown Canada we didn't have a www or the ammount of TV channels there are now.

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Check out "Opium-Diary of a Madwoman"- it's pretty disturbing!!!

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Requiem for a Dream. Not as weird as some mentioned, but can't watch it without feeling disturbed by the end. Every time.

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A Serbian film eat all your movie lists.

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out of the endless lists of disturbing films "I Stand Alone" never seems to make it up on there, Noes' most heavy sh!t in my opinion and all his movies are *beep* /brilliant

"In a musical, nothing dreadful ever happens"

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antichrist

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Good list. I just saw JULIEN for the first time & didn't find it particularly disturbing, myself - more grim than anything - but I have a pretty high threshold.

That said, I thought KIDS was messed up, probably because it was all too plausible. And I was pretty disturbed/grossed out by SALO and MARTYRS after watching them.

One I haven't seen mentioned here is Tim Roth's THE WAR ZONE. I live in Toronto and can attest to the fact that the IMDb trivia about its premiere here is true, not a publicity stunt. It's a tough movie to watch.

Hands down the most haunting for me? "Tras el cristal"/IN A GLASS CAGE, a Spanish film from the mid-80s. It's not easy to find, but if you're looking for something that makes you feel truly horrified, seek it out. It's about a former Nazi (whose deeds were especially deplorable, mainly involving children) who's bedridden in his old age, and what happens to him is... I can't really explain more without spoiling something. Proceed with caution!

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