Best Horror / Disturbing Movies

by Tina Duncan
(Eureka, California, USA)

1. Cutting Moments is a sad, gruesome, wince-inducing and very well put together film. The tense and hostile atmosphere built up between the two leads is palpable, with Nica Ray and Gary Betsworth putting in very good performances. The makeup effects during the bloody moments are also suitably very good. It's quite a messed up short, and more of a memorable piece than a lot of the full length features I've seen recently.

2. I Spit on Your Grave is an extremely graphic and disturbing movie. It is most definitely not for everyone. The film follows Jennifer, a writer who is working on a new novel. A group of rowdy male locals catch Jennifer one day and rape her. Jennifer is later attacked and further raped by the four degenerates, and her novel is destroyed. Jennifer recovers and she seeks revenge on her assailants. Its one of the best 'payback' flicks I've ever seen.

3. Irreversible charts a disturbing night in the life of Marcus, but presents the events in reverse chronological order. It was the year's most controversial film by far. At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, outraged viewers reportedly walked out, fainted and threw up. This is personally one of my favorite movies ever. I thought is was awesome the way the first half hour was out of control, buzzing around lights, walls, briefly looking at every character that passes by. The sound creates a state of hypnosis.

4. The Last House on the Left (1972). Wes Craven's first film was a crude but shocking horror opus. This movie follows a group of teenage girls heading into the city that are brutally murdered. The killers end up at the home of one of their victim's parents, and the parents take horrible revenge. Great movie - I am totally into the realistic stuff.

5. August Underground's Mordum. There's not much of a story to be told here. Essentially what we are given is random home video footage of these depraved minds at work. A couple of sicko killers run around town - slicing, dicing and torturing their victims. Very difficult to watch. You will feel dirty, outraged, upset and confused after a viewing this. It's a brutally honest portrayal of true dysfunction.

6. Salo aka The 120 Days of Sodom. Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. In Italy at the close of WWII, four fascist officials totally control, abuse, enslave and victimize an anonymous group of young peasant teenagers. The male and female youths are seized in town, stripped and inspected. The group of four fascist officials subject them to sexual and physical tortures, psychological humiliation and violence. This film is full of cruel sexual perversions (ie., 'intermingling, entwining and copulating incestuously, committing adultery and sodomy'). Not so much horror as just extremely disturbing.

1. Gummo starts off as disturbing, within the first 5 seconds. A kid describes living through a tornado, seeing up a girl’s skirt as she flies overhead and her skull is crushed, seeing body parts fly around. I would recommend it as a dark portrait of America’s underbelly. The movie is very real.

2. Natural Born Killers is the story of two serial killer-lovers and white-trash outlaws: Mallory Knox and psychotic Mickey (Woody Harrelson), inspired by real-life spree killer Charles Starkweather. There are some clever bits here and there. The 'I Love Mallory' sitcom parody is amusing and a little sinister. The use of clips from old shows like 'Leave It to Beaver' works, as do some of the animated inserts.

3. Pretty Baby (Brooke Shields) is a fictional historically-inspired drama about a virgin, 12 year-old Violet (Brooke Shields), a child prostitute living with her mother Hattie (Susan Sarandon). Violet's virginity is matter-of-factly auctioned off for the highest bidder ($400) by house madam Nell. You couldn't pay me enough to let my daughter star in a movie like this. Shields, Sarandon, and Carradine are all good and the story is okay, but the movie is very disturbing and made me uncomfortable.

4. Requiem for a Dream (2000) is a disturbing film told about the consequences of drug use. In the film, Sara's addiction to weight-loss and obsession with being on a television show lead to hallucinations, near insanity, while heroin addiction causes Harry's arm to become severely infected and require amputation, while Marion prostitutes herself to pay for her addiction.

5. Romance aka Romance X features the frustrated depressed elementary school teacher Marie whose male partner Paul no longer wants her sexually. Feeling dishonored, she starts crazy affairs with others. She becomes sexually involved in a 'trivial' and 'shameful' relationship with her boss Robert. S&M, masochism, degradation and bondage. She is at first freaked out by the experience.

6. Kids is directed by Larry Clark. A realistic tale about drugs, amorality, sex, obscene talk, bad behavior among teenaged youth. A truthful film about promiscuous, sexually-pleasurable and fulfilling but emotionless teenage sexuality - with high-risk consequences. 17 year old HIV infected Kelly's goal is to deflower as many girls as possible. Girl # 1 is Jenny, who becomes an HIV-positive-infected teen through sexual contact with Telly. His next virginal victim is 13 year-old Darcy. Hungover Caspar, Telly's friend, rapes helpless Jenny (and possibly infects himself). This is an amazing movie. It portrays real life crises that many do not like to even talk about. If you open your eyes, this movie is in reality what goes on every day, everywhere. Kids shows the harsh reality of life, living with a disease that you do not even know you have. And if you do have the disease, this movie somehow makes you feel a little more comfortable.