Updated October 1, 2021 2.9k votes 686 voters 41.3k views
List RulesVote up the nasty horror films you just can't stand to finish.
Whether it's gross-out horror, extreme slashers, or just horror movies that are downright disturbing, not every movie is exactly easy to sit through. And the goriest scenes aren't always even in horror movies. In fact, some movies - even whole film movements - make it a point of being as difficult to watch as possible, whether that means amping up the gore or introducing scenes of physical degradation.
While some of these films become underground cult classics, others become endurance tests that individuals subject themselves or their friends to in order to see who's "tough enough" to watch the whole thing. Whatever the case may be, there are plenty of horror movies out there that nobody who is of a, shall we say, delicate disposition is likely to make it to the end of - at least, not without covering their eyes or needing a barf bag.
Jörg Buttgereit's debut, about a couple who brings home a cadaver, deals with themes of necrophilia, fascism, aggression against animals, and more. The special effects include actual animal intestines and pig eyeballs, as well as documentary-style footage of rabbits being slaughtered. If the film's subject matter alone isn't enough to get you to tap out, the gruesome animal carnage might be.
Banned in countries all over the world and subjected to a criminal investigation in its own home country, A Serbian Film might be one of the most controversial movies ever made. It doesn't take a detailed list of the atrocities depicted in it to see why, either.
When a former explicit film star is recruited to star in an "art film" that turns out to be a snuff film, things go badly in a hurry in this grotesque picture, which deals with themes of assault, necrophilia, and lots, lots more.
The makers of A Serbian Film have argued that the movie is a form of political commentary, and they may be right, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch the whole wretched thing unfold.
Actors: Srdjan Todorovic, Sergej Trifunovic, Jelena Gavrilovic, Katarina Zutic, Slobodan Bestic
"Bizarre" is probably a good word to describe the feature film debut of director, writer, rapper, and music producer DJ Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus (and credited as just Steve). Told across four vignettes, this anthology film concerns itself with the lives of people who have survived an earthquake that left Los Angeles in ruins. It also involves coprophagia, abortion, talking boils, and a whole lot of other weird, frequently gross or transgressive stuff.
If you couldn't make it all the way through, don't feel bad. You're not alone. The film's graphic and often grotesque subject matter prompted mass walkouts when it premiered at Sundance, with The Verge reporting that "walk-outs continued in a consistent stream up to the final scene."
Actors: Iesha Coston, Anders Holm, Tim Heidecker, Zack Fox, Donnell Rawlings
