Juan, this is such a terrific video. I've lost count of the number of 'Most Disturbing Films' videos I've watched on UA-cam, and this is perhaps the most diverse, thoughtful and unique video of this nature I've seen. The ones I've seen I totally agree with you on, and I'm really excited to watch Pixote and Canoa ASAP, so thank you for introducing me to a couple of new ones I'd never heard of too!
Mysterious Skin is a masterpiece. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet do incredible work. It's such a heartbreaking, upsetting film and yet I've watched it multiple times--I keep getting drawn back to the story, despite how upsetting it is.
I'm 50 and my country was under Soviet rule for 40 years. In elementary school it was mandatory for grade 7-8 students to watch Come And See. As an adult I salute that masterpiece. As a 13 years old girl I was terrified. Thank you for that video.
watching that film years ago was so unbelievably gruelling but by the end all I felt was love for humanity if that makes sense. I can't imagine what it was like watching it at that age!
They showed The Passion of The Christ at the church my parents went to (and dragged me along to) when it came out, I was like 9 and absolutely horrified. I remember walking out of the auditorium before it ended, extremely upset and confused. It's so interesting to me that we had a similar experience with that, it's stayed with me all these years later. Religion! Catholicism! Guilt!
King, there’s been quite a few other people in the comments who have also said they were forced to watch it as kids. Wtf is wrong with all our parents? Lmao. I just remember, even back then, feeling like, “What was even the point?” Add it to our list of garbage extreme horror.
I’m so glad you put The Passion of the Christ on this list. If I were to make a list of my own, Passion of the Christ would make it onto that list. I was made to watch this as a 12 year old girl. I was made to believe that my soul and my ancestors did this to this “man.” I felt guilt, shame, disgust, anguish, extreme empathy, and genuine, real gut-wrenching pain for this man, and it makes it even worse that this man was meant to by OUR MESSIAH?! This was introduced to me way too early in life and the concept was way beyond my understanding of what I was watching. I’m so glad you brought this one up. I thought I was the only one genuinely disturbed by this.
I was pleasantly surprised to read a couple of other comments on here that also had a similar experience with this film. It is definitely culturally disturbing-what it represents, how it was handled, and the audiences it was forced onto. You are not alone! The film represents a lot of cultural ugliness for sure.
Come and See really is probably the greatest war movie ever made. (And thanks a ton to whoever finally uploaded the film to UA-cam so I could finally watch it! 😍) I have to say I didn't find it disturbing so much as just depressing. Saving Private Ryan is far more visceral and graphic, and yet the slow degradation of a young boy's psyche and the relentless inhumanity is far more haunting. And the ending to that movie is one of the greatest ever filmed, bar none.
I can definitely see the depressing angle-but I guess bleakness and depression can be equally considered rattling and “disturbing” emotions. I recall most thinking that the ending was a perfect encapsulation of the human condition: confusion, compassion, seething anger, overbearing despair. Beautiful film.
I watched Mysterious Skin at the theater, cold as probably most of the rest of the viewers. Mannnnnnn we were left squirming in our seats at times. The story of a kid that has pushed his trauma back so far in his mind, and changes his memory as a way of protecting him. I thought that was fascinating. One kid living with it. One hiding it deep in his mind.
This is a very refreshing and incredible list! Discovering Benny’s video as a teenager (along with I Stand Alone, which I first viewed at my grandparents house) was the gateway to many truly haunting and powerful films like Mysterious Skin. I think your picks are truly much more disturbing than something like A Serbian Film, as these picks have a palpable humanity and sincerity to them. I don’t think a film like I Stand Alone would be as riveting as it is if it weren’t for a desire to understand or even just observe a flawed human man, without any type of hesitation.
Thank you so much for watching! And I completely agree with your comment. So many “disturbing” filmmakers take the route of exploring what cinema can “show,” but those that take the route of what cinema can “evoke” tend to leave a deeper mark, at least for me.
No need to apologize! Your glasses are rad....damn...I fell for an ad. But because I fell from the ad I did not skip it lol. Come and See is SOOO good and really gets into your heart/soul. The ending of that movie will never leave me. Men Behind the Sun is still for me probably the most disturbing film I've ever seen....I don't think I finished it. A lot of these films I have not seen. Begotten I've only seen some clips from. Benny's Video is one of the Haneke films I've not seen, my favourite of his work is Caché which seems to tackle a lot of similar themes. Canoa is one I've missed as well. I Stand Alone is one I've not seen either despite again being familiar with quite a few NOE films. Mysterious Skin sounds a lot like 'The Tale' have you ever seen that one? Those films are really tough to watch. I don't think I'll ever watch Passion of the Christ but your reading of it and the experience was excellent. I always thought that Salo sounded...well kind of boring and didn't seem to have much to it other than being offensive...I don't really know if I will ever watch it but you make a good argument in its favor! I was wondering how I would compare haha and unsurprisingly you have a much muuuuch deeper knowledge in all things transgressive. 1 out of the 10 I've seen lol. Great video!
Ha! BUY GLASSES! BUY BUY BUY! Men Behind the Sun is most definitely disturbing. I would include it in a top 15 for sure. I haven’t seen it since my adolescence, and I’ll probably keep it that way. I definitely have to check out the Tale! But as with all these films, it’ll have to be for a clearer mindset. I absolutely recommend Canoa if you’re not familiar with it! Wow, 1 out of 10? I feel like a degenerate lmao.
Omg!! Mysterious Skin!! FINALLY!!! Finally someone puts this on their list of most disturbing movies!! This movie has always been on my list ever since the first time I watched it. It is such a traumatic watch for me that I’ve only seen it twice and I honestly don’t know if I could watch it a third time. It’s so well done and acted that it makes it so real for me. I love/hate this movie and I am so glad someone finally is talking about it. It needs to be watched and experienced. Thank you!
Hi Juan, I always enjoy when you talk about Spanish literature (and now film) mainly because it's media I'm separated from with a language barrier. Do you have a list of disturbing Spanish works?
Hi, there! The third part of my “Most Disturbing Books” series is entirely made of Latin American disturbing books. Of course, here I covered Canoa and Orozco the Embalmer, but other disturbing films in Spanish: Las Poquianchis Tras el cristal Amores perros
I've watched my fair share of disturbing movie lists and I was happy to see a couple titles on here even I didn't know! Your explanation of each film and how it disturbs you was really great as well. It's great to see the Haneke shoutout. While I haven't seen I Stand Alone, The Piano Teacher and Caché truly distressed me. Come and See is one of the most harrowing films I have ever watched; I get chills even looking at the name. It's one of the only movies that truly depicts the raw suffering of war. I have quite a few favorite disturbing films. Martyrs is my most cliché pick. It's infamous for it's gore although I believe people underappreciate the horrifying narrative on trauma, cycles of abuse, and power. The ending song "Your Witness" never fails to make me shiver. Dancer in the Dark by Lars Von Trier is easily one of the most depressing and bizarre films I've ever seen. It perfectly depicts the American dream vs. the American reality in the most disturbing narrative possible. For documentaries, The Act of Killing (about the genocide of communists in Indonesia) and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (this one you just have to watch) both upset me like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. I could go on and on though, so I'll stop here. Happy to see you talk about film! Your content on disturbing and horrifying litterature is top tier and has encouraged me to read more, but I'd be elated to see you talk more about film as well. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for watching! Dancer in the Dark was actually going to be one of my picks! It would totally make a top 15. The ending left me completely frozen. Very few films have done that to me. I will absolutely have to check out those documentaries you mentioned!
I had the opportunity to meet Joshua Oppenheimer years ago, back at a screening of the director's cut of The Act of Killing at my uni (thanks to my Indonesian history/anthropology professor). He was a very candid, open man. Apparently, he was still in touch with Anwar Congo via e-mail at the time, which really makes you wonder what the hell those two talked about together. This was back in 2014 or so. Congo is dead now. I've watched the film several times since then. And each time, it gets more and more unsettling because you start picking up on bits and pieces of how the minds of the New Order paramilitary leaders worked during the mass killings. Then you begin to question whether your perception of these people really holds true. The Act of Killing does something very unusual in that it blends possible fiction with honest documentation so that the entire tapestry of the film begins to feel like a very, very bad dream. It's like a surrealist film in reverse. The one other film that comes to mind at the moment which achieves a somewhat similar effect is Harmony Korine's Gummo, because the film organically weaves real people living in their lived destitution with a wandering Korine narrative - to feverish effect. That, and the story is more or less told through the eyes and volition of the cast themselves.
i really loved this video and the list you put together. you do such an excellent job of summarizing in detail without spoiling. i definitely will be checking out some of these. thanks for another great video, juan!! 👍
Thank you so much for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed. I do always try to avoid spoilers. I prefer reeling in curiosity by articulating how messed up something is. 😂
@@PlaguedbyVisions it is available on amazon streaming right now. I feel like I should tell you though, There is a really really graphic depiction of sexual violence. but it is a very powerful movie that will probably stay with you.
You should watch a movie called threads. It’s one of the most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen and it’s free to watch on UA-cam. I won’t tell you what it’s about because it’s better to go in blind
I enjoy Begotten for that otherworldly feel. I'm happy to see it mentioned. I also want to thank you for mentioning Canoa. It seems apt at this time. I need to see it.
Benny's Video, Come and See, I Stand Alone, and Mysterious Skin are all films that I adore. Haneke is one of my favorite film makers and Benny's video is truly an exceptional beat into the mind of a sociopathic child. It's a very difficult and unsettling point of view to watch from and that certainly makes it most effective. I am always trying to get people to watch Haneke's The Seventh Continent, so if you haven't seen that, please do. It is disturbing in the way Haneke is so often, but I wouldn't expect it to hit like Benny 's Video or Funny Games does. It's a subtler form of disturbing, and maybe I love it that much more for it. I have seen Begotten, but I can't say that I'm a fan of the movie, I do appreciate Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire (and still want Willem Dafoe to play Nosferatu in an actual remake). I think I love Begotten in concept more than execution. The work put in, and the entire aesthetic just seems like something I'd love, but it didn't take long for me to be completely bored by my inability to decipher much of what was happening on screen. In some sense the abstract nature of it was interesting, but not enough to hold me. It has been many years since I've attempted so maybe I should give it another shot. It does have great visuals for background content though... I have been putting off Salo for a number of years, and my girlfriend just synchronistically discovered its existence two days ago. She's demanding to see it now, and since it is the ultimate date movie, I think I will have to oblige her. Passion of the Christ...I think my history with it is similar to yours, and I love the way you describe your feelings about the hypocrisy in it all. As far as my current feelings go, I hate it. You have inspired me to watch Canoa and Pixote, those both seem like films I would really get into. Orozco feels like it might actually be around my limit. I started watching Stan Brakhage's The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (which is his filming of a literal autopsy) and that was too much for me. I let it play through the whole duration of the film, but I looked away too much to consider it "seen". I did appreciate the angles he took as many of them were artfully done, which makes sense, but it was just too much. I've seen dead bodies in person and it's my limit...but I still find it fascinating on some level. Maybe I will be able to work myself up to it someday. It does make me a little nauseous just thinking about it. I apologize for the overly long comment. I love this video, just as I love all your videos. Thank you for being such a unique voice on the youtubes, Juan. You're fantastic. -Brandon
Absolutely no worries about long comments! I will have to check out that Haneke you mentioned. I have not seen it! And Begotten, I think, definitely requires a specific mindset. I also watched it when I was first getting into more transgressive cinema, so maybe it left a bigger impact on me for that reason. Yeah, if autopsy footage is too much for you, definitely don’t watch Orozco! But I highly recommend Canoa and Pixote. They are incredible!
I really don't get why people consider Saló as one of the most disturbing films ever. If you are old and saw the movie back then, surely it probably is the most disturbing thing you ever saw, but after a lot of productions made in the 80's (some even in the 70's and previously that are less talked about due to their obscurity), this movie just looks like a poorly made fetiche porn.
Because of this video, I watched Canoa and Pixote, both films I had never heard of prior to hearing you talk about them. They were astonishing watches. Thank you for bringing them to my attention!! I never would have seen them otherwise.
Thank you for the list Juan. I hadn’t heard of most of these films and I am very curious to check them out. I would love to see you make more videos about film.
Some of the most disturbing films I've seen are definitely Requiem for a Dream, for how extremely bleak the film is and the very, very intense sequence at the end, Grave of the Fireflies, again because of the extreme bleakness and because from the start of the film you already know how it is going to end, Happiness (1998), for showing some very disturbing and unsettling scenes and interactions in such an ironically happy, almost sitcom-like fashion, and Son of Saul (of which I'm wondering if you've seen it), for its terrifyingly close, claustrophobic and unflinching view of a concentration camp, all through the eyes of someone in the Sonderkommando who has emotionally died a while ago. I saw Son of Saul with my dad in the cinema, and the first 30-ish minutes were so intense that I thought to myself that if the film continues like that throughout the whole thing, I wouldn't be able to finish it.
@@PlaguedbyVisions You really should! (As long as you're in the right headspace for it.) And if you at some point do watch it, I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it!
Requiem for a Dream is one of my favorite disturbing movies. It’s definitely the most realistic movie about drug addiction that I’ve seen. Just scrap the DARE program and have the kids sit through that. I bet it’ll be more effective at keeping kids away from hard drugs
I think it’s the brief, non-graphic snippets of a murdered family or war crimes that will stay with me longer than any graphic beheading scene in a horror film. 😶
Wow Passion of the Christ was extreme. I also watched at the theater. In San Antonio a very Catholic city. I watched it twice in then theater and both showings were incredible in how the people reacted to it, wailing, crying, calling out “my señor! Mi cristo!” Loud and many of them. It was really eye opening and one of the great theater experiences i’ve had.
So happy to see so many of my faves on here! (mainly Come And See, that movie gripped me so much) I have a small question for you, Juan, and for everyone who would like to answer, and maybe it's a stupid one but I'm genuinely curious and would love to hear your thoughts on it: since you talked about Pixote (which I love, well, "love" might be a strong word for almost every movie here), what do you think about directors that document these harsh realities in regards to actually helping the people directly involved in them after they made the movie/documentary? I mean, I get it, uncovering horrible situations such as these definitely sheds a light in the eyes of the public, but given that the ones in power almost never care about them either way, when I watch movies like these I always feel like there's more that could be done from the director and the producers' part, things like using part of the proceeds from the movie to concretely help. I really can't find examples in which this concrete help has been given, and if you know of some director that went and did it I would be so happy to stand corrected! Another movie that comes to mind is "Til Madness Do Us Part" which documents the horrible conditions in which patients are kept in a mental insitution in Yunnan, China. Not even gonna touch on the Mondo documentaries cause we all know Giacopetti and Prosperi were two rac!st pieces of sh!t and straight up exploited the fear of the diverse to shock, we know they wouldn't have done anything to help anyway lol. I hope I have explained myself well, great video as always! Catching up on all of your older stuff as I found your channel only two weeks ago and I love it!
Thank you so much for watching, and this absolutely an important question to ask, but also difficult to answer, as it goes by a case-by-case basis. I’m certain actors in films like Pixote were compensated to some extent, but perhaps not nearly enough to aid in their living situation. As far as charity work, I do know Babenco was involved in some of it, but sadly, there’s only so much that a director can do. It is certainly despicable to document and disclose a harsh reality for the sole purpose of being exploitative, and I also think that the tone of the film should reflect that. In Pixote, we get an honest and heartfelt documentation, which feels like a gift in and of itself, even if sadly, directors and producers don’t have much else to gift.
@@PlaguedbyVisions thank you so much for such a complete and honest answer! It's a topic I think about frequently when watching these movies, and since almost none of my friends dabble in these kinda things it's always difficult to discuss the topic this extensively. And I'm glad I learned something so positive about Babenco that I didn't know! Keep up the good work, your videos are already lengthening my TBR list by a mile!
Never heard of Canoa and Pixote. Thanks for the recommendations, I'm going to watch them very soon :) Was expecting to see Martyrs on this list. Ever heard of it?
This was a great list and some of the picks were really fascinating! I have only seen Benny's Video, Mysterious Skin, The Passion of the Christ and Salo of the ones you picked. Your point about Benny's Video being ahead of it's time with the mediation of reality through screens really made me wanna rewatch that movie. For myself, the most disturbing movie experience was watching Antichrist at 18 years old on a terrible hangover morning. Back then, I promised myself I would never watch it again. Whaddaya know, last week I stumbled it in library and decided to give it a go. Still haven't had the guts to put in my player, though 😅 Perhaps my "favorite" disturbing movie still has to be Cannibal Holocaust. For some reason, I find it fascinatingly beautiful film and every time I watch it, the movie just leaves me floored and speechless.
Thank you so much, Santeri! I definitely recommend the rest of the films, but approach with caution, of course! I’m wondering if you ended up working up the guts to rewatch Antichrist, haha. That and Cannibal Holocaust are definitely “watch it once and I’m good” films for me, but now I’m wondering what a rewatch would do for me.
i just discovered ur channel one video before this one (the first was about "pure") and man i wish i found ur channel sooner ! gr8 content man just subbed
I personally have 8/10 of your movies listed, and I love that you talked about Orozco, but I think Jorg Buttgereit's Der Todesking is one that you should watch, if you didn't. More than you know, the gore (Jorg is also the director of Nekromantik), the base theme is what it makes it a full disturbing movie, especially the "Thursday" segment.
Really liked the list. You gave me a few that weren't on my radar. I recommend to you "Snowtown" aka "The Snowtown Murders" (2011). It's based off true events in Australia about the victims of sexual assault teaming up with a man who organized the hunting and killing of the offenders. It's about the effects that trauma on the community and individual and it shows how that damage spreads in disturbing ways. It's really heartbreaking and brutal. Not for the faint of heart.
When we needed him the most… he returned! And with a sponsorship?! 😱 Content King! OMG I HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WITH PASSION OF THE CHRIST! My aunt showed it to us as kids because she wanted us to get some context for Easter… Someone ought to have called CPS. 🤣
Thank you so much for this list. Many of these films i have not seen yet and i want to see them. I agree with you about Salo. I remember my friends older brothers coming home from the Vietnam War and telling of atrocities done to the poor farmers. I would have absolutely lost my mind if i were there. I thank the Great Spirit i just missed being drafted. One film that got to me was the original Last House on the Left. It was filmed in a way that to me, seemed like a documentary. Like i was there with the girls in the first half of the movie. Like it was really happening, the cruelty. It had scenes cut out & edited. i have seeked out as best i could, uncut versions as i could find them because it fascinates and horrifies me still.
I’ve previously talked about The Last House on the Left, as it is one of my favorite films. I’ve heard from people who grew up in the 70s that it is an incredibly accurate depiction of the rotted ecosystem of the US during its time.
That's a good list of disturbing films. There are some that I would add, Ghosts of the Civil Dead is an Australian prison film made in the 1990s with a screenplay partially written by Nick Cave. It was based on the writings of Jack Henry Abbot who is interesting to read about too. The short films Fingered and The Right Side of My Brain by Richard Kern were part of the Cinema of Transgression movement of the 1980s. They are ugly, gut wrenching movies. His 10 minute film Submit to Me is really disturbing too even if it is really just a music video. George Romero's Martin is what I always considered to be an existential vampire movie because there is no closure or resolution to the film. You never learn what the truth of the main character really is and the fact that you can feel sympathy for him at the end puts the viewer in an uncomfortable position. I think this was Romero's best film for a lot of other geeky film theory reasons that I won't go into here. On a similar note, Alice Sweet Alice is maybe not disturbing but unsettling is a better way to put it. This probably only true for people who grew up Catholic in the New York/New Jersey/east Pennsylvania region There is a very neglected, underrated, and misunderstood movie called Trouble Every Day that is the bloodiest movie I have ever seen. The symbolism of the movie is all about sexual predation in both men and women and poses some uncomfortable questions about sexuality. Most people just think it is over the top violence but I think there is a deeper meaning to the movie that people don't often see. Also it stars Vincent Gallo which makes it even harder to watch. There is a Thai movie called Slice that is quite dark too. Sometimes it is also called Cut and the title in Thai is Chuen. It is an LBGTQ film about a detective hunting down a serial killer. It is more disturbing at an emotional level than anything. David Lynch's Eraserhead is pretty bad if you watch it at the wrong time of your life. If you read it as the baby being a symbol of Henry's isolation, inadequacy, and alienation from society it can be a real downer. Blue Velvet is still really disturbing to me also, more because of the subtexts than the violence and character of Frank Booth, i.e. Dorothy Vallens is complicit in her own victimization and Jeffrey has to realize that he could easily become just like Frank etc. Really if you want something that will give you nightmares for years, try watching Barney's Big Adventure. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to watch this if you have taken more than 10 hits of acid. The kinds of people who think up this stuff are monsters of the lowest order and deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives.
Wow! Thank you for such an extensive recommendation list! I did cover Alice, Sweet Alice in another video. It is one of my favorite horror films, and it absolutely has a “look” to it that feels eerie and disturbing. I wasn’t a big fan of Trouble Every Day myself, but your assessment makes me want to rewatch to see what more I can get out of it. Eraserhead is, of course, a true classic. Martin is definitely unsettling! And absolutely depressing. The isolation in that film is unreal. The others I have not seen, and will absolutely have to check them out! And I wouldn’t touch the Barney movie with a 20-foot pole.
I was really waiting for this! Come and See is one of my favorite movies and I don't think I'll watch it in a long time. One time was enough. It's so haunting.
That’s definitely one of those films. 😂 But man, I stand by the fact that it’s so beautifully shot. Remembering some of its cinematography does make me want to rewatch it… but I’m not ready lol.
there is this one german movie i watched a while ago called system crasher. it was unbearable to watch for me (although i did finish it). the trailer made it seem like a wholesome, feel-good story. but it was pretty violent. the kid is complete chaos. lots of blood, consequences, physical attacks, screaming. it truly disturbed me.
Come and See has haunted me since seeing it. That young man aged 60 years in just a few hours. When he and the girl return home and he runs by and she notices all the bodies...or when he's shooting the gun at the end and can't keep shooting when there's a photo of hitler as a baby and he cries...Then he joins the army after an even younger boy walks by with a gun. I'M SHOOK. I have only seen The Passion after eating edibles one time. Gotta say that was an experience.
Yes, the final sequence of Come and See is one of the best I’ve seen of any film, ever. So haunting, and evocative without showing much. That’s the brilliance of images on celluloid. If I watched anything hyperviolent while on edibles, I would die. 😂
💩 This was absolutely brilliant. Dude your film analysis skills-I’m just floored. You should be a commentator on like those film documentaries they have on Shudder. Quite a few on here I want to check out and some honestly I know I just can’t lol. You made a lot of great points, the one that stuck out to me most was when you talked about the Passion of the Christ. It’s interesting how a film can affect us in different ways depending our own backgrounds/circumstances. I have some “religious trauma” and I often approach movies with religious themes differently, like I’ll watch them but I have to be in a certain headspace.
Thank you so much for such kind words! I really appreciate the kind compliments. I feel the same regarding religious films. They just have such a long legacy of trauma and injury…
I’m fairly surprised MARTYRS wasn’t on the list. One of he most unflinchingly disturbing films I can remember. I’ll have to watch a few of these if I care to see the extreme.
Martyrs is a cool film, but for my list, as I explained at the beginning, I tried to avoid the more “extreme” picks and opted for more psychologically disturbing cinema.
I'm so glad Mysterious Skin has managed to stay relevant. It was so sadly overlooked at release because I think not many people were ready for the conversation then, but it's power resonates all these years later. Not my favorite Araki film, but, probably his best work. Anyway, I loved your approach to this list. Well done!
Thank you so much for watching! Most definitely, I think it’s one of the most painfully heartfelt films of its time. I definitely don’t think I’ll watch it again soon, but it’s definitely an amazing film and deserves recognition!
I remember seeing the Passion with some friends and all of us sat and cried during that movie. I told everyone I knew, do not go into this if you are squeemish
Great list! Come and See is a super heavy film. There’s a movie called “In a glass cage” I just heard about. Seems disturbing I’m looking forward to watching it
hi Juan! great vid as always, how about a "top 10 most disgusting movies I have seen" list in the future? I'd love to see your picks :) take care buddy
Yes, I have! There’s a video I made last year titled “Summer Bodies” (it was all about body horror) where I briefly talked about it, if you’re interested!
For me The most disturbing scene of Passion of the Christ was the flyblown sheep Judas has the pleasure of hanging next to. However I eventually die, please don't let it be near a decomposing, flyblown, maggoty sheep. Oughh, the sound! I love Come and See! Amazing young star. ❤
Loved your take on the passion, didn't realize it came out the same year as saw and hostile. Idk if you are doing a series of this or adding viewer subs but The Poughkeepsie tapes is disturbing in a similar way to these, more in concept than graphic stuff.
I was forced to watch The Passion of the Christ when it came out, at Religion class. We were all around 10 years old too. I remember feeling sweaty and uncomfortable while fidgeting, my head palpitating. This was in a Latin American country also. What the hell.
I also saw Passion of the Christ in theaters with my parents as a child and man... I was way to young to handle that lol Funnily enough though, we actually got interviewed by the local newspaper in our town about our reaction to the film as we were leaving the theater and my dad got quoted in the article. It was a surreal day for sure 😅
Watched The Treatment yesterday, that was a fucked up one and really depressing. Angst and Nothing Bad Can Happen are some disturbing ones that I plan on never watching again.
Most disturbing film for me was definitely Julian Donkey Boy by Harmony Korine. My reasoning is unorthodox, and it's definitely the spectacle it provides into the world of it's characters. I saw the movie about a year after my first encounter with psychedelics, I had experienced a bad trip before, and then seeing this reminded me of the experience heavily.
Ah, I almost included Gummo on this list, but ultimately decided it’s more strange and fascinating than disturbing. Same for Julien Donkey Boy, but I can absolutely see why it would be disturbing given your experience. Harmony Korine is one of the most honest artists out there. Have you read his book. a Crack Up at the Race Riots?
Tod Solondz's 1998 film Happiness is in my top 5 favourite films and definitely disturbing in the most unconventional of ways. It'sa dark comedy that follows the lives of a bunch of people trying to find happiness. Ari Aster's 2012 short film The strange thing about the Johnsons. Flipping the script on the usual disturbing narrative of child abuse. Coming in at only 30mins it packs a harder punch than most disturbing 1h30min films. (Spoilers for Pink Flamingos) Pink Flamingos by John Waters 1972 is infamous for the dog shit eating scene at the end. I found the majority of the movie hilarious but two scenes disturbed me greatly. The first scene is of two people having sex in a stable and there's chickens involved....No beastiality and the chickens killed were later eaten (which is good I guess?). I fast forwarded through this scene because it seemed never ending to me. The second scene was of two actresses playing kidnapped drug addicts but the acting was... Bad... Looking into the camera bad... And the material they were trying to convey was so serious and depressing that it felt almost disrespectful. The adventures of sharkboy and lavagirl by Robert Rodriguez made in 2005. So I was about 7 or 8. This was the first 3D movie I ever 'saw'. The title is shown in the beginning and a shark swims out of the screen. I was terrified to my core. I couldn't believe a shark had just come out of the screen straight at me. I watched the rest of the movie (basically the whole movie) without the cardboard 3D glasses because the shark was just too scary.
I have watched and enjoyed every film you mentioned except for Shark Boy and Lava Girl 😂 I had a similar experience (but not as disturbing) watching that hyperrealistic Disney Dinosaurs movie. Happiness is absolutely hysterical! It is the embodiment of “there’s nothing left but to laugh.” I have watched it maybe three times. The Strange Thing About the Johnsons was pretty messed up and transgressive. I did like it, except I think the over-the-top ending sort of deflated a lot of the tension and ugliness built throughout. Multiple Maniacs is my favorite John Waters, but Pink Flamingos will always hold a crown in the pantheon of daring cinema.
@@PlaguedbyVisions I've been bragging all day that a famous UA-camr replied to my comment. Just want to let you know that because of your channel I have been reading more and increasing my vocabulary and mindset. Love the videos and I wish you well!
Haha, I am so not famous! And I try to reply to every comment, but thank you for such kind and supportive words! Sincerely, they mean the world to me. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the videos! I’m currently working on another gruesome top 10, so stay tuned!
I had a very similar experience with Passion of the Christ. Raised by evangelical Christians, I and my sisters (9, 11, and 12 at the time) were expected to watch this film, in theaters, so we could "understand what Jesus went through for" for us. I watched through my hands for the majority of the film, and had nightmares for years- of the violence, of the devil, etc. It also served as a moment of clarity for me. Up until that point I trusted my parent's guidance, particularly their spiritual guidance, without question. But it was so clear after they took me to that movie that they had made an enormous mistake, done something completely inappropriate and unsafe for me as a child. It was a moment where I started seeing my parents as flawed individuals instead of perfect moral compasses, and one where I began to question my faith, ironically. It was also an experience that put me on a path of exploring transgressive and disturbing media, because after so many years of nightmares, I set out to desensitize myself- perhaps it was my young brain's implementing exposure therapy.
Why would the realisation that your parents are flawed individuals make you question your faith? Our broken sinfulness is an axiom of Christianity. It is precisely what is taught in Christianity
@@tobetrayafriendthe main reasons Christianity is still relevant and even present in the continent of America is because of mass genocide and r@pe. Lol.
@PlaguedbyVisions "Lol"? Oh, I'm clearly dealing with an intellectual heavy weight. Also, if you're going to make demented claims, you should provide some evidentary support.
Have you watched the film Fat Girl by Catherine Breillat? It is absolutely NOT what I expected. It's ending also left me with my jaw on the floor in shock and disgust. I will never watch it again. It's like a 90 minute depiction of female suffering.
My top 5 picks are: 01. Once Were Warriors (Warning: Sexual Violence) 02. The War Zone (Warning: Sexual Violence) 03. Saviour 04. The Piano Teacher 05. Man Behind the Sun Bonus: Audition, Ma Mere, Eden Lake, Daniel & Ana, Fat Girl, and La Bete.
Of the ones you mentioned, I have seen: The Piano Teacher, Men Behind the Sun, Audition, Eden Lake, Fat Girl, and La Bete. I’m interested in the ones you mentioned in your top 5! Thanks for increasing the disturbing stuff I need to watch!
We had, essentially, the exact same experience with Passion of the Christ. Funnily, my parents were raised Christian (one Baptist and French Catholic) but were not religious churchgoers themselves. They brought me to see it in theaters I would have been 9 or 10 years old. I couldn't believe they brought me to see it and just left it at that.
I have read 120 days of sodom probably three times. It is worse every time. The movie is really hard to watch. Words are different than watching a person go through what they do.
I unironically think A Serbian Film is excellent. People are just so busy clutching their perls over perhaps two or three scenes that they fail to realize that the first half of the movie really is not graphic at all. It’s slowly building tension and displaying admittedly creepy and disturbing things but not in the graphic way (I’m thinking of the early scene where he’s watching a young girl licking a lollipop for instance). Annd I also think that the film really does not take itself as seriously as everyone seems to think. There’s a pretty major character who is the Director of a film who is constantly talking all sorts of lofty nonsense about art and how important and deep this film he’s making is, and I think it’s obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke that the filmmakers are making on themselves right? I mean I can go online but I just really think it has been unfairly ignored I was just being some “shock“ film
I remember seeing the Passion in theaters and I cried so hard watching it just because of the brutality. In the end he isnt the weak looking Jesus on a cross you find in churches, he is a peice of bloody meat like Glen from the walking dead
Love to see a sponsored video 😁 hope you are approached by many, many more sponsors! Also loved this list. Going to check out a few that I'd never seen or heard about before. Thank you for presenting this to us! 💩💩💩lol
Thank you so much! I’ve been approached by a few sponsors, but this is the only one that seemed truly relevant. We need those glasses to read! 😂 I hope you get something out of the films you choose to watch!
Late to the party. Passion of the Christ is the only movie off your list I’ve seen. It disturbed me so much I called my aunt who’s religious, to explain it to me. Her response was we’re all born sinners, he died for our sins. It’s what made me walk away for religion. No thanks!
Very tasteful list makes me want to check out some of the ones from latin america i havent seen. Came here after watching your video about pure. Easy subscribe. Great content.
Ooh! A sponsor! Nice! Salo...definitely not a "feel good" film. I think the fact that Pasolini was murdered before the film was released adds even more to it. There's a feeling that nobody should even be watching this. One also wonders what the rest of the "Trilogy of Death" would have been like.
Excellent video. 20 years ago I would have immediately sought out all of these. Nowadays I’m far too old for that shit. I will never watch any of these films 😂 💩 PS your new specs really suit you
Oh, come on, Olly. You know you want to watch at least one of them! Let it be the Passion of the Christ. And thank you! Maybe GlassesUK will sponsor you soon! 😂
I feel like Hereditary and Midsommar were some of the most disturbing films I’ve seen. Also The Visit was also very disturbing, and that film had no violence in it until the very end.
Pasolini’s eye was so unique. I think that only makes it more disturbing. All these found-footage-style “disturbing” gore fests really lack visual interest to pull you in, in my opinion.
our teacher showed us The Passion in religious class in middle school... i remember vaguely how he said it was important for us to see it. he was a nutcase
Same experience here. We were showed this movie at school as well... I didn't think much of it back then although it was pretty shocking viewing, but thinking about it now, it seems pretty messed up to show this to young kids.
I’ve seen quite a few comments echoing what I said about the film. It really seems like this movie was used to traumatize so many of us! What an unhinged form of propaganda. Leave it to christianity…
Lynch's "Eraserhead" and the BBC's TV film "Threads" are the only films to truly disturb me. Particularly "Threads". I don't think that transgression is "radical" anymore. If anything, it's become a staple of certain reactionary cultural tendencies.
@@PlaguedbyVisions Ok, can you give me an example? I'm thinking of the Alt-Right and the early days of online "rising Conservativism" ( I don't disagree, on the contrary I would call it Reactionary as opposed to the actual tradition of Conservativism), things like Pepe, Jordan Peterson and his followers, Milo Yiannopoulos (remember him? Reactionary transgression personified), Gamergate (the gift that keeps on giving) and so on
@@PlaguedbyVisions I mean, to many many people, Trump is seen as THE transgressive voice. What Slavoj Zizek calls "the Obscene Master". Here he means "obscene" in a Freudian sense. Trump as the voice of the obscene superego, normally not spoken so loud and in public, but taken as "understood". Some people call it "saying the quiet parts out loud".
See, the definitions of transgression that I lay out are the kind defined under a postcolonial lens: That WE, the marginalized, reside at the true fringes of a white-made society. Therefore, when I use the term transgression, I am referring to the kind that threatens this status quo. Of course, “transgression” can still refer to the other side on some definitions, like you said re: Trump, but it’s just my knowledge and belief that the real definition of transgression lies within its power: Transgression from the white status quo side is usually flimsy and malformed because it is only used to transgress vicariously, whereas the other side is used to deconstruct, critique, and question the concepts of violence and abuse central to transgression-truly dangerous, therefore truly powerful, therefore true transgression. That is the type of transgression which we need more of today!
@@PlaguedbyVisions Ok, I think I understand you here. I'm not seeing any mention of Capitalism. Would you be amenable to an anti-Capitalist position as being the sine qua non of any movements concerned with issues of "justice" (a difficult concept), inequality, and poverty? To me these are fundamental. Of course, not everything Capitalism does is villainous. It's amoral. We need to do away with a moralistic understanding of politics. Always be doing Materialism.
salo is the only one I seen. I downloaded it it like 20 years ago when I was in my twenties and didn’t get it so it was like meh to me. I’m interested to try and watch all the other ones tho!
Passion of the Christ is a great pick. Interestingly I have not seen it. It’s been on my todo list but never got around to it. But the religious traumatic experience which you personally got to endure first hand as a child (lucky you 😢), has always made the film seem uniquely disturbing in a way only the instinctually obvious perverse experience of something related to faith and our idea of the Good, not unlike the Church SA cases with Priests as perpetrators, where you can imagine how much of a scaring system shock the process of disillusionment a child feeling violated by a religious authority must feel. I imagine the film Passion being capable of a different brand of disillusionment or maybe not at all, but certainly a transformation that cuts to the core and can have the power to modify “faith” into something more grotesque and even more unhelpful than it usually would be sans Mel Gibson.
I had a bit similiar experience with watching The Passion of Christ, althought it was only the whipping scene- it was shown to be by a priest during religion lesson when I was about 11/12 yo. It was enough to discourage me from watching the full movie till this day 🤣
My German film class actually showed the part of Benny's Video where he is watching the clip of the pig being slaughtered repeatedly and it was the first time my life I became physically nauseous and dizzy from watching a film. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and just had to just stare at my desk for the rest of the clip. I've never been able to watch the whole movie since then because it was such an uncomfortable experience lol However, I still feel there is a lot of value in films that can give you such a visceral and uncomfortable feeling like that. I can definitely agree with its spot on the list! 😅 Great video as always!
@@PlaguedbyVisions Oh yes, that class was wild lol I also watched the whole Perfume movie about the guy who kills women and turns them into perfume fragrances for that class. It was definitely one of the most memorable classes I ever took. Thanks for the reply!
Juan, this is such a terrific video. I've lost count of the number of 'Most Disturbing Films' videos I've watched on UA-cam, and this is perhaps the most diverse, thoughtful and unique video of this nature I've seen. The ones I've seen I totally agree with you on, and I'm really excited to watch Pixote and Canoa ASAP, so thank you for introducing me to a couple of new ones I'd never heard of too!
Thank you so much, David! I’m super late getting back to comments, but I hope you were able to watch Pixote and Canoa! Let me know!
Wake up babe, Plagued by Visions just dropped a new video!
😂❤️
Mysterious Skin is a masterpiece. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet do incredible work. It's such a heartbreaking, upsetting film and yet I've watched it multiple times--I keep getting drawn back to the story, despite how upsetting it is.
I think precisely what’s so disturbing about it is that its characters are so likable and alluring. Such a heartache of a film!
I'm 50 and my country was under Soviet rule for 40 years. In elementary school it was mandatory for grade 7-8 students to watch Come And See. As an adult I salute that masterpiece. As a 13 years old girl I was terrified. Thank you for that video.
That’s fascinating! I had no idea the film had been used for educational purposes. I think I would’ve been traumatized watching that at school.
@@PlaguedbyVisions same happened to me , it is really tough. But, yes, it is an amazing movie.
watching that film years ago was so unbelievably gruelling but by the end all I felt was love for humanity if that makes sense. I can't imagine what it was like watching it at that age!
They showed The Passion of The Christ at the church my parents went to (and dragged me along to) when it came out, I was like 9 and absolutely horrified. I remember walking out of the auditorium before it ended, extremely upset and confused. It's so interesting to me that we had a similar experience with that, it's stayed with me all these years later. Religion! Catholicism! Guilt!
I had a similar experience, we went to watch it in the cinema as a school trip! (catholic school obviously)
King, there’s been quite a few other people in the comments who have also said they were forced to watch it as kids. Wtf is wrong with all our parents? Lmao. I just remember, even back then, feeling like, “What was even the point?” Add it to our list of garbage extreme horror.
Nietzsche was right about the cruelty and sadism/masochism at the heart of Christianity and Christendom.
I’m so glad you put The Passion of the Christ on this list. If I were to make a list of my own, Passion of the Christ would make it onto that list. I was made to watch this as a 12 year old girl. I was made to believe that my soul and my ancestors did this to this “man.” I felt guilt, shame, disgust, anguish, extreme empathy, and genuine, real gut-wrenching pain for this man, and it makes it even worse that this man was meant to by OUR MESSIAH?! This was introduced to me way too early in life and the concept was way beyond my understanding of what I was watching. I’m so glad you brought this one up. I thought I was the only one genuinely disturbed by this.
I was pleasantly surprised to read a couple of other comments on here that also had a similar experience with this film. It is definitely culturally disturbing-what it represents, how it was handled, and the audiences it was forced onto. You are not alone! The film represents a lot of cultural ugliness for sure.
Come and See really is probably the greatest war movie ever made. (And thanks a ton to whoever finally uploaded the film to UA-cam so I could finally watch it! 😍) I have to say I didn't find it disturbing so much as just depressing. Saving Private Ryan is far more visceral and graphic, and yet the slow degradation of a young boy's psyche and the relentless inhumanity is far more haunting. And the ending to that movie is one of the greatest ever filmed, bar none.
I can definitely see the depressing angle-but I guess bleakness and depression can be equally considered rattling and “disturbing” emotions. I recall most thinking that the ending was a perfect encapsulation of the human condition: confusion, compassion, seething anger, overbearing despair. Beautiful film.
The barn scene.......
I watched Mysterious Skin at the theater, cold as probably most of the rest of the viewers. Mannnnnnn we were left squirming in our seats at times. The story of a kid that has pushed his trauma back so far in his mind, and changes his memory as a way of protecting him. I thought that was fascinating. One kid living with it. One hiding it deep in his mind.
Such a heartbreaking, ugly thing. I don’t think I could ever watch it again.
This is a very refreshing and incredible list! Discovering Benny’s video as a teenager (along with I Stand Alone, which I first viewed at my grandparents house) was the gateway to many truly haunting and powerful films like Mysterious Skin. I think your picks are truly much more disturbing than something like A Serbian Film, as these picks have a palpable humanity and sincerity to them. I don’t think a film like I Stand Alone would be as riveting as it is if it weren’t for a desire to understand or even just observe a flawed human man, without any type of hesitation.
Thank you so much for watching! And I completely agree with your comment. So many “disturbing” filmmakers take the route of exploring what cinema can “show,” but those that take the route of what cinema can “evoke” tend to leave a deeper mark, at least for me.
No need to apologize! Your glasses are rad....damn...I fell for an ad. But because I fell from the ad I did not skip it lol.
Come and See is SOOO good and really gets into your heart/soul. The ending of that movie will never leave me.
Men Behind the Sun is still for me probably the most disturbing film I've ever seen....I don't think I finished it.
A lot of these films I have not seen. Begotten I've only seen some clips from. Benny's Video is one of the Haneke films I've not seen, my favourite of his work is Caché which seems to tackle a lot of similar themes. Canoa is one I've missed as well. I Stand Alone is one I've not seen either despite again being familiar with quite a few NOE films.
Mysterious Skin sounds a lot like 'The Tale' have you ever seen that one? Those films are really tough to watch. I don't think I'll ever watch Passion of the Christ but your reading of it and the experience was excellent. I always thought that Salo sounded...well kind of boring and didn't seem to have much to it other than being offensive...I don't really know if I will ever watch it but you make a good argument in its favor!
I was wondering how I would compare haha and unsurprisingly you have a much muuuuch deeper knowledge in all things transgressive. 1 out of the 10 I've seen lol.
Great video!
Ha! BUY GLASSES! BUY BUY BUY!
Men Behind the Sun is most definitely disturbing. I would include it in a top 15 for sure. I haven’t seen it since my adolescence, and I’ll probably keep it that way.
I definitely have to check out the Tale! But as with all these films, it’ll have to be for a clearer mindset. I absolutely recommend Canoa if you’re not familiar with it!
Wow, 1 out of 10? I feel like a degenerate lmao.
Omg!! Mysterious Skin!! FINALLY!!! Finally someone puts this on their list of most disturbing movies!! This movie has always been on my list ever since the first time I watched it. It is such a traumatic watch for me that I’ve only seen it twice and I honestly don’t know if I could watch it a third time. It’s so well done and acted that it makes it so real for me. I love/hate this movie and I am so glad someone finally is talking about it. It needs to be watched and experienced. Thank you!
Absolutely, it is such a devastating, yet refined and brilliantly acted film. It’s such a professional depiction of such horrid abuse.
Hi Juan, I always enjoy when you talk about Spanish literature (and now film) mainly because it's media I'm separated from with a language barrier. Do you have a list of disturbing Spanish works?
Hi, there! The third part of my “Most Disturbing Books” series is entirely made of Latin American disturbing books. Of course, here I covered Canoa and Orozco the Embalmer, but other disturbing films in Spanish:
Las Poquianchis
Tras el cristal
Amores perros
I think you'd like the podcast Live At The Death Factory, largely focuses on films like this but doesn't go for obvious choices
Thank you for the recommendation! I’m just now getting more into podcasts, so this comes at quite an opportune time!
I've watched my fair share of disturbing movie lists and I was happy to see a couple titles on here even I didn't know! Your explanation of each film and how it disturbs you was really great as well. It's great to see the Haneke shoutout. While I haven't seen I Stand Alone, The Piano Teacher and Caché truly distressed me. Come and See is one of the most harrowing films I have ever watched; I get chills even looking at the name. It's one of the only movies that truly depicts the raw suffering of war.
I have quite a few favorite disturbing films. Martyrs is my most cliché pick. It's infamous for it's gore although I believe people underappreciate the horrifying narrative on trauma, cycles of abuse, and power. The ending song "Your Witness" never fails to make me shiver. Dancer in the Dark by Lars Von Trier is easily one of the most depressing and bizarre films I've ever seen. It perfectly depicts the American dream vs. the American reality in the most disturbing narrative possible. For documentaries, The Act of Killing (about the genocide of communists in Indonesia) and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (this one you just have to watch) both upset me like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. I could go on and on though, so I'll stop here.
Happy to see you talk about film! Your content on disturbing and horrifying litterature is top tier and has encouraged me to read more, but I'd be elated to see you talk more about film as well. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for watching! Dancer in the Dark was actually going to be one of my picks! It would totally make a top 15. The ending left me completely frozen. Very few films have done that to me. I will absolutely have to check out those documentaries you mentioned!
I had the opportunity to meet Joshua Oppenheimer years ago, back at a screening of the director's cut of The Act of Killing at my uni (thanks to my Indonesian history/anthropology professor). He was a very candid, open man. Apparently, he was still in touch with Anwar Congo via e-mail at the time, which really makes you wonder what the hell those two talked about together. This was back in 2014 or so. Congo is dead now.
I've watched the film several times since then. And each time, it gets more and more unsettling because you start picking up on bits and pieces of how the minds of the New Order paramilitary leaders worked during the mass killings. Then you begin to question whether your perception of these people really holds true. The Act of Killing does something very unusual in that it blends possible fiction with honest documentation so that the entire tapestry of the film begins to feel like a very, very bad dream. It's like a surrealist film in reverse. The one other film that comes to mind at the moment which achieves a somewhat similar effect is Harmony Korine's Gummo, because the film organically weaves real people living in their lived destitution with a wandering Korine narrative - to feverish effect. That, and the story is more or less told through the eyes and volition of the cast themselves.
The video I've been waiting for! Love your unique perspectives.
Glad to deliver! Thank you so much for watching!
Hey Juan! Good to see you. Glad you're back! :)
Hey, Joe! Thank you for watching!
i really loved this video and the list you put together. you do such an excellent job of summarizing in detail without spoiling. i definitely will be checking out some of these. thanks for another great video, juan!! 👍
Thank you so much for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed. I do always try to avoid spoilers. I prefer reeling in curiosity by articulating how messed up something is. 😂
I find The Accused w/Jodie Foster to be EXTREMELY disturbing. It’s so visceral it’s almost too much.
I’ve never heard of this one! Do you know if it’s streaming anywhere?
@@PlaguedbyVisions it is available on amazon streaming right now. I feel like I should tell you though, There is a really really graphic depiction of sexual violence. but it is a very powerful movie that will probably stay with you.
poop the movie really got me hooting and hollering
The feel-good Shit of the Summer!
i love your videos so much!!!! keep up the amazing work 🥰
Thank you so much! I’ll do it for you. ❤️
You should watch a movie called threads. It’s one of the most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen and it’s free to watch on UA-cam. I won’t tell you what it’s about because it’s better to go in blind
I’ve heard of this one but never managed to sit down and watch it. I shall search for it on here! Thank you!
@@PlaguedbyVisions it’s really good but it will ruin your day and really make you think
Threads is a masterpiece. Might be a little bit over the top in some aspects, but it’s still the most realistic depiction of the subject in media…
I enjoy Begotten for that otherworldly feel. I'm happy to see it mentioned. I also want to thank you for mentioning Canoa. It seems apt at this time. I need to see it.
Canoa is phenomenal! It truly leaves you speechless at the end.
Benny's Video, Come and See, I Stand Alone, and Mysterious Skin are all films that I adore. Haneke is one of my favorite film makers and Benny's video is truly an exceptional beat into the mind of a sociopathic child. It's a very difficult and unsettling point of view to watch from and that certainly makes it most effective. I am always trying to get people to watch Haneke's The Seventh Continent, so if you haven't seen that, please do. It is disturbing in the way Haneke is so often, but I wouldn't expect it to hit like Benny 's Video or Funny Games does. It's a subtler form of disturbing, and maybe I love it that much more for it.
I have seen Begotten, but I can't say that I'm a fan of the movie, I do appreciate Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire (and still want Willem Dafoe to play Nosferatu in an actual remake). I think I love Begotten in concept more than execution. The work put in, and the entire aesthetic just seems like something I'd love, but it didn't take long for me to be completely bored by my inability to decipher much of what was happening on screen. In some sense the abstract nature of it was interesting, but not enough to hold me. It has been many years since I've attempted so maybe I should give it another shot. It does have great visuals for background content though...
I have been putting off Salo for a number of years, and my girlfriend just synchronistically discovered its existence two days ago. She's demanding to see it now, and since it is the ultimate date movie, I think I will have to oblige her.
Passion of the Christ...I think my history with it is similar to yours, and I love the way you describe your feelings about the hypocrisy in it all. As far as my current feelings go, I hate it.
You have inspired me to watch Canoa and Pixote, those both seem like films I would really get into. Orozco feels like it might actually be around my limit. I started watching Stan Brakhage's The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (which is his filming of a literal autopsy) and that was too much for me. I let it play through the whole duration of the film, but I looked away too much to consider it "seen". I did appreciate the angles he took as many of them were artfully done, which makes sense, but it was just too much. I've seen dead bodies in person and it's my limit...but I still find it fascinating on some level. Maybe I will be able to work myself up to it someday. It does make me a little nauseous just thinking about it.
I apologize for the overly long comment. I love this video, just as I love all your videos. Thank you for being such a unique voice on the youtubes, Juan. You're fantastic.
-Brandon
Absolutely no worries about long comments! I will have to check out that Haneke you mentioned. I have not seen it! And Begotten, I think, definitely requires a specific mindset. I also watched it when I was first getting into more transgressive cinema, so maybe it left a bigger impact on me for that reason.
Yeah, if autopsy footage is too much for you, definitely don’t watch Orozco! But I highly recommend Canoa and Pixote. They are incredible!
I really don't get why people consider Saló as one of the most disturbing films ever. If you are old and saw the movie back then, surely it probably is the most disturbing thing you ever saw, but after a lot of productions made in the 80's (some even in the 70's and previously that are less talked about due to their obscurity), this movie just looks like a poorly made fetiche porn.
If you’re just looking for poorly made fetish porn, that’s all you’ll get for sure.
Because of this video, I watched Canoa and Pixote, both films I had never heard of prior to hearing you talk about them. They were astonishing watches. Thank you for bringing them to my attention!! I never would have seen them otherwise.
My honor and pleasure! Latin American cinema is BRUTAL!
Thank you for the list Juan. I hadn’t heard of most of these films and I am very curious to check them out. I would love to see you make more videos about film.
Thank you so much for watching! I definitely plan to cover more film in the future. I hope you “enjoy” whichever films you choose to check out!
Some of the most disturbing films I've seen are definitely Requiem for a Dream, for how extremely bleak the film is and the very, very intense sequence at the end, Grave of the Fireflies, again because of the extreme bleakness and because from the start of the film you already know how it is going to end, Happiness (1998), for showing some very disturbing and unsettling scenes and interactions in such an ironically happy, almost sitcom-like fashion, and Son of Saul (of which I'm wondering if you've seen it), for its terrifyingly close, claustrophobic and unflinching view of a concentration camp, all through the eyes of someone in the Sonderkommando who has emotionally died a while ago. I saw Son of Saul with my dad in the cinema, and the first 30-ish minutes were so intense that I thought to myself that if the film continues like that throughout the whole thing, I wouldn't be able to finish it.
Son of Saul is the only one I haven’t seen out of the ones you mentioned, and it sounds like I absolutely need to stop everything and watch it!
@@PlaguedbyVisions You really should! (As long as you're in the right headspace for it.) And if you at some point do watch it, I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it!
Requiem for a Dream is one of my favorite disturbing movies. It’s definitely the most realistic movie about drug addiction that I’ve seen. Just scrap the DARE program and have the kids sit through that. I bet it’ll be more effective at keeping kids away from hard drugs
Come and See is absolutely devastating. There are definitely scenes I wish I could unsee. 😢
I think it’s the brief, non-graphic snippets of a murdered family or war crimes that will stay with me longer than any graphic beheading scene in a horror film. 😶
Wow Passion of the Christ was extreme. I also watched at the theater. In San Antonio a very Catholic city. I watched it twice in then theater and both showings were incredible in how the people reacted to it, wailing, crying, calling out “my señor! Mi cristo!” Loud and many of them. It was really eye opening and one of the great theater experiences i’ve had.
That was very similar to my experience! 😭 I remember older ladies crying for sure.
So happy to see so many of my faves on here! (mainly Come And See, that movie gripped me so much)
I have a small question for you, Juan, and for everyone who would like to answer, and maybe it's a stupid one but I'm genuinely curious and would love to hear your thoughts on it: since you talked about Pixote (which I love, well, "love" might be a strong word for almost every movie here), what do you think about directors that document these harsh realities in regards to actually helping the people directly involved in them after they made the movie/documentary? I mean, I get it, uncovering horrible situations such as these definitely sheds a light in the eyes of the public, but given that the ones in power almost never care about them either way, when I watch movies like these I always feel like there's more that could be done from the director and the producers' part, things like using part of the proceeds from the movie to concretely help. I really can't find examples in which this concrete help has been given, and if you know of some director that went and did it I would be so happy to stand corrected! Another movie that comes to mind is "Til Madness Do Us Part" which documents the horrible conditions in which patients are kept in a mental insitution in Yunnan, China. Not even gonna touch on the Mondo documentaries cause we all know Giacopetti and Prosperi were two rac!st pieces of sh!t and straight up exploited the fear of the diverse to shock, we know they wouldn't have done anything to help anyway lol.
I hope I have explained myself well, great video as always! Catching up on all of your older stuff as I found your channel only two weeks ago and I love it!
Thank you so much for watching, and this absolutely an important question to ask, but also difficult to answer, as it goes by a case-by-case basis. I’m certain actors in films like Pixote were compensated to some extent, but perhaps not nearly enough to aid in their living situation. As far as charity work, I do know Babenco was involved in some of it, but sadly, there’s only so much that a director can do. It is certainly despicable to document and disclose a harsh reality for the sole purpose of being exploitative, and I also think that the tone of the film should reflect that. In Pixote, we get an honest and heartfelt documentation, which feels like a gift in and of itself, even if sadly, directors and producers don’t have much else to gift.
@@PlaguedbyVisions thank you so much for such a complete and honest answer! It's a topic I think about frequently when watching these movies, and since almost none of my friends dabble in these kinda things it's always difficult to discuss the topic this extensively. And I'm glad I learned something so positive about Babenco that I didn't know! Keep up the good work, your videos are already lengthening my TBR list by a mile!
The Pig scene in Benny’s Game sounds suspiciously similar to the short story “videotape” by Don Delillo
Excellent list! I'd definitely recommend more of Haneke's films, The Seventh Continent left me wrecked for weeks.
This has been recommended to me many times! I need to be in the right mood, though. 😂
Great descriptions and recommendations. I really like how you handled this topic.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!
So glad you've included Benny's Video. I was going to recommend it to you the second I saw the title of this video! So glad to hear your take on it. 😊
It’s one of the greats! I’ve yet to watch anything by Haneke that disappoints.
@@PlaguedbyVisions yes I feel the same ☺️💜💜
Never heard of Canoa and Pixote. Thanks for the recommendations, I'm going to watch them very soon :) Was expecting to see Martyrs on this list. Ever heard of it?
Of course I’ve seen Martyrs! And I hope you got around to watching the other two!
This was a great list and some of the picks were really fascinating! I have only seen Benny's Video, Mysterious Skin, The Passion of the Christ and Salo of the ones you picked. Your point about Benny's Video being ahead of it's time with the mediation of reality through screens really made me wanna rewatch that movie.
For myself, the most disturbing movie experience was watching Antichrist at 18 years old on a terrible hangover morning. Back then, I promised myself I would never watch it again. Whaddaya know, last week I stumbled it in library and decided to give it a go. Still haven't had the guts to put in my player, though 😅
Perhaps my "favorite" disturbing movie still has to be Cannibal Holocaust. For some reason, I find it fascinatingly beautiful film and every time I watch it, the movie just leaves me floored and speechless.
Thank you so much, Santeri! I definitely recommend the rest of the films, but approach with caution, of course! I’m wondering if you ended up working up the guts to rewatch Antichrist, haha. That and Cannibal Holocaust are definitely “watch it once and I’m good” films for me, but now I’m wondering what a rewatch would do for me.
i just discovered ur channel one video before this one (the first was about "pure") and man i wish i found ur channel sooner ! gr8 content man just subbed
Well, it’s never too late to join the Vision Hive! Thank you so much for watching!
I personally have 8/10 of your movies listed, and I love that you talked about Orozco, but I think Jorg Buttgereit's Der Todesking is one that you should watch, if you didn't. More than you know, the gore (Jorg is also the director of Nekromantik), the base theme is what it makes it a full disturbing movie, especially the "Thursday" segment.
I did watch this one! I’m sad to say I wasn’t a big fan ☹️ but I am indeed a big fan of Nekromantik!
Really liked the list. You gave me a few that weren't on my radar.
I recommend to you "Snowtown" aka "The Snowtown Murders" (2011).
It's based off true events in Australia about the victims of sexual assault teaming up with a man who organized the hunting and killing of the offenders. It's about the effects that trauma on the community and individual and it shows how that damage spreads in disturbing ways. It's really heartbreaking and brutal. Not for the faint of heart.
Thank you so much for the recommendation and for watching!
When we needed him the most… he returned! And with a sponsorship?! 😱 Content King!
OMG I HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WITH PASSION OF THE CHRIST! My aunt showed it to us as kids because she wanted us to get some context for Easter… Someone ought to have called CPS. 🤣
Catholic parents really were wilding, weren’t they?
Thank you so much for this list. Many of these films i have not seen yet and i want to see them. I agree with you about Salo.
I remember my friends older brothers coming home from the Vietnam War and telling of atrocities done to the poor farmers. I would have absolutely lost my mind if i were there. I thank the Great Spirit i just missed being drafted.
One film that got to me was the original Last House on the Left. It was filmed in a way that to me, seemed like a documentary. Like i was there with the girls in the first half of the movie. Like it was really happening, the cruelty. It had scenes cut out & edited. i have seeked out as best i could, uncut versions as i could find them because it fascinates and horrifies me still.
I’ve previously talked about The Last House on the Left, as it is one of my favorite films. I’ve heard from people who grew up in the 70s that it is an incredibly accurate depiction of the rotted ecosystem of the US during its time.
loving your content so far and wish you the best❤
my engelish language is not strong to say much i just wanted to say your the best
Your English is perfect! Thank you so much!
That's a good list of disturbing films. There are some that I would add, Ghosts of the Civil Dead is an Australian prison film made in the 1990s with a screenplay partially written by Nick Cave. It was based on the writings of Jack Henry Abbot who is interesting to read about too.
The short films Fingered and The Right Side of My Brain by Richard Kern were part of the Cinema of Transgression movement of the 1980s. They are ugly, gut wrenching movies. His 10 minute film Submit to Me is really disturbing too even if it is really just a music video.
George Romero's Martin is what I always considered to be an existential vampire movie because there is no closure or resolution to the film. You never learn what the truth of the main character really is and the fact that you can feel sympathy for him at the end puts the viewer in an uncomfortable position. I think this was Romero's best film for a lot of other geeky film theory reasons that I won't go into here.
On a similar note, Alice Sweet Alice is maybe not disturbing but unsettling is a better way to put it. This probably only true for people who grew up Catholic in the New York/New Jersey/east Pennsylvania region
There is a very neglected, underrated, and misunderstood movie called Trouble Every Day that is the bloodiest movie I have ever seen. The symbolism of the movie is all about sexual predation in both men and women and poses some uncomfortable questions about sexuality. Most people just think it is over the top violence but I think there is a deeper meaning to the movie that people don't often see. Also it stars Vincent Gallo which makes it even harder to watch.
There is a Thai movie called Slice that is quite dark too. Sometimes it is also called Cut and the title in Thai is Chuen. It is an LBGTQ film about a detective hunting down a serial killer. It is more disturbing at an emotional level than anything.
David Lynch's Eraserhead is pretty bad if you watch it at the wrong time of your life. If you read it as the baby being a symbol of Henry's isolation, inadequacy, and alienation from society it can be a real downer. Blue Velvet is still really disturbing to me also, more because of the subtexts than the violence and character of Frank Booth, i.e. Dorothy Vallens is complicit in her own victimization and Jeffrey has to realize that he could easily become just like Frank etc.
Really if you want something that will give you nightmares for years, try watching Barney's Big Adventure. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to watch this if you have taken more than 10 hits of acid. The kinds of people who think up this stuff are monsters of the lowest order and deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives.
Wow! Thank you for such an extensive recommendation list! I did cover Alice, Sweet Alice in another video. It is one of my favorite horror films, and it absolutely has a “look” to it that feels eerie and disturbing. I wasn’t a big fan of Trouble Every Day myself, but your assessment makes me want to rewatch to see what more I can get out of it. Eraserhead is, of course, a true classic. Martin is definitely unsettling! And absolutely depressing. The isolation in that film is unreal.
The others I have not seen, and will absolutely have to check them out! And I wouldn’t touch the Barney movie with a 20-foot pole.
I was really waiting for this!
Come and See is one of my favorite movies and I don't think I'll watch it in a long time. One time was enough. It's so haunting.
That’s definitely one of those films. 😂 But man, I stand by the fact that it’s so beautifully shot. Remembering some of its cinematography does make me want to rewatch it… but I’m not ready lol.
Just noticed the lil gizmo in the back, I love that 💛💛💛
He’s an icon!
there is this one german movie i watched a while ago called system crasher. it was unbearable to watch for me (although i did finish it). the trailer made it seem like a wholesome, feel-good story. but it was pretty violent. the kid is complete chaos. lots of blood, consequences, physical attacks, screaming. it truly disturbed me.
This sounds incredible.
Hey, a Mo Hayder fan ! The Treatment was intense!
The Treatment was most definitely even more revolting than Birdman. I really need to read the rest of the Jack Caffery series!
Come and See has haunted me since seeing it. That young man aged 60 years in just a few hours. When he and the girl return home and he runs by and she notices all the bodies...or when he's shooting the gun at the end and can't keep shooting when there's a photo of hitler as a baby and he cries...Then he joins the army after an even younger boy walks by with a gun. I'M SHOOK.
I have only seen The Passion after eating edibles one time. Gotta say that was an experience.
Yes, the final sequence of Come and See is one of the best I’ve seen of any film, ever. So haunting, and evocative without showing much. That’s the brilliance of images on celluloid. If I watched anything hyperviolent while on edibles, I would die. 😂
💩 This was absolutely brilliant. Dude your film analysis skills-I’m just floored. You should be a commentator on like those film documentaries they have on Shudder.
Quite a few on here I want to check out and some honestly I know I just can’t lol. You made a lot of great points, the one that stuck out to me most was when you talked about the Passion of the Christ. It’s interesting how a film can affect us in different ways depending our own backgrounds/circumstances. I have some “religious trauma” and I often approach movies with religious themes differently, like I’ll watch them but I have to be in a certain headspace.
Thank you so much for such kind words! I really appreciate the kind compliments. I feel the same regarding religious films. They just have such a long legacy of trauma and injury…
I’m fairly surprised MARTYRS wasn’t on the list. One of he most unflinchingly disturbing films I can remember. I’ll have to watch a few of these if I care to see the extreme.
Martyrs is a cool film, but for my list, as I explained at the beginning, I tried to avoid the more “extreme” picks and opted for more psychologically disturbing cinema.
I have that same criterion of Salo and oh boy is it awkward explaining what that movie is about when a friend goes through the movie shelf and sees it
I'm so glad Mysterious Skin has managed to stay relevant. It was so sadly overlooked at release because I think not many people were ready for the conversation then, but it's power resonates all these years later. Not my favorite Araki film, but, probably his best work.
Anyway, I loved your approach to this list. Well done!
Thank you so much for watching! Most definitely, I think it’s one of the most painfully heartfelt films of its time. I definitely don’t think I’ll watch it again soon, but it’s definitely an amazing film and deserves recognition!
I remember seeing the Passion with some friends and all of us sat and cried during that movie. I told everyone I knew, do not go into this if you are squeemish
Better than Hostel!
Great list! Come and See is a super heavy film. There’s a movie called “In a glass cage” I just heard about. Seems disturbing I’m looking forward to watching it
Tras el cristal is incredible! I hope you did end up watching it. I highly recommend it.
hi Juan! great vid as always, how about a "top 10 most disgusting movies I have seen" list in the future? I'd love to see your picks :) take care buddy
Ah, this is a great idea. I’ll see what I can come up with. Thank you for the suggestion!
My favorite horror movie is Posession. Have you seen it?
Yes, I have! There’s a video I made last year titled “Summer Bodies” (it was all about body horror) where I briefly talked about it, if you’re interested!
Angel's Melancholy is terribly disturbing and beautifully shot, definitely inspired by Salo.
I have not heard of it! Sounds cool.
@@PlaguedbyVisions Warning: You can't wash your eyes of it.
@chrismorgan7494 🫡🫡🫡
For me The most disturbing scene of Passion of the Christ was the flyblown sheep Judas has the pleasure of hanging next to. However I eventually die, please don't let it be near a decomposing, flyblown, maggoty sheep. Oughh, the sound!
I love Come and See! Amazing young star. ❤
My favorite scene from Passion of the Christ was the end credits.
Kravchenko’s performance was true to the word “spellbinding.”
Loved your take on the passion, didn't realize it came out the same year as saw and hostile. Idk if you are doing a series of this or adding viewer subs but The Poughkeepsie tapes is disturbing in a similar way to these, more in concept than graphic stuff.
That’s an excellent idea! I think a follow-up with viewers’ picks would be cool. And yes, Passion of the Christ outdid them all! 😂
Goat Story the animated children's movie (Kurtis Conner made a video about it and now it lives rent free in my head)
I was forced to watch The Passion of the Christ when it came out, at Religion class. We were all around 10 years old too. I remember feeling sweaty and uncomfortable while fidgeting, my head palpitating. This was in a Latin American country also. What the hell.
We need to start a therapy group fr
I also saw Passion of the Christ in theaters with my parents as a child and man... I was way to young to handle that lol Funnily enough though, we actually got interviewed by the local newspaper in our town about our reaction to the film as we were leaving the theater and my dad got quoted in the article. It was a surreal day for sure 😅
What a memorable experience! 😂 The Passion of the Christ seems to have marked many of us.
Watched The Treatment yesterday, that was a fucked up one and really depressing.
Angst and Nothing Bad Can Happen are some disturbing ones that I plan on never watching again.
Thank you so much for the recommendations!
Most disturbing film for me was definitely Julian Donkey Boy by Harmony Korine. My reasoning is unorthodox, and it's definitely the spectacle it provides into the world of it's characters. I saw the movie about a year after my first encounter with psychedelics, I had experienced a bad trip before, and then seeing this reminded me of the experience heavily.
Ah, I almost included Gummo on this list, but ultimately decided it’s more strange and fascinating than disturbing. Same for Julien Donkey Boy, but I can absolutely see why it would be disturbing given your experience. Harmony Korine is one of the most honest artists out there. Have you read his book. a Crack Up at the Race Riots?
@@PlaguedbyVisions I actually have read that book! It was a year ago while we were on our senior trip, great read!
Tod Solondz's 1998 film Happiness is in my top 5 favourite films and definitely disturbing in the most unconventional of ways. It'sa dark comedy that follows the lives of a bunch of people trying to find happiness.
Ari Aster's 2012 short film The strange thing about the Johnsons. Flipping the script on the usual disturbing narrative of child abuse. Coming in at only 30mins it packs a harder punch than most disturbing 1h30min films.
(Spoilers for Pink Flamingos)
Pink Flamingos by John Waters 1972 is infamous for the dog shit eating scene at the end. I found the majority of the movie hilarious but two scenes disturbed me greatly. The first scene is of two people having sex in a stable and there's chickens involved....No beastiality and the chickens killed were later eaten (which is good I guess?). I fast forwarded through this scene because it seemed never ending to me. The second scene was of two actresses playing kidnapped drug addicts but the acting was... Bad... Looking into the camera bad... And the material they were trying to convey was so serious and depressing that it felt almost disrespectful.
The adventures of sharkboy and lavagirl by Robert Rodriguez made in 2005. So I was about 7 or 8. This was the first 3D movie I ever 'saw'. The title is shown in the beginning and a shark swims out of the screen. I was terrified to my core. I couldn't believe a shark had just come out of the screen straight at me. I watched the rest of the movie (basically the whole movie) without the cardboard 3D glasses because the shark was just too scary.
I have watched and enjoyed every film you mentioned except for Shark Boy and Lava Girl 😂 I had a similar experience (but not as disturbing) watching that hyperrealistic Disney Dinosaurs movie.
Happiness is absolutely hysterical! It is the embodiment of “there’s nothing left but to laugh.” I have watched it maybe three times.
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons was pretty messed up and transgressive. I did like it, except I think the over-the-top ending sort of deflated a lot of the tension and ugliness built throughout.
Multiple Maniacs is my favorite John Waters, but Pink Flamingos will always hold a crown in the pantheon of daring cinema.
@@PlaguedbyVisions I've been bragging all day that a famous UA-camr replied to my comment. Just want to let you know that because of your channel I have been reading more and increasing my vocabulary and mindset. Love the videos and I wish you well!
Haha, I am so not famous! And I try to reply to every comment, but thank you for such kind and supportive words! Sincerely, they mean the world to me. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the videos! I’m currently working on another gruesome top 10, so stay tuned!
I had a very similar experience with Passion of the Christ. Raised by evangelical Christians, I and my sisters (9, 11, and 12 at the time) were expected to watch this film, in theaters, so we could "understand what Jesus went through for" for us. I watched through my hands for the majority of the film, and had nightmares for years- of the violence, of the devil, etc. It also served as a moment of clarity for me. Up until that point I trusted my parent's guidance, particularly their spiritual guidance, without question. But it was so clear after they took me to that movie that they had made an enormous mistake, done something completely inappropriate and unsafe for me as a child. It was a moment where I started seeing my parents as flawed individuals instead of perfect moral compasses, and one where I began to question my faith, ironically. It was also an experience that put me on a path of exploring transgressive and disturbing media, because after so many years of nightmares, I set out to desensitize myself- perhaps it was my young brain's implementing exposure therapy.
Why would the realisation that your parents are flawed individuals make you question your faith? Our broken sinfulness is an axiom of Christianity. It is precisely what is taught in Christianity
@@tobetrayafriendthe main reasons Christianity is still relevant and even present in the continent of America is because of mass genocide and r@pe. Lol.
@PlaguedbyVisions "Lol"? Oh, I'm clearly dealing with an intellectual heavy weight. Also, if you're going to make demented claims, you should provide some evidentary support.
The Passion of the Christ is my favorite ever soundtrack. It’s haunting and beautiful.
I bet you are one of like, 6 or 7 people on Earth to have ever said that!
@@PlaguedbyVisions LOL, you may be correct, but it is a stunningly soundtrack.
Maybe I’ll give it a listen during a writing session!
It was written and preformed by Peter Gabriel.
Oh my word, I was talking about The Last Temptation of Christ. Totally different movie. My mistake.
Have you watched the film Fat Girl by Catherine Breillat? It is absolutely NOT what I expected. It's ending also left me with my jaw on the floor in shock and disgust. I will never watch it again. It's like a 90 minute depiction of female suffering.
Oh I know the film well. A masterpiece on showcasing how female dehumanization operates in our society.
Grt reviews man👍never heard about the Brazilian one ( gonna add it to my watch list).
Hope you enjoy, and thank you so much for watching!
You should look into the Chilean film "Trauma"
speaking of horrific documentaries, there isn't anything quite like Earthlings. Talk about man controlling every single animal on Earth...
Oh, this sounds intriguing! I have not heard of it.
Well, my criterion channel tbw just got even sadder 😂
Seriously tho, loved this. Thank you so much for not including Human Centipede.
Thank you so much for watching, Eve! Human Centipede was funny for like 30 seconds. That’s about all I have to say for it.
ah, Poop: the Movie. what a classic.
So many people say it stinks, but I will always defend its merits.
I actually watched Come and See in cinemas with my mom, such an intense masterpiece!
I think I would become physically sick!
Have you watched Cannibal (2006) by a german director Marian Dora?
I have not even heard of it! That title is definitely arresting.
My top 5 picks are:
01. Once Were Warriors (Warning: Sexual Violence)
02. The War Zone (Warning: Sexual Violence)
03. Saviour
04. The Piano Teacher
05. Man Behind the Sun
Bonus: Audition, Ma Mere, Eden Lake, Daniel & Ana, Fat Girl, and La Bete.
Of the ones you mentioned, I have seen: The Piano Teacher, Men Behind the Sun, Audition, Eden Lake, Fat Girl, and La Bete. I’m interested in the ones you mentioned in your top 5! Thanks for increasing the disturbing stuff I need to watch!
I don’t know if it constitutes a movie, but Afflicted (1996) was pretty disturbing
I looked it up, and all I had to read was “GG Allin” in order to agree with you. 😂
@@PlaguedbyVisions Ha! To be honest he's not even the most disturbing part.
We had, essentially, the exact same experience with Passion of the Christ. Funnily, my parents were raised Christian (one Baptist and French Catholic) but were not religious churchgoers themselves. They brought me to see it in theaters I would have been 9 or 10 years old. I couldn't believe they brought me to see it and just left it at that.
You, me, and several people in the comments have expressed this! Religious indoctrination is quite something, isn’t it?
Nice sponsor homie. I have finally seen something in your lists ;) I too saw The Passion of the christ as a kid lmaoo. #Mexican
With the tía saying “así pasó” 😂😂😂
Every hispanic household had a pirated DVD of the Passion of the Christ.
Some people were angry when I called Passion ‘Mad Max Beyond Gethsemane’.
This was an interesting video. I tried to think of the most disturbing movie I've ever seen. The Hills Have Eyes really got to me.
I watched the remake when I was around 11 or 12. I definitely grew up during very extreme times for cinema. 😂
Well, I guess I have a few movies to watch now.
Interesting list, keep it up!
Thank you so much for watching! I hope you get something profound out of whatever you choose to view.
I have read 120 days of sodom probably three times. It is worse every time. The movie is really hard to watch. Words are different than watching a person go through what they do.
I actually thought the book was a bit dull and, well… incomplete.
@@PlaguedbyVisions well, remembering some of the things that went on in the book. Maybe they missed a few classes of people to completely destroy.
I unironically think A Serbian Film is excellent. People are just so busy clutching their perls over perhaps two or three scenes that they fail to realize that the first half of the movie really is not graphic at all. It’s slowly building tension and displaying admittedly creepy and disturbing things but not in the graphic way (I’m thinking of the early scene where he’s watching a young girl licking a lollipop for instance). Annd I also think that the film really does not take itself as seriously as everyone seems to think. There’s a pretty major character who is the Director of a film who is constantly talking all sorts of lofty nonsense about art and how important and deep this film he’s making is, and I think it’s obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke that the filmmakers are making on themselves right? I mean I can go online but I just really think it has been unfairly ignored I was just being some “shock“ film
I honestly found it to mostly be a bore. And I think it WANTS to shock and nothing else.
I remember seeing the Passion in theaters and I cried so hard watching it just because of the brutality. In the end he isnt the weak looking Jesus on a cross you find in churches, he is a peice of bloody meat like Glen from the walking dead
I just remember feeling sick through the whole thing and having nightmares about the bald Satan chick.
Love to see a sponsored video 😁 hope you are approached by many, many more sponsors!
Also loved this list. Going to check out a few that I'd never seen or heard about before. Thank you for presenting this to us!
💩💩💩lol
Thank you so much! I’ve been approached by a few sponsors, but this is the only one that seemed truly relevant. We need those glasses to read! 😂 I hope you get something out of the films you choose to watch!
Late to the party. Passion of the Christ is the only movie off your list I’ve seen. It disturbed me so much I called my aunt who’s religious, to explain it to me. Her response was we’re all born sinners, he died for our sins. It’s what made me walk away for religion. No thanks!
LMFAO. A+ response. “Not dealing with that mess.”
Very tasteful list makes me want to check out some of the ones from latin america i havent seen. Came here after watching your video about pure. Easy subscribe. Great content.
I absolutely recommend Canoa and Pixote! And thank you so much for the kind words.
Ooh! A sponsor! Nice!
Salo...definitely not a "feel good" film. I think the fact that Pasolini was murdered before the film was released adds even more to it. There's a feeling that nobody should even be watching this. One also wonders what the rest of the "Trilogy of Death" would have been like.
Yeah, it really would’ve been amazing to witness where his cinematic philosophy was headed!
Excellent video. 20 years ago I would have immediately sought out all of these. Nowadays I’m far too old for that shit. I will never watch any of these films 😂 💩
PS your new specs really suit you
Oh, come on, Olly. You know you want to watch at least one of them! Let it be the Passion of the Christ. And thank you! Maybe GlassesUK will sponsor you soon! 😂
I feel like Hereditary and Midsommar were some of the most disturbing films I’ve seen. Also The Visit was also very disturbing, and that film had no violence in it until the very end.
The Visit was a lot of fun! I’m not the biggest fan of Midsommar, but Hereditary is definitely confrontational and uses horror masterfully!
after you have watched salo about 5 or 6 times you notice how really wonderful the photography and cinematography is.
Pasolini’s eye was so unique. I think that only makes it more disturbing. All these found-footage-style “disturbing” gore fests really lack visual interest to pull you in, in my opinion.
our teacher showed us The Passion in religious class in middle school... i remember vaguely how he said it was important for us to see it. he was a nutcase
Same experience here. We were showed this movie at school as well... I didn't think much of it back then although it was pretty shocking viewing, but thinking about it now, it seems pretty messed up to show this to young kids.
I’ve seen quite a few comments echoing what I said about the film. It really seems like this movie was used to traumatize so many of us! What an unhinged form of propaganda. Leave it to christianity…
You are so good at articulating yourself !
Thank you! I try. 😂
Lynch's "Eraserhead" and the BBC's TV film "Threads" are the only films to truly disturb me. Particularly "Threads".
I don't think that transgression is "radical" anymore. If anything, it's become a staple of certain reactionary cultural tendencies.
Oh, I think with the rising conservatism in the world, transgression is more essential now than ever!
@@PlaguedbyVisions Ok, can you give me an example?
I'm thinking of the Alt-Right and the early days of online "rising Conservativism" ( I don't disagree, on the contrary I would call it Reactionary as opposed to the actual tradition of Conservativism), things like Pepe, Jordan Peterson and his followers, Milo Yiannopoulos (remember him? Reactionary transgression personified), Gamergate (the gift that keeps on giving) and so on
@@PlaguedbyVisions I mean, to many many people, Trump is seen as THE transgressive voice. What Slavoj Zizek calls "the Obscene Master".
Here he means "obscene" in a Freudian sense. Trump as the voice of the obscene superego, normally not spoken so loud and in public, but taken as "understood". Some people call it "saying the quiet parts out loud".
See, the definitions of transgression that I lay out are the kind defined under a postcolonial lens: That WE, the marginalized, reside at the true fringes of a white-made society. Therefore, when I use the term transgression, I am referring to the kind that threatens this status quo. Of course, “transgression” can still refer to the other side on some definitions, like you said re: Trump, but it’s just my knowledge and belief that the real definition of transgression lies within its power: Transgression from the white status quo side is usually flimsy and malformed because it is only used to transgress vicariously, whereas the other side is used to deconstruct, critique, and question the concepts of violence and abuse central to transgression-truly dangerous, therefore truly powerful, therefore true transgression. That is the type of transgression which we need more of today!
@@PlaguedbyVisions Ok, I think I understand you here.
I'm not seeing any mention of Capitalism. Would you be amenable to an anti-Capitalist position as being the sine qua non of any movements concerned with issues of "justice" (a difficult concept), inequality, and poverty? To me these are fundamental.
Of course, not everything Capitalism does is villainous. It's amoral. We need to do away with a moralistic understanding of politics.
Always be doing Materialism.
salo is the only one I seen. I downloaded it it like 20 years ago when I was in my twenties and didn’t get it so it was like meh to me.
I’m interested to try and watch all the other ones tho!
It’s an interesting reaction to Salo to just be like, “I don’t get it.” 😂
Passion of the Christ is a great pick. Interestingly I have not seen it. It’s been on my todo list but never got around to it. But the religious traumatic experience which you personally got to endure first hand as a child (lucky you 😢), has always made the film seem uniquely disturbing in a way only the instinctually obvious perverse experience of something related to faith and our idea of the Good, not unlike the Church SA cases with Priests as perpetrators, where you can imagine how much of a scaring system shock the process of disillusionment a child feeling violated by a religious authority must feel. I imagine the film Passion being capable of a different brand of disillusionment or maybe not at all, but certainly a transformation that cuts to the core and can have the power to modify “faith” into something more grotesque and even more unhelpful than it usually would be sans Mel Gibson.
Indeed, it’s such a weird juncture, Christian indoctrination of children: Equal times victimizing them while making them feel worthless.
I had a bit similiar experience with watching The Passion of Christ, althought it was only the whipping scene- it was shown to be by a priest during religion lesson when I was about 11/12 yo. It was enough to discourage me from watching the full movie till this day 🤣
The Passion of the Christ made me atheist and I am so grateful for it. 😂😂😂
have you read the book THE GREAT GOD PAN, its horror, thought you will like it. to me it was like reading someones dreams.
Yes, I just reread it in May, too! I absolutely loved it. It has a lot of taboo and transgressive subject matter, too.
My German film class actually showed the part of Benny's Video where he is watching the clip of the pig being slaughtered repeatedly and it was the first time my life I became physically nauseous and dizzy from watching a film. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and just had to just stare at my desk for the rest of the clip. I've never been able to watch the whole movie since then because it was such an uncomfortable experience lol However, I still feel there is a lot of value in films that can give you such a visceral and uncomfortable feeling like that. I can definitely agree with its spot on the list! 😅 Great video as always!
I cannot imagine a learning institution showing Benny’s Video! That’s awesome.
@@PlaguedbyVisions Oh yes, that class was wild lol I also watched the whole Perfume movie about the guy who kills women and turns them into perfume fragrances for that class. It was definitely one of the most memorable classes I ever took. Thanks for the reply!