25+ Disturbing Movies That People Couldn’t Sit Through
Although some thrill-seekers watch scary or bizarre movies to evoke feelings of discomfort deep within themselves, at the end of the day, most films aren’t all that traumatizing. Most viewers are able to go on with their lives, having satiated their desire to add a little fear to their lives. However, there are some films that take things too far and are so over-the-top that to watch that audiences can barely finish them.
Here are the films that are too unsettling to watch in their entirety. Have you seen any of these shocking movies? Read on to learn more.
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)
In 2009, the Dutch Horror film The Human Centipede took the world by storm. While it was utterly disturbing and nauseating to watch, director Tom Six wanted to make something even worse for his audience. The result was The Human Centipede II in 2011. The film focuses on a disturbed parking lot attendant named Martin who is obsessed with The Human Centipede.
Revenge Has A Knack For Giving People Seizures
Coralie Fargeat’s 2017 release Revenge is a horror film that follows a woman who is left for dead in the desert by her lover and his friends. Somehow, she miraculously survives and sets off in search of revenge.
The film is intense, gory, disturbing, and was enough to cause a Toronto Film Festival attendee to suffer a seizure in the theater during its premiere. Even the lead actress, Matilda Lutz, claimed that many of the scenes in the film made her uncomfortable even though she was the one acting.
There’s A Reason A Serbian Film Is Banned In Several Countries
A Serbian Film is a 2010 horror-thriller and the brainchild of director Srđan Spasojević. The film follows Miloš, a struggling adult performer who agrees to be part of an “art film” in order to make some much-needed money. However, he fails to realize that he’s agreed to participate in a film that forces him to commit violence.
For the film’s depictions of abuse, it has been banned in Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Norway.
Meet The Feebles Is Like The Muppets Gone All Wrong
Directed by Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings, Meet the Feebles is a 1989 New Zealand black comedy musical. The Feebles are animal puppets that are part of a stage troupe. They’re despicable characters involved in narcotics and deplorable acts. While the film is mostly a comedy, it’s also disturbing to watch characters who are usually meant to entertain children act so inappropriately.
Critic James Berardinelli commented on the film, saying, “The stories of these … characters are told in a disgustingly graphic, obscenely offbeat, and caustically funny manner. Meet the Feebles is for those with a strong stomach and a seriously warped sense of humor.”
Raw Will Turn You Into A Vegetarian
Raw is a French-Belgian horror drama directed by Julia Ducournau. The film follows a young girl named Justine who’s a vegetarian attending her first year at veterinarian school. There, she tastes meat for her first time and develops a taste for flesh that goes beyond just animals.
Released in the United States in 2017, the film had mixed reviews, with many people complaining about its graphic content. On one occasion at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival, some viewers required medical attention after fainting from the film’s graphic scenes. For many reasons, the film had a limited theatrical release in the United States.
The Original Martyrs Is Enough To Give The Bravest People Nightmares
Martyrs is a 2008 French film that was remade in the United States in 2015, although that version was much tamer.
When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival people left the theater in masses and producer Bob Weinstein couldn’t finish watching it even though his company bought the movie rights. According to the New York Times, “When horror fans dare other horror fans to watch a movie, it’s Martyrs.”
The Woman Has Intellectual Themes At Its Core, Supposedly
According to an audience member that left the theater at the Sundance Film Festival, “This film is not humane […] This film ought to be confiscated, burned. There’s no value in showing this to everyone.” The 2011 movie centers around a dysfunctional family who attempt to civilize a wild woman by locking her up.
Although the film was relatively well-received for its clever nuances and social commentary, many people find it hard to look past the sheer brutality. Supposedly, there’s a lesson to be learned if you can make it all the way through.
Irreversible Attacks All Of Your Senses
Irreversible proved to be such a traumatic and graphic film that even the film’s star, Monica Bellucci, can’t watch it herself. There’s no lack of intimate familial relations, abuse, and death, which led over 250 people to run from the theater or even pass out during the film’s Cannes’ premiere.
On top of the visually graphic sequences, the film also relies on low-frequency sound waves. These sounds can’t be heard, but the body can register them, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, unease, and nausea.
The House That Jack Built Wasn’t Allowed To Run For Any Awards
Lars von Trier is well-known for his ability to deeply disturb his audience, as seen in his works Antichrist, the Nymphomaniac films, and more. This film is about a serial killer, played by Matt Dillon, who has been on a spree for the past 12 years. It left audiences thoroughly disturbed.
The Green Inferno Makes You Want To Stay Far Away From The Jungle
Director Eli Roth is known for his take on horror films, as seen in his work in the first two Hostel films. Unless you’re familiar with Roth’s previous work, you probably won’t stand a chance watching this film.
Eli Roth commented on the film: “You don’t want people walking out of a movie; you want them running out of the theater screaming.” It’s the film’s use of physical special effects and horrifying, convincing portrayal of abuse that made this one a go-to for horror lovers and a true nightmare for the average audience member.
Baskin Will Make You Want To Repent For Your Sins
Baskin is a 2015 Turkish art-house horror film that is best summed up as all-around disgusting, frightening, and supernatural. The film follows a group of police officers who unintentionally wander into a portal to the underworld.
While the film is deemed as one of the most disturbing films in recent memory, it wasn’t rejected by all critics. Some even praised it for its underlying themes. However, others couldn’t see past the horrors experienced by the main characters.
Requiem For A Dream (Or Just Say No?)
Released in 2000, Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream follows four characters’ downward spiral into addiction as a result of attempts to find shortcuts to reaching their individual goals. The audience is alternately inside each person’s head, experiencing the delusional highs and lows in an increasingly fast and nightmarish whirlwind of jump cuts, and objectively outside, watching the characters’ unfortunate real-world actions.
You Won’t Be Happy After Seeing Happiness
Released in theaters in 1998, Happiness was written and directed by Todd Solondz, who is known for his dark style. The film is controversial because of its adult themes and was even rejected by The Sundance Film Festival.
However, Happiness is a black comedy, so some critics and fans are able to overlook its highly upsetting and seedy underbelly. “The film’s most hilarious moments all have poignant undercurrents, while the saddest – and most disturbing – are frequently sidesplitting at the same time,” wrote reviewer Andrew Johnston in Time Out New York.
A Field In England Will Make You Feel Under The Influence
Considered to be British director Ben Wheatley’s most disturbing film, A Field In England takes place in the 17th century, following a group of English Civil War deserters. They are eventually caught by a psychotic alchemist who forces them to eat hallucinogenic mushrooms to bind them to him as he continues his search for buried treasure.
Of course, it doesn’t take long for the characters to meet their ends one-by-one in violent ways. However, one of the most disturbing aspects of the film is how it is shot, leading the viewer to think they’re also on a bad trip they’ll never escape.
Valhalla Rising Will Make You Grateful You Live In This Time
Released in 2009, Valhalla Rising takes place in the 11th century, following a Norse warrior named One-Eyed, who is a skilled and brutal fighter. After escaping captivity, he travels with a boy, as well as Christian Crusaders, on a mission to find the Holy Land. They accidentally end up in North America where they must fight against the indigenous people and are plagued with dark visions.
At its core, it may not seem like much more than a Viking film, but in reality, the level of violence and gore top some of the most gruesome war films.
Snowtown Is All Too Real
Between 1992 and 1999, John Bunting and his accomplices murdered twelve people in South Australia. Known as the Snowtown Murders, it is one of the most infamous cases in Australia, which Justin Kurzel turned into a film in 2011.
The story is told from the perspective of an abused teenage boy who teams up with Bunting and participates in the murders. Incredibly suspenseful, the film also shows the slayings in an unapologetic manner, only being worsened by the fact that it all actually happened.
Natural Born Killers Is Heavily Debated To This Day
Debated as one of the most controversial films ever made, Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers follows a deeply disturbed couple as they make their way across the country while on a mass-killing spree.
Aside from the violence in the film, what makes it even more disturbing is that the couple is glamorized by the public for their horrendous acts. This is something that hits a little too close to home, especially in the United States. It’s gruesome, intense, and understandable why so many people can’t sit through it.
Funny Games Is Far From Funny
Funny Games is a 1997 Austrian psychological horror film that tells the story of two young men who hold a family hostage in their vacation home.
It’s a roller coaster of intensity, and Rotten Tomatoes described it as “Violent images and blunt audience provocation make up this nihilistic experiment from one of cinema’s more difficult filmmakers.” The film was remade by the same director in 2007, although it featured mostly known American actors.
Let’s Put This Movie In The Hole In The Ground
The 2019 psychological thrill The Hole in The Ground has been said to make viewers want to come up for air. Following the story of Sarah, a young mom who suspects something is wrong with her son after witnessing strange behavior, the story quickly takes a turn into something dark and sinister. And it seems as though everything is linked to a mysterious black hole.
After it was released to Netflix in 2019, one subscriber wrote, “Watched The Hole In The Ground on Netflix and what a supremely unsettling movie that was, brimming with an atmosphere that gets right under the skin.” Pretty much, watch this movie at your own risk.
Lights Out Will Have You Keeping The Lights On
When she was a little girl, Rebecca never trusted things to be real after the lights were turned off. Now, years later, her little brother is experiencing the same thing. If you dare, Lights Out follows the story of the siblings as supernatural forces awaken to terrorize the family, but only when the lights are out.
One Reddit user said, “I knew that, even after only a couple of minutes, I wouldn’t ever be able to turn the lights off again if I kept watching it, so I decided to stop mid-way through.” Yikes.
Silent Hill Had People Closing Their Eyes
The 2006 horror film Silent Hill is no joking matter. Following the story of Rose, a single mother with an adopted daughter, finds herself in the town of Silent Hill, with her daughter missing and a cult lingering nearby. Now, it’s up to Rose to find her daughter before its too late. But, she doesn’t realize her daughter’s strange link to the mysterious town.
Yea, this movie is a bit on the “hide your eyes behind a pillow” side with a hint of “turn it off before the last 30 minutes or else you’ll never sleep again.”
The Fly Makes Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” Seem Normal
The 1986 film The Fly follows a scientist whose experiment goes horribly wrong; viewers watch as he slowly but surely turns into a fly-human hybrid. It is disturbing, to say the least. One audience member even went as far as calling people who watch it all the way through heroes!
They said, “If the inside-out baboon didn’t make you want to turn the movie off, then the maggot delivery sure did. It’s a remarkable movie and a great take on the original, but anyone who makes it through that movie in the first sitting is a hero.”
10 Cloverfield Lane Left People With Crippling Anxiety
Let’s just start with the basics. 10 Cloverfield Lane is enough to leave anyone shaking with anxiety. The story follows a young woman who, after waking up from a car crash, finds herself in an underground bunker with two men who tell her the Earth is uninhabitable. If that’s not enough to make you shake with anxiety, we don’t know what will.
One viewer wasn’t able to make it through the entire film, saying, “This movie gave me such terrible second-hand anxiety in theaters that I still can’t watch the whole thing…” We’re going to take their word on this one and maybe pick something else out for movie night.
The Descent Will Have You Looking For A Cute Animal To Pet
Having six women enter a cave system full of bloodthirsty creatures trying to eat them is a recipe for disaster. The Descent was released in 2005, and the horror genre community wasn’t ready to see friends turn against each other in order to survive.
One viewer had to go pet her dogs just to calm down after trying to watch the movie. She said, “I tried watching this one with my husband, and both of us screamed so loud on a couple of parts that I just had to walk away. I went upstairs to pet my dogs so I could calm down…I still can’t finish that movie.”
mother! Will Have You Crying For Your Own
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, mother! is a 2017 psychological horror film. The film follows Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and Him (Javier Bardem,) a couple living together in a secluded country home. Him is a poet whose crazed fans make unsolicited visits to their home and become more violent towards Mother, to the point that audiences tend to look away.
Although the film was mostly well-received by critics, the film’s Biblical allusions and acts of violence sparked major controversy. While some saw mother! as a work of art, others found it to be downright disturbing.
Hereditary Will Make You Question Your Own Family
Hereditary is a 2018 horror film directed by Ari Aster as his directorial debut. The film managed to make a whopping $79 million against its $9 million budget while simultaneously shocking audiences and critics alike. The A.V. Club commented, “In its seriousness and hair-raising craftsmanship, Hereditary belongs to a proud genre lineage, a legacy that stretches back to the towering touchstones of American horror…”
While the film might have been successful in both the box office and among critics, that didn’t mean it wasn’t frightening. While all the jump scares and supernatural entities are horrifying on their own, what makes the film truly hard to watch is how real all of the characters’ pain appears.
The Wild Bunch Is Too Wild For Most People To Watch
The Wild Bunch is a Western that was released in 1969, striking up major controversy upon its release. Not only is the film grotesque in nature, depicting a gang of men who will survive by any means necessary, but the violence is crude and unnecessary to many people.
While then film actually received positive reviews from critics, saying it was beautifully shot with masterful dialogue, we’re not sure we’re going to watch The Wild Bunch anytime soon. Especially since most critics are finding “beauty” among absolute chaos and destruction.
