I do not remember being offended by a movie except maybe Frailty but that was more for intellectual reasons than the normal disgust. QT disturbs me but that is for making genre films boring, again not disgust.
I have seen all the films mentioned plus Pink Flamingoes, faces of death, Mondo Cane, Snuff, Troma’s War, Combat Shock and a number of other suppose to be distrubing films.
South Park: Bigger Longer And Uncut
Even that barely disturbed me at all, but the part with Saddam and Satan was scary. I can’t say I know anything that disturbs me that much.
Maybe Borat?
One film I know that disturbed the people I saw it with (tho its my favorite Cohen film) is Bruno.
“Aftermath”, Dir. Nacho Cerda. A morgue attendant defiles a corpse. However, Cerda doesn’t stop here. He saves the sickening worst for last. A vile, ugly and inhuman exercise.
Not sure, ICHI THE KILLER was pretty bad… I own INSIDE but I’m still putting off watching it.
Yeah, my friends didn’t like Bruno. They said it was too gay.
well, if there is such a thing as too gay Bruno was probably it, funniest movie of the year tho imo
I liked how uncomfortable it made some of its audience (who went in knowing what is was about yet still walked out shocked by it) not to mention how uncomfortable it made the people on the screen.
@Den
Frailty? You mean the one with Bill Paxton? I think that’s an underrated film. Why bothered you about that?
“A vile, ugly and inhuman exercise.”
This was my reaction to Martyrs. While the content was itself revolting, it was what the film appeared to say that I found even worse.
Jazz I guess it bothered me that the religious crazies turned out to be justified in what they were doing
Jesus Camp.
A very disturbing and depressing movie.
Den, but then wouldn’t you have to also hate most supernatural horror films?
Ari I do tend to hate most supernatural films.
Are religious nuts right in most supernatural films?
Frailty I think I hated due to the marketing. I went in wanting to see a twisted horror film, not Left Behind
Happiness (Todd Solondz)
anyone else creeped out by the way he treats his characters?
Solondz tries too hard to be disturbing and controversial to actually be disturbing and controversial.
Seems to me that most supernatural horror films by taking religious scripture literally and seriously do (The Exorcist, The Rapture, etc).
maybe thats why i found it so disturbing. the way he handled each scene was too intentional for me
Nothing really bothered me about Solondz (Palondromes is a lovely movie I think) except the Jon Lovitz character in Happiness.
why did his character bother you? I thought it was the best part of the film
I recall Frailty… I saw it, didn’t really make an impression except for the fact that it’s typical Hollywood. Nothing much there. A surprise ending if I recall correctly…
Regarding Happiness, I’ve read about it… I’d like to watch it.
“Las Edades de Lulú” by Bigas Luna I stopped watching after the incest scene. Disturbing. I had forgotten that one…
@Den: Do you mean Snuff by the Findlays? They also have this weird “Flesh” Trilogy I’ve read about? You’re the only person I know that’s ever watched these kinds of exploitation movies… I guess they don’t rattle you? =) The honest truth is that exploitation and mondo movies make me curious, but I’m affected by film in general, so I try to take care of my mental environment. But I am curious. What are your thoughts on exploitation films, mondo films…? =)
“Do you mean Snuff by the Findlays”
That is the one.
“What are your thoughts on exploitation films, mondo films…?”
They are the only people can see certain sensationalistic topics. Russ Meyer was explotation at the time, and he was one of my first explorations into nudity as a child. Things like Faces of Death and Faces of Gore provide a window into cultures and fears we often avoid. I think one can be inspired by things like those, the way PETA uses brutal animal footage to make their case or the way people become social or relief workers after seeing atrocity. That being said, I was not moved by them in those ways but I do find them interesting.
BTW, I have said this before, but it is to the point of the topic. I found Marley and Me very disturbing because it goes thru the whole life cycle of this dog from birth to death and lingers on the dog’s last scenes from what I heard, I refuse to watch it much as I refuse to belief my pets will die. I love em
“why did his character bother you? I thought it was the best part of the film”
I just thought he was particularly unkind, made me cringe
BORN FROM PAIN !!!
Well put. Thank you Den for the explanation. =)
I also believe Exploitation and Mondo are interesting as a manifestation of the way individuals “do” culture…. Why did the Findlays choose to do what they did, for instance? What made them want to work with such subject matter? There surely couldn’t be that much money in the genre?
Or what about Mario Bava? George Romero? What went through their minds…? This is geeky stuff I think about sometimes. =)
“Cannibal Holocaust” was probably the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen. There really isn’t much to it except showing the exploits of people who are absolutely evil and disgusting. Not to mention the fact that animals are actually killed for no other reason than shock value. I’m no animal activist but I think causing permanent pain to anyone in the cinematic process is unnecessary.
@attitudeajm – How awful… I believe I read about that movie in the post I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, but I wasn’t sure if the author was serious when he said that animals were killed. I assumed it was all fake. That’s where anyone would draw the line. Hurting animals or causing pain for the sake of shock is unacceptable. One thing is to create fantasy, no matter how twisted… it’s only that, fantasy (though I do have some reservations regarding the impact it has on the human mind)… another is to murder a living being for the sake of film or art, twisted or not. That’s super awful what you mentioned. =( Which is why even though exploitation and mondo films interest me in a geeky way, I have never watched one. Because of the protecting- yourself- from- unnecessary- shock thing which I discussed with Den above…
Our top ten ( disorder)
born from pain (Alex et Niko)
salo (Pasolini)
benny’s video (Haneke)
angst ’Gerald Kargl)
scum ( alan clarke)
elephant ( alan clarke)
breaking the waves (Lars Von Trier)
clockwork orange (Kubrick)
johnny got his gun (Trumbo)
straw dogs (Peckinpah )
le septieme continent (Haneke)
@ Alex et Nico Born from Pain looks interesting. The plot sounds good. Pity it’s not available to watch here. At least, not for me. =) As for Breaking the Waves, I’ve always wanted to watch it. Hopefully soon.
@Agustina De Tudela
Thanks :) tell us what you think after having watch it .
An uncut version of ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ – the animal cruelty was really unacceptable.
Seen the likes of Salo, Aftermath, Visitor Q and others and they’re really fine as you know it’s all make-believe – they can be as sick as they want.
Titticut Follies
Caligula (shocked not at how naughty it was, but how sleep inducing it was)
Mother’s Day
Agustina
The other day I was doing some pointless browsing on the net and discovered a film student who posted a list his teacher gave him regarding the 10 most disturbing movies of all time, a sort of “blacklist” of movies, if you will.
Some of the movies listed were: Salo, 120 days of Sodom by Pier Paolo Pasolini; Man Behind the Sun (T.F Mous), Last House on the Left, Wes Craven; Eraserhead by David Lynch; Bloodsucking Freaks by God knows whom; The Guinea Pig movies and others I cannot recall… if you want to look at the post (not for the faint of heart, it’s here: http://my.spill.com/forum/topics/947994:Topic:220170?commentId=947994%3AComment%3A1286985)
Thankfully, for my mental environment, I had watched none of them. But I am curious about the other film lovers on here… what is the most (or are the most) disturbing/controversial films you’ve ever watched and why? And I’m not really talking about horror films (though those of course are included)…
In my case,
La Ville Est Tranquille (though a masterpiece) filled me with despair. Robert Guédiguian depicts working-class life in Marseilles. It’s a movie of such anguish, despair and darkness that I almost went into depression after watching. It has never left my mind. It is beautiful though, in a VERY sad way. I’d love to get my hands on more of Robert Guédiguian films, but in Chile they are hard to come by.
Irreversible by Gaspar Noe, the bashing of the skull and the rape scene… need I say more?
and Demon Lover by Olivier Assayas was an absurd tale of pointless violence and sexuality. It made me a bit sick.
How about you?