20 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Challange Update

You might remember last August I posted that I would be doing the 20 most disturbing horror movies challenge. I said in that post I wanted to have all of the movies watched by Christmas, but that didn’t even come close to happening. I’ve finally gotten through the list, and I’m thinking it’s better late than never, so I’m still sharing my thoughts on each movie like I said I would.

As a whole, the movies aren’t disturbing in a scary way (except The Ring). They’ve been chosen for the blood and gore levels rather than any sort of chill factor.

Here are my thoughts on the 20 movies (in no particular order):

Hostel

There are some pretty intense torture scenes in Hostel. The whole premise of the movie is that rich people basically buy tourists to torture any way they want to.  It’s got a good story, it’s fairly fast paced and it has that edge to it, where you know something bad is coming and you’re hooked.

Definitely worth a watch if you’re not particularly worried about a bit of torture and gore. It’s worth a watch for any fellow Suits fans too as there’s a cameo appearance from Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt) as one of the guys who torture people and it’s so bizarre seeing him that way.

Get your copy here.

Martyrs

I felt a bit disappointed with this one to be honest. It’s been so massively over-hyped. I’ve seen several people saying things like “you’ll never be the same after watching this movie”. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t  bad movie per se, it just didn’t live up to the hype.

It starts out promising and pulls you into the story, but towards the end, it becomes so far-fetched it’s more of an eye roll thing than a disturbing thing. There are some torture scenes, but again, these had been over-hyped so much and they were nowhere near as graphic as I was expecting. If you can handle mainstream torture movies like Saw, Hostel etc., you can handle this.

Get your copy here.

The Ring

This feels like the only real horror movie on the list. It doesn’t rely on blood and gore and torture to disturb you. It’s genuinely creepy in places and it has a good story that leaves you wanting more.

Get your copy here.

A Serbian Film

This movie is disturbing to say the least. There are some scenes I wouldn’t advise anyone watching. At the same time, the movie has a real message behind it, and I did get what the director was trying to say. It’s not a movie I would want to watch again, but it hasn’t left me scarred for life or anything.

Definitely only watch this movie if you’re pretty much immune to movies depicting extreme violence and horrifying sexual acts.

Get you copy here.

The Human Centipede

I don’t really know what to say about this one. I mean it’s gross in parts, and the concept is kind of disturbing, but the hype and the banning it etc. made me think it was going to be a lot harder to handle than it actually is.

It’s worth a watch just for Dieter Laser’s fantastic performance as a man who is intelligent yet deeply unhinged and will go to any lengths to realise his ultimate goal. Just don’t expect it to as horrifying as people say it is. It’s actually kind of slow.

Grab your copy here.

Mum and Dad

Mum and Dad is a weird one. It has it’s gory moments, but in terms of gore, it’s pretty tame compared to some of the other movies on the list. It does have an interesting and disturbing concept though which makes it definitely worth watching. It’s very well thought out and the character’s feel more real than they do in some gory movies.

Grab your copy here.

Saw

I love the Saw franchise and in truth, I remembered it more than well enough to talk about it here without re-watching it, but it was a good excuse to re-watch the series including the new Jigsaw movie which I hadn’t gotten around to watching up until that point.

The original Saw introduces the concept of Jigsaw’s games and sucks you in, but it’s not as good as the rest of the franchise. What I love about the Saw franchise is that it has a real plot with lots of twists and turns that always keep you guessing and engrossed in the movie.

Jigsaw is a real character with real motivations rather than just a random sicko. Perhaps the most disturbing part of these movies is that at times, you can’t help but relate to Jigsaw and empathise with him to some extent.

Grab your copy here.

Cannibal Holocaust

This movie surprised me. From the blurb on the back and from things I had heard about it, it’s no secret that the crew that go to the Amazon to find a tribe get viciously attacked by the tribe’s people. I expected the movie to go down the stereotype route of the tribe’s people being savages.

They do some pretty intense stuff and it’s gruesome at times, but after what the crew do to them to make their documentary look good, you’re certainly left questioning who the real savages are in this. For that reason, I liked it as it made me think.

However, the animal cruelty in the movie is disgusting (because it’s actually real) and only done for shock value. Even the director has said since the movie was made that this was a massive mistake and I believe he’s made a re-edit where those parts are no longer real.

With the animal cruelty and the acts of graphic violence, including sexual violence, this movie really isn’t for the faint hearted.

Grab your copy here.

The Cube

The Cube is an interesting enough movie and watching the character’s move through the booby trapped rooms in the cube and trying to figure out what the hell is going on makes for a good watch, but it really doesn’t belong on this list.

The movie is pretty old, and the special effects aren’t great, so even though there are one or two gory scenes, they don’t feel anything like real. I watched this movie years ago, and when I saw it on this list, I honestly thought I must have forgotten parts of it, but I hadn’t.

It’s beyond tame compared to literally every other movie on this list.

Grab your copy here.

American Mary

This is more of a revenge movie, and while there are torture scenes involved, they are an integral part of the story rather than just a shock value scene. I thought this movie was going to be really cheesy, but I actually quite enjoyed it. And for all Mary does some pretty bad things at times, you can’t help but kind of root for her.

Grab your copy here.

Raw

Raw is a strange movie to say the least. It’s not overly gory until right at the end and it’s nowhere near as bad as it’s made out to be where people say they were throwing up and/or passing out. It’s definitely worth a watch if you want something a bit different from the norm. It’s funny because you can see the ending coming a mile off, and it still hits you like a train.

Grab your copy here.

Bite

I enjoyed this movie more than that I thought I would, although I would say it was more sci-fi than horror. It can be a little frustrating at times because it’s kind of far-fetched, but if you can just let yourself accept this could all happen, then it’s worth watching even if it’s only for Elma Begovic’s fantastic performance as her character changes.

It’s not what I would really call disturbing.

Grab your copy here.

The Girl Next Door

This movie has some pretty graphic torture scenes and some really upsetting moments. It’s made all the more harrowing because it’s children carrying out the torturous acts under the supervision of one clearly deranged woman. Even more disturbing is the fact the movie is based on a true story.

I knew what to expect from this having read and the book and I still found it pretty upsetting in parts. Not one to watch if these things tend to play on your mind.

I did find that the movie romanticised David’s character a lot more than the book did.

Gran your copy here.

Audition

There’s one pretty gruesome torture scene in this movie, but the effects are so bad that it’s really nothing to worry about. There’s a scene where a man who is meant to be paralysed is being rolled along by a girl and you clearly see him moving his hips and legs to help her move him and the gore doesn’t look real at all. I was expecting something much more intense and gruesome as this is the Japanese original and usually when the Japanese do horror, they do it brilliantly and graphically.

The movie does have a good, creepy feel to it but it’s quite slow at first. When it gets going, it becomes pretty trippy mixing what I think were flashback scenes with what I think was meant to be a dream sequence. I completely lost the plot at this point (like not in a “it’s so disturbing I’m losing my mind” kind of way, but in a literal I have no idea what is going on anymore kind of way).

I only really watched this to the end because of the challenge. If it wasn’t part of the challenge I’d have given up before the end, not because of the gore, but because it was just so slow. I did think that Eihi Shiina did a fantastic job of portraying her character as someone who isn’t all what they seem to be though.

Grab your copy here.

Excision

Excision is different to anything I’ve seen before. It’s kind of arty at times, like when we see Pauline’s fantasies. There’s a fair amount of blood in these fantasies and it becomes clear quickly that Pauline is a very disturbed young girl. She is pushed aside repeatedly and berated by her parents and other kids at her school, and you can’t help but feel for her.

The climax to the movie is shocking and yet feels totally right for the character. While you will be shocked at what Pauline does, you can’t help but feel for her as she has been crying out for help for so long and just being ignored.

Definitely worth a watch, the story is good and well written and the movie is more character based than some of the others and doesn’t depend on blood and gore to carry the whole movie.

Grab your copy here.

Antichrist

There where some disturbing scenes towards the end of the movie, but this is another one I wouldn’t have made it far enough to see them if it wasn’t for the challenge as it’s really slow to get going.

The husband in the movie has some sort of hero complex – his wife clearly has mental health issues that need addressing, but he decides to try and deal with it all himself, leading to dire consequences for both of them.

The movie is nothing like you would expect based off the title.

Grab your copy here.

The Skin I Live In

I didn’t find this particularly disturbing. The main character, Robert, is clearly disturbed, but also kind of a medical genius and the movie pulls you in, making you wonder exactly what is going on, and what the relationship between Robert and Vera really is.

I didn’t see the twist coming at first, and the twist is well worth watching the movie for. Overall, it isn’t gory or gross and it’s a good watch.

Grab your copy here.

Salo (120 Days of Sodom)

Well this was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting based on what I know of the book and reading other people’s thoughts on it. I really thought this would be the one I wouldn’t be able to finish, and even if I did, not in one sitting. I did it in one sitting easily enough.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s disturbing from pretty much the start all the way through, and it is relentless in its vicious cruelty, but I didn’t feel the need to turn it off – it’s only a movie at the end of the day and none of it is real.

It’s a horrible movie depicting scenes of sexual violence, rape, torture and things I won’t even mention here, but I think the shock value was kind of the point of the movie. It’s not something I’d recommend unless you’re taking part in this challenge or a similar one and even then only if you’ve got an extremely strong stomach.

I did debate not adding the link, but who the hell am I to censor what other people watch – just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Grab your copy here.

The Last House on the Left

There is a brutal rape scene in this movie that is obviously horrible to watch, and the whole tone of the movie is sick and twisted. Despite that, it’s still worth a watch if you like extreme horror as there is a clear storyline to it that is more than just shock value.

Grab your copy here.

The Green Inferno

Some say this is a remake of Cannibal Holocaust, some describe it as Cannibal Holocaust 2 and others say it is a nod to the cannibal movies of the 70s in general. It’s similar to Cannibal Holocaust in that it’s an Amazonian tribe and they are cannibals, but it’s very different in it’s execution.

There’s plenty of blood and gore and the brutality is relentless, but it’s not one of Roth’s better movies and I’m usually a fan of his stuff.

Grab your copy here.

Cabin Fever

I didn’t find this one particularly gory or disturbing. It felt like a good old fashioned, old school horror movie – not particularly scary, but worth a watch with an interesting plot. It’s an entertaining movie that will keep you engrossed in it.

Grab your copy here.

Mother

There is one disturbing scene in this movie, but other than that, it’s more of a thriller than a horror movie. It’s good as a thriller – it has a good, creepy atmosphere and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s one of those movies where you just know something is not right, but you can’t quite put your finger on who or what is off.

Jennifer Lawrence gives an amazing performance as mother.

Grab you copy here.

It was only as I was putting this post together that I realised there are actually 22 movies on this list. I don’t know which two shouldn’t be there officially, but if I had to guess, I’d say The Cube and The Ring as they really don’t fit the theme of the other movies.

I feel like I should add some sort of disclaimer here about watching the movies at your own risk and all that jazz – if movies tend to get into your head and worry you after watching them, then I would say steer clear of these (except The Cube, seriously a kid could handle that).

Have you seen any of these movies? if yes, what did you think of them? If no, do you plan to watch any of them? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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