Disturbing Films
With each movie listed, try not to watch the trailer or read about it ahead of time. The less you know about these titles going into the experience, the better.
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22 titles
- DirectorAri AsterStarsFlorence PughJack ReynorVilhelm BlomgrenA couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.Make sure to watch the Director's Cut if possible.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.Yes, I am an Ari fan. Can't deny it.
- DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsBernard-Pierre DonnadieuGene BervoetsJohanna ter SteegeRex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.This movie haunted me for weeks.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.It's hard to find anyone nowadays that doesn't know anything about this film, but if you honestly don't know anything about it, consider yourself lucky and watch it ASAP! This was, I believe, one of the first found footage style films to hit it big.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenAnnika WedderkoppA teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.Not a horror movie, but definitely scary in many ways.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.Haunting
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsElle FanningChristina HendricksKeanu ReevesAn aspiring model, Jesse, is new to Los Angeles. However, her beauty and youth, which generate intense fascination and jealousy within the fashion industry, may prove themselves sinister.The only movie I've ever cared to watch on Blueray.
- DirectorCraig William MacneillStarsDavid MorseJared BreezeRainn WilsonAn intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath's growing fascination with death.From what I recall, it was a very disturbing film.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.This one wins 1st place for being one of the most truly disturbing films ever made. And I've seen A Serbian Film.
- DirectorSrdjan SpasojevicStarsSrdjan 'Zika' TodorovicSergej TrifunovicJelena GavrilovicAn aging porn star agrees to participate in an "art film" in order to make a clean break from the business, only to discover that he has been drafted into making a pedophilia and necrophilia themed snuff film.Speaking of... I thought this movie was horrendous to watch, so I guess it deserves a place on this list.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAaron EckhartMatt MalloyStacy EdwardsTwo business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.Yikes.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsPaul RuddRachel WeiszGretchen MolA quiet, unassuming man begins to change in a major way as a result of meeting a new, art-student girlfriend, and his friends are unsettled by the transformation.After you're done watching In the Company of Men, watch this one to help balance things out.
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsOksana AkinshinaArtyom BogucharskiyPavel PonomaryovSixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.Probably one of the most depressing films ever made.
- DirectorSean DurkinStarsElizabeth OlsenSarah PaulsonJohn HawkesHaunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.Beautifully filmed and subtly terrifying
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.SO CREEPY
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceLisa BlountJameson ParkerA group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.An oldie but goodie
- DirectorDavid ZellnerStarsRinko KikuchiNobuyuki KatsubeKanako HigashiA jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.Not creepy, but it will definitely linger in your mind for a long time once you're done watching it.
- DirectorJedd WiderTodd WiderStarsKevin CarboneMatthew NelsonWayne DiGeronimoThrough diary entries, this documentary follows the life and death of homeless woman Linda Bishop and her struggles with starvation, sanity and God.As far as documentaries go, this could have been executed better.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsSelma BlairLeo FitzpatrickRobert WisdomCollege and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.I love all of Todd Solondz's work, but this one is probably the most disturbing one out of the lot. And that's saying something!
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsIsabelle HuppertAnaïs DemoustierBéatrice DalleWhen Anna and her family arrive at their holiday home, they find it occupied by strangers. This confrontation is just the beginning of a painful learning process.I imagine this is what an accurate depiction of the apocalypse would look like.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsJustin LongMichael ParksHaley Joel OsmentA brash and arrogant podcaster gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Canada to interview a mysterious recluse... who has a rather disturbing fondness for walruses.WTF, Kevin Smith? Seriously.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.Haven't seen this since it came out in the mid-90's, but I will say this much-- there is one particularly gruesome scene that hasn't left my mind since.