5 Most Disturbing Movies of All Time to Watch At Your Own Risk

A good scare won’t hurt us, right? But what if it leaves the most disturbing memory in our minds that we are unable to erase? Some films are full of eerie atmospheres and disgusting visuals that are truly twisted.

Movie Insiderz has a list of the five most disturbing movies that are meant to scare you to death. The post contains flicks full of graphic violence and excessive gore, so watch at your own risk. 

Irreversible (2002)

Directed by Gaspar Noé, this French film is a story of a girl who was raped, and her boyfriend and ex-lover take the matter into their own hands to take revenge on the rapist.

The rape scene is violently graphic and her screams evoke empathy in painful places that the audience is unable to handle. A gay man wanted to show his power over the woman and wanted to make her suffer, which remains indigestible. The fact that the woman was pregnant makes it even worse.  

The human conditions that we often avoid are explicitly shown in the film, making it one of the most disturbing movies to date.   

Hostel (2005) 

Eli Roth, the director of Hostel, is known for the horror genre, and that is what makes it a prominent example of the category. Three backpackers reach Slovak City with different expectations but end up in a brutal hellhole. 

The rich people taking out their frustrations, just for the sake of fun, is a disconcerting notion that becomes real in the movie. As per Dread Central, Roth himself mentioned that the inspiration for this film came from a link that someone sent him. It showed some relatives in Thailand sold their close ones to be shot by anyone who paid a good amount.

The director emphasized that the thrill of killing someone is real. They are the people who have plenty of money who, rather than dumping their extra money into drinks or gambling, want more thrills. They have become numb and don’t feel anything, even if it means killing someone.

Roth explained, 

“They’re looking for that next level of thrill, and that, I said, was real. I know people like that. I can just see someone to money means nothing, they’ve got all these things and they’re just numb. They want to walk into a room and just kill someone without any consequences.” [Source]

Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs is one of the most talked-about movies directed by Pascal Laugier. It is the story of a young woman who wants to avenge people who kidnapped and tortured her during her childhood. 

She and her friend, who was also a victim of child abuse, set out on a difficult journey, inculcating depravity and bloody vengeance against her oppressors. It is an R-rated movie for a reason.

The scenes involve nudity. Extreme child abuse, strong suffering, and bloody violence made it a rough watch for the viewers. It is realistic, yet emotional, and so real that gruesome torture porn earned it a spot in one of the awfully disturbing movies of the era.  

A Serbian Film (2010)

If you are brave enough to watch horror at its extreme, then A Serbian Film is a daring watch. The plot involves an aging porn star who decides to act in an “art film” but gets into serious trouble with pedophilia and necrophilia, making it a sick torture horror film. 

The debut feature from the director Srdjan Spasojevic showed the helpless story of a male porn star who wanted to make his family happy. He was struggling to support his family financially and was left with no option but to accept a millionaire contract whose script and story weren’t shared with him by the director. It ultimately landed him in a bog of unbelievable cruelty and mayhem. 

The Human Centipede 2 (2011) Full Sequence 

Tom Six proved that a truly repulsive and disgusting film is not a big deal, and it can exist. It only needs a sick fantasy of a person who wants to transform it into reality.

A fictional character, Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin, has a dream of building a 12-person centipede, and the film is all about his endeavors to bring it to life.

It might seem pointless, but it is absolutely vile. It is pathetically revolting that even in black and white print, the gore did not stop us from being nauseated. 

Do you want more of the disturbing cult horror movies? Check out five great but weird cult movies.      

Why do the most disturbing movies leave a lasting impact?

The most disturbing movies are powerful enough to tap our inner fears and emotions, combined with unsettling visuals that make them unforgettable. They confront the viewers with disturbing truths, sometimes making a clever use of psychological trauma and extreme imagery that stays with them even after the credits roll. 

Graphic and shocking visuals cause emotional disruption that can induce extreme suffering for some. That is why it is mentioned in the disclaimer beforehand what the movie is about to unveil. Such movies are certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Also, disturbing movies often end without a definite conclusion, which keeps the viewers thinking for days after they have watched it. They stay haunted, trying to make sense of what they just saw, what wasn’t said or solved. 

Have you watched any such disturbing movie that challenged your comfort zone, which is not on the list here? Would love to hear in the comments.