Disturbing Films
 

Some of the most memorable films are those that leave us haunted, confused about the world, or even sick.
One that comes to mind is _The Silence of the Lambs_. What films have had this effect on you, where did they take you, and what do you think it was about them that made you feel so deeply?

I thought that 8mm was kind of disturbing.

The first time that I saw Seven it kind of disturbed me (especially at the end of the movie) but now it is one of my favorite movies. The visuals in this movie were really good! I will never look at a pine tree air freshner the same after seeing this movie!

Sleepers is a pretty disturbing film, but a very, very good one.

The Virgin Suicides is pretty messed up.

The strangest movie ever has got to be Vanilla Sky....what the heck?!?!

"The Good Son" with Macauley Kulkin and Elijah Wood, what's worse I knew a few kids like him, growing up.

The Bad Lieutenant with Harvey Keitel. Creeped me out, big time.

Sophies Choice is the one movie I wish I had NEVER seen. The decision she had to make is the unthinkable.

Seven really disturbed me-I saw it on a dark, rainy day, and the day just fit the movie-I walked out of the theater and was just like, ehhhh.....

I completely agree with you guys on Seven, Full Metal Jacket, and 8mm. Seriously jarring.

To that list I'd have to add Requim to a Dream. I think that's been discussed here before but that movie will just affect you... One way or another.

The MOST disturbing film I ever saw was this little known thing called Last Exit to Brooklyn starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. I was actually shaking afterwards.

The most disturbing film I have EVER EVER seen was a foreign film called "PIXOTE" -- pronounced pee-SHOT -- and I think it was either Brazlian or Portugese.

"KIDS" was disturbing, too. But it's a movie me and my friends like to make fun of.

The best disturbing film was "APOCALYPSE NOW". . .I saw the redux version a few weeks ago.

I agree on:

• Full Metal Jacket
  Kids
  8mm
  Requiem for a Dream
  The Good Son

And add to my list the with the infamous line "Here's Johnny!" The original one, but I can't recall the name right now..... R-E-D-R-U-M

what is this Sophie's Choice? What did she have to choose between? And on a recomendation by Jac (pbpck), I intend to watch the Virgin Suicides.

That would be The Shining.

I think that A Clockwork Orange ranks up there with the most disturbing movies I've ever seen, although I really like that movie, too. Kulbrick was a strange guy.

Disturbing
 

I would have to say rape scenes disturb me the most. "Casualties of War" and the rape attack in "Showgirls" bothered me most.

Sophie's Choice -- warning: Spoiler!!!
 

Sophie's Choice is a movie about a woman (played by Meryl Streep) who survived a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. When she arrived at the camp, she was made to choose which of her children would be allowed to survive and which one would be sent to the gas chamber. It's absolutely gut-wrenching to watch that scene. :(

Europa! Europa!
Diary of Anne Franke
Single White Female

Stephen King's It. Just the thought of that movie makes me want to curl up into the fetal position.

disturbing
 

Ugh, Vanilla Sky was disturbing in that it left me feeling really pissed off and cheated. Did the people who made the trailers even see the movie? Sheesh.

Overall, it's almost always the rape scenes that get to me. It could be a great movie otherwise but that just ruins it.

Goodfellas was a well done movie but left me feeling... dirty. Like I should go out and do volunteer work at my church.

American History X was tough, but a great movie overall.

Movies I will never see again:
Event Horizon

This movie scared the crap out of me and I had nightmares for a week!

I never saw the movie, but I read the book randomly my freshman year of high shool and found it fascinating, but yes, truly disturbing. I almost don't want to see the movie for fear of how someone else's nightmare of that book manifests visually.

But then again, isn't it the most unsettling propositions that artists set forth that cause us to actually think and question the ordinary, meriting true artistic value?

I have found that there are two types of "disiturbing movies"-those that motivate you and those that leave you feeling incredibly empty and just plain scarred.

8mm was definitely one that left me just plain scarred. And Cory, I should warn you that Virgin Suicides may leave you with the latter emotion as well. But do see it! :)

And anything with violence against animals seems to leave me livid. I saw a Spanish film that has now been put out on video with subtitles called Amores Perros which involved a lot of dog fighting set in poverty stricken Mexico and I couldn't stomach certain scenes. You know, basically anything where some innocent animal dies is just awful.

Cannot remember the name of it but starred Burt Renolyds and Ned Betty and the dueling banjos!

My ex wife had to get up and leave and I was damn near behind her!

What what was that movie!:confused:

Of course Top Gun was a great up movie until Goose gets killed! I still cry everytime I see that part!:(

OOPs, "Deliverence"! God did I hate that show!

Cannot remember the name of it but starred Burt Renolyds and Ned Betty and the dueling banjos!
Tom, that was "Deliverance", talk about making an impression!:eek:

As much as I enjoy Stanley Kubrick's movies I also find them incredibly disturbing, after I saw AI and Eyes Wide Shut in the theatre I felt very strange coming out of it - I can't really describe the feeling - the same goes for watching A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket to name a few.

Eyes Wide Shut with Tom and Nicole. I love Tom Cruise and I think Nicole Kidman is a great actress too but that movie was so unerotic, devoid of emotion and just generally painful to watch.

There's a movie that I had to watch for a government class that my friends and I still joke about. I don't remember the name but it's about a midget and his toy drum. The midget joins the circus and falls in love with another midget and they get married. The movie was supposed to have something to do with Hitler's control over Eastern Europe but the message was overshadowed by these circus midgets having sex.

I've been pretty desensitized to violence in movies lately but recently watched "American History X" and that was a stunner. A bunch of us were watching it at my apt. and I got into an argument with one of the guys right smack in the middle of the movie...over what, I don't remember, but the movie was definitely thought-provoking.

I tried to watch "Clockwork Orange" but my friend warned me it was graphic...I stopped it right before the first rape scene.

I would have to say Pink Flamingos is the most disturbing movie ever.

About the Circus Midgets...
 

Was the movie that you're talking about The Tin Drum?

A bit of history... It's actually a highly influential German film directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The director actually first gained notoriety as an innovator of the "New German Cinema." He severely criticized German society with his earlier films, but by the time he made The Tin Drum, his movies lost most of the radical edge... instead, this film was embraced by the European Art Cinema and eventually the world. However, the film was still a biting social satire of Nazism.

The movie's plot concerns a young boy who refuses to grow up. It's really disturbing... his mother has a tendency to eat whole fish, a fisherman uses a horse's head as bait for eels, Oskar (who looks like an 3 year old) has sex with much older looking women...

We watched it in one of my film classes... imagine 350 19 year olds as the audience. Scary, scary stuff. But I have to say, no one fell asleep in that class!

I also though the Poseidon Adventure was really disturbing when I was younger. I was expecting a light comedy... not the deathfest that it was!

~Enna

(edited for spelling)

Requiem for a Dream is pretty disturbing, Donnie Darko is a really good movie has anyone seen it? but it does leave u feeling funny,
also Mulholland Drive WTF????
The Shinning, and It ugh! (hate clowns)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre( the original not the stupid new one) pretty disturbing

Donnie Darko is an awesome movie!!!! mulholland drive is also a great film( all lynch films are superb)

I just saw the most disturing films ever. I think it was called Canibal Holocaust. Very disturbing indeed. I don't recomend anyone with weak stomach to see it. Couple of my friends actually left the room cause they were sickened by it.

I can't help but cringe every time I think about "The Shining".

We watched a movie in my Asian Studies class and it was part of the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with samurai movies, but "Lone Wolf and Cub" is about a man (who I think used to be a high ranking samurai or officer or whatever) who travels around with his infant son fighting all these evil people from different towns. Anyway, the baby's stroller is fully equipped to hurt, maim, dismember, kill...whatever. Swords shoot out of nowhere...you get the drift.

I'm fine with those slasher flicks because to me they're not too graphic. "Lone Wolf and Cub" just seems too realistic with the blood spurting out and body parts flying everywhere.

I couldn't believe I subjected myself to watching that. A few girls in class had to leave to use the bathroom.

Without a doubt:

Kids
Trainspotting
The Cell

After I watched Kids I just sat there sort of afraid to move. It was so sick. I felt like I needed a shower or maybe to wash my brain of the disgusting images in that movie. It actually made me FEEL dirty...

Trainspotting because it was just brutally honest and didn't hold anything back...(the baby scene...).


The Cell because of the absolute psychotic sickness of that serial killer and the way he tortured and killed them...the "dream" sequences with the robotic "Tool" video looking doll-things were beyond creepy too.

My picks
 

I think the most disturbing movies I've ever watched have been:

-American History X: Wow, this movie was amazing. Very very good, but so scary, and so sad. I couldn't stop crying, even after it was over.
-IT: Does anyone out there actually ENJOY this movie? It's so f-ing scary.
-Candyman: I'm sorry but this movie was just so violent and so gross, I couldn't go to the bathroom by myself after this and I've been afraid of the dark ever since
-Silence of the Lambs: Also very scary and disturbing and the whole "night-vision goggles", yea that just completely reinforced my fear of the dark
-Virgin Suicides: Oh my. I don't even have any words to explain how I felt after watching this.

Others include:
8MM (yuck, yuck, yuck) and also A Beautiful Mind.....I thought that was an AMAZING movie, but it seemed too real, and even though I absolutely loved it, I don't think I'm emotionally strong enough to ever watch it again....:(

Was this an innercity documentary?

yeah, following the lives (mainly) of two groups, a group of guys, another of girls.....you REALLY should see it.

kids is not a documentary

you're right, forgive me...but it oddly does (in my opinion) have a VERY documentary feel to it...like it exists somewhere between a documentary and a typical movie...

i think i saw part of kids a long time ago, but i can't remember it being that disturbing, so now i am actually wondering if it really was that movie, or a totaly different one...?!:confused:

you REALLY need to see the last scene with the knowledge you gain about the girl earlier in the film...then shower your eyes...