There will always be new horror movies on the horizon [1], and they will always come in different flavors. There are those that are based on true events [2], and those that end with a seriously sinister twist [3]. And of course, there are those that simply don't get the credit they deserve [4]. Today, though, we're turning our attention elsewhere. We're talking about the kind of horror film that haunts you for weeks, months, maybe years. Throughout the course of cinematic history, there have been plenty of films like this. And, well, in case you're looking for nightmares, we've rounding up a small sampling.
Enter the Void (2009)
- What It's About: A Tokyo drug dealer is shot in a police raid, and his spirit leaves his body to experience the past, present, and future of his life.
- Why It's Disturbing: The experience really highlights some of a person's most horrible moments between life and death. You might want to leave a light on.
Watch this one on Netflix [5].
The Witch (2016)
- What It's About: As a family becomes more and more sure they're being tormented by an evil which in the woods near their home, they descend into an utter chaos of possession, paranoia, and death.
- Why It's Disturbing: In the first 10 minutes, we see the witch heself, mashing a baby to a bloody pulp on a wooden stump in the forest. It only gets more disturbing from there. The thing about this movie is the entire experience of watching it makes your skin crawl. It really seeps into you.
The Devils (1971)
- What It's About: The film takes place in 17th-century France where a priest seeks to protect a city from a terrifying and corrupt establishment. All hell breaks loose when he's accused of witchcraft by a sexually repressed nun.
- Why It's Disturbing: There's a horrific mashup of religious imagery and downright perversion in this piece. There's a full-on orgy, there's desecration and sexual assault with crucifixes, there's a live burning at the stake. Someone masturbates with a charred bone. It's a lot.
The Exorcist (1973)
- What It's About: A young, innocent girl finds herself possessed by a violent, expletive-slinging demon. As one priest tries to exorcise the demon from her body, all hell breaks loose in the most literal way.
- Why It's Disturbing: You might think a girl's head turning all the way around is as bad as it gets, but you'd be wrong. Perhaps the most chilling sequence involves a masturbation sequence that includes plenty of cursing and a crucifix.
You can watch this one on Netflix [6].
Eraserhead (1977)
- What It's About: After a printer welcomes a horribly deformed baby into the world, his wife leaves him and forces him to raise the child on his own.
- Why It's Disturbing: There's no linear feel or sense of cohesion in this film. It's stitched together with scores of horrifying imagery and plenty of bizarre and lopsided characters and creatures. This movie isn't violent, gruesome, or gratuitous . . . it's just plain unsettling.
Repulsion (1965)
- What It's About: A timid woman who finds herself repulsed by the sexual advances of men, and maybe men in general. When her sister leaves her alone in their shared apartment for an extended period of time, she spirals into a nightmare of gruesome visions, and real-life horror.
- Why It's Disturbing: The way this woman goes crazy will make you never want to be home alone again. Some of her visions alone are just downright terrifying.
Hostel (2005)
- What It's About: A group of American tourists stays at an Eastern European hostel, only to be taken captive in the middle of the night. They're auctioned off to a sick group of wealthy businessmen who want nothing more than to torture them mercilessly.
- Why It's Disturbing: This film basically made the phrase "torture porn" a real thing. The violence is so disgusting and in-your-face, it's unreal. Dismemberment and mutilation is where it starts. Pulling an actual eyeball out of someone's actual head is where it goes.
Inside (2007)
- What It's About: A pregnant woman decides to stay home alone on Christmas Eve. She's spiraled into a terrible depression after losing her love in a fatal car accident. In the night, another woman breaks in and demands the unborn child . . . immediately.
- Why It's Disturbing: There's plenty of grotesque imagery in this one, but perhaps the worst is the C-section by scissors. That, plus plenty of other miscellaneous mutilation of additional family members, cops, and more.
The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009)
- What It's About: A mad German scientist kidnaps three unsuspecting victims for a new, totally insane science project.
- Why It's Disturbing: We can't really sugarcoat this one, and we're really sorry. The doctor puts these three people together mouth to ass, and feeds the person in front. We'll let your powers of common sense help you figure out where it goes.
You can watch this one on Netflix. [7]
Audition (1999)
- What It's About: A middle-aged man named Aoyama tries to find love again after losing his wife. His friend, a movie producer, sets up a fake audition to help him in his search. Unfortunately, he falls for a deranged killer who tortures him within an inch of his life.
- Why It's Disturbing: One particular scene will really have you cringing. The torturess, named Asami, sticks long needles into Aoyama's eyes, then cuts off his feet with a wire saw.
Antichrist (2009)
- What It's About: After the devastating loss of their son, a couple retreats to the woods to mend. The weird thing is, though, they only go more crazy.
- Why It's Disturbing: We're going to say two words, and two words only: genital mutilation.
Watch this one on Netflix [8].
Martyrs (2008)
- What It's About: A young woman goes on a quest to exact her revenge on the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child. The film turns upside-down halfway through, taking viewers on a truly grisly and unfortunate ride.
- Why It's Disturbing: Someone gets skinned alive. And that's just the tip of the nightmare-inducing iceberg.
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
- What It's About: Four powerful Italian men capture a group of 18 teenagers: nine boys and nine girls. They trap them all in a mansion, and for four months, they inflict every bodily horror on them imaginable.
- Why It's Disturbing: Some people joke that the only moments of calm are the opening and closing credits, but it turns out that's not really an exaggeration. Some of the film's most perverse sequences include scalping, rape, and dismemberment.
Irréversible (2002)
- What It's About: This film is told in reverse order, and depicts the emotional upheaval in the wake of a brutal rape and beating.
- Why It's Disturbing: The violence — both physical and sexual — in this film is horrifying, gratuitous, and ceaseless. The rape scene is almost 10 minutes long. Someone's face gets bashed in with a fire extinguisher. This is not a film for the squeamish.